2 three new girls.

darrell said good-bye to her parents and they purred off in the car. darrell was always glad that herfather and mother were sensible when they said good- bye. they didn't burst into tears asgwendoline's mother always did. they didn't expect her to stay close beside them and look mournful.

they laughed and talked just as usual, promised to come down at half-term, then kissed her good-bye, and went, waving cheerfully.

soon she and sally were carrying their night-cases up the steps into the big hall. they had theirlacrosse sticks too, which got entangled with people's legs as the other girls surged around and aboutmiss potts was in the hall. she had been their form-mistress when they had been in the first form, andwas still their house-mistress, for she was in charge of north tower, in which they slept. all the girls'

bedrooms or dormitories were in the four towers, and there was a house-mistress in charge of eachone, and also a matron.

miss potts saw sally and darrell and called them. "sally! darrell! take charge of this new girl forme, will you? she will be in the second form with you, and will be in your dormy. take her up tomatron."

darrell saw a tall, thin girl standing by miss potts.

looking nervous and scared. darrell remembered how lost she had felt when she had first come tomalory towers, and she felt sorry for the girl she went up to her, sally behind her.

"hallo! come along with us and well look after you. what's your name?""ellen wilson." said the girl. she had a very pate face and looked tired out in the middle of herforehead was a deep line, cutting down between her eyebrows, making her look as if she wascontinually frowning. darrell didn't much like the look of her. but she smiled at ellen kindly.

1 expect you feel pretty muddled with all this row going on." she said. "i felt the same last year wheni came. my name's darrell rivers. and this is my friend, sally hope."the girl gave polite little smiles and then followed silently behind them. they all made their waythrough the excited throng of girls.

there's mary-lou!" said darrell. "hallo. mary-lou! you've grown!"little mary-lou smiled. "i hope sol" she said. i’m tired of being the smallest in the form. who'sthis?"

"ellen wilson. new girl. second form," said darrell.

"in our dormy," added sally. "we're taking her to matron. hallo, here's irene. irene, we saw younearly knock off your father's glasses in the car, when you waved to us."irene grinned. "yes, that was the third time i'd done it. he was just getting annoyed with me. are yougoing to matron? i’ll come along too."

"got your health certificate?" asked sally, slyly. it was a standing joke with the girls that irenealways arrived without it, no matter how safely her motherhad packed it in her night-case, or given it in an envelope to irene to put in her pocket.

"got yours?” said darrell to ellen wilson. "we have to hand them over at once. and woe betide youif you go down with measles or chicken pox or something if you've just handed in a certificate sayingyou haven't been near anyone ill! golly. irene, you don't really mean to say you haven't got yoursagain?"

irene was feeling in all her pockets, with a humorous look of dismay on her face. "can't find it at themoment," she said. "must be in my night-case. but no—mother said she wasn't going to put it inthere any more because it always disappeared. blow!”

"matron said she'd isolate you next time you came without a health certificate." said sally. "you’llhave to be in the san. for two days till your mother sends another one. you really are an idiot. irene."feeling frantically in all her pockets, irene followed sally. darrell and ellen to north tower, andwent in with them. the second-form dormy was not far from the first-form dormy, where darrell hadslept for the last four terms. it was on the second floor and was a lovely big room with ten white bedsin it, each covered with a pretty eiderdown.

the girls dumped their night-cases down in the dormy and went to look for matron. ah, there shewas, shepherding another new girl up to the dormy. darrell looked at the girl. she was about thesame age as darrell, and. like darrell. had black curly hair, but cut much shorter, more like a boy.

she looked rather dirty and untidy, but she had a very attractive grin, and her eyes twinkled as shelooked at the other girls. she did not look nearly so lost or forlorn as ellen.

"ah. sally—darrell—here's another new girl,” said matron, briskly. "take charge of her. will you?

her name is belinda morris. now—have you all gotyour night-cases? and what about your health certificates?""our night-cases are there," said darrell, pointing to where they had dumped them on the floor. "andhere's my health certificate. matron." "where's my night-case?" said belinda, suddenly. "surely youhad it with you a minute ago?" said matron, looking all round. "well, give me your certificate andthen go and look for your case."

"but it's in the case," said belinda, and looked vaguely round.

"you probably left it down in the hall for everyone to fall over." said matron. "you girls i thankyou. darrell. is this your certificate. sally?—and yours. mary-lou—and yours, f.ikn. what aboutyours. irene?"

"it's a most peculiar thing. matron." began irene. hunting in all her pockets again. "you know. i hadit when i started off this morning. i remember mother saying..."matron stared at irene, really exasperated. "irene! don't dare to tell me you've not brought it again.

you know what i told you last term. there is a rule here that girls who forget their health certificatesshall be isolated until one is produced. i've never had to enforce that rule yet—but in your case ireally think..." "oh, matron, don't isolate me!" begged irene, taking her night-case, opening it andemptying all the contents higgledy-piggledy on the floor. "i’ll find it, i will!"the girls stood by, laughing. really, irene was very funny when she had lost something. matronlooked on grimly. irene bent low over the case, hunting hard—and suddenly she gave a cry and puther hand to her chest.

"oooh! something's pricking me! whatever can it be? gracious, something's run a sharp point rightinto me!”

she stood up, rubbing her chest. then she opened the front of her coat—and the girls gave a screamof laughter.

"irene! you donkey! you’ve got your health certificate pinned on to your front i you couldn't lose itif you wanted to."

irene looked down, pleased. "of course!” she said, unpinning it i remember now. i knew i shouldlose it unless i really did hang on to it somehow—so i pinned it tightly to my front. here it is.

matron. you won't have to isolate me after all!”

matron took it, and put it with the others she had. "a narrow squeak for you, irene!" she said, and herplump face broke into a smile. "you put a grey hair into my head at the beginning of every term!

now. you girls—unpack your night-cases and put out your things. the trunks won't be unpacked tilltomorrow—and then each of you will have to check the clothes' list you brought with you."she departed, rustling stiffly in her starched apron, looking out for more returning girls, collectinglists and names and certificates, bringing order out of confusion, and welcoming back all the sixty orso girls returning to north tower. in the other towers, three more matrons were doing the same thing.

it was a real task to welcome back about two hundred and fifty girls, with their trunks, night-casesand odds-and-ends!

belinda had wandered off to look for her night-case. whilst the others were still putting out theirthings, she sauntered back, a brown suit-case in her hand. she opened it and shook out a pair ofpyjamas. she stared at them in surprise. "golly! i didn't know i bad pyjamas like this,"she said. "and what posh bedroom slippers mother has put in for me. for a surprise, i suppose!"darrell looked over her shoulder. then she grinned. "you'll get into trouble if you unpack any moreof those things." she said. "they belong to georgina thomas! shell be jolly wild if she finds outyou've got her night-case! she's probably hunting all over the place for it now. can't you read,belinda?"

darrell pointed to the name marked on the collar of the pyjamas. "georgina thomas.""goodness, what an ass i am!" said belinda, and stuffed all the things back untidily into the case. "ithought it was my case!"

she went out of the room again, presumably to hunt once more for her lost case. darrell grinned atirene. "i don't know what we're going to do if we have two people like you, irene!” she said. "one'sbad enough—but two! you'll drive mam'zelle cracked between you. and as for miss parker, ourform-mistress—well, you know what she is! she can't stand anything vague or careless. we shallhave some fun this term with you and belinda in the class together!" irene didn't in the least mindbeing teased. she was a clever, good-humoured girl, brilliant at music, but very thoughtless andvague over the ordinary little everyday things. if anyone lost a grammar book it was irene. if anyoneforgot to turn up at a special lesson. it was irene. and now here was another girl. belinda, whoseemed to be just as bad. irene very much liked the look of her, and had already made up her mind tobe friends.

belinda soon came back again, this time, fortunately, with her own case. she tipped everything out,and then proceeded to put her things in place, just as the others did—pyjamas under the pillow—toothbrush, face-flannel, tooth-paste and sponge on a glassledge at one end of the dormy where the wash-basins were. brush and comb in their bag inside thetop drawer of the dressing-table. then the empty night-case was pat with the pile outside in thecorridor, waiting to be taken to the box-room.

there came a great clatter op the stairs and the girls in the dormy raised their heads. the train-girls!

they've come at last. arent they late!”

more girls clattered into the dormy. alicia johns came in her eyes bright. behind her came jean, thestraightforward, sensible scots girl. then came emily, a quiet girl whose only real interest wassewing, and the most elaborate embroidery.

"one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight of us." said darrell. counting. "two more to come. whoare they?"

"gwendoline mary for one. i suppose." said irene, with a grimace. "dear gwendoline mary! i expecther mother is still sobbing over letting her darling lamb go away from her i who's the tenth?""here comes gwendoline," said darrell, and the girls heard that familiar, rather whining voice.

gwendoline was a spoilt child, and although malory towers had done her a lot of good, the holidaysalways seemed to make her worse again.

she came in—and with her was the tenth girl gwendoline mary introduced her. "hallo, everyone!

this is daphne millicent turner, a new girl. she's in our form and in our dormy. she travelled downin my carriage and i'm sure she's going to be a favourite with all of us in no time!”