2 malory towers

it was a long journey to malory tow ers, but as there was a dining-car on the train, and the girls tookit in turns to go and have their midday meal, that made a good break. they had tea on the train too.

at first all the girls were gay and chattery, but as the day wore on they fell silent. some of them slept.

it was such a long journey!

it was exciting to reach the station for malory towers. the school lay a mile or two away, and therewere big motor coaches standing outside the station to take the girls to the school.

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'come on,' said alicia, clutching hold of darrell's arm. 'if we're quick we can get one of the frontseats in a coach, beside the driver. hurry! got your bag?'

'i'll come too,' said gwendoline. but the others were gone long before she had collected herbelongings. they climbed up into front seats. the other girls came out in twos and threes, and thestation's one and only porter helped the drivers to load the many trunks on to the coaches.

'can we see malory towers from here?' asked darrell, looking all round.

'no. i'll tell you when we can. there's a corner where we suddenly get a glimpse of it,' said alicia.

'yes. it's lovely to get that sudden view of it,' said pamela, the quiet head-girl of north tower, whohad got into the coach just behind alicia and darrell. her eyes shone as she spoke. 'i think malorytowers shows at its best when we come to that corner, especially if the sun is behind it.'

darrell could feel the warmth in pamela's voice as she spoke of the school she loved. she looked ather and liked her.

pamela saw her look and laughed. 'you're lucky, darrell,' she said. 'you're just beginning at malorytowers! you've got terms and terms before you. i'm just ending. another term or two, and i shan't becoming to malory towers any more—except as an old girl. you make the most of it while you can.'

'i shall,' said darrell, and stared ahead, waiting for her first glimpse of the school she was to go to forat least six years.

they rounded a corner. alicia nudged her arm. 'there you are, look! over there, on that hill! the seais behind, far down the cliff, but you can't see that, of course.'

darrell looked. she saw a big, square-looking building of soft grey stone standing high up on a hill.

the hill was really a cliff, that fell steeply down to the sea. at each end of the gracious building stoodrounded towers. darrell could glimpse two other towers behind as well, making four in all. northtower, south, east and west.

the windows shone. the green creeper that covered parts of the wall climbed almost to the roof inplaces. it looked like an old-time castle.

'my school!' thought darrell, and a little warm feeling came into her heart. 'it's fine. how lucky i amto be having malory towers as my school-home for so many years. ishall love it.'

'do you like it?' asked alicia, impatiently.

'yes. very much,' said darrell. 'but i shall never never know my way about it! it's so big.'

'oh, i'll soon show you,' said alicia. 'it's surprising how quickly you get to know your way round.'

the coach turned another corner and malory towers was lost to sight. it came into view again, nearerstill, round the next corner, and it wasn't very long before all the coaches roared up to the flight ofsteps that led to the great front door.

'it's just like a castle entrance!' said darrell.

'yes,' said gwendoline, unexpectedly, from behind them. 'i shall feel like a fairy princess, going upthose steps!' she tossed her loose golden hair back over her shoulders.

'you would!' said alicia, scornfully. 'but you'll soon get ideas like that out of your head when pottygets going on you.'

darrell got down and was immediately lost in a crowd of girls, all swarming up the steps. she lookedround for alicia, but she seemed to have disappeared. so up the steps went darrell, clutching hersmall bag and racket, feeling rather lost and lonely in the chattering crowd of girls. she felt in quite apanic without the friendly alicia!

after that things were rather a blur. darrell didn't know where to go and she didn't know what to do.

she looked vainly for alicia, or pamela, the head-girl. was she supposed to go straight to northtower? everyone seemed to know exactly what to do and where to go, except poor darrell!

then she saw miss potts, and felt a wave of relief. she went up to her, and miss potts looked down,smiling.

'hallo! feeling lost? where's that rascal of an alicia? she ought to look after you. all north towergirls are to go there and unpack their night-bags. matron is waiting for youall.'

darrell had no idea which way to go for north tower, so she stood by miss potts, waiting. aliciasoon appeared again, accompanied by a crowd of girls.

'hallo!' she said to darrell.'i lost you. these are all girls in our form, but i won't tell you their namesjust now. you'll only get muddled. some are north tower girls, but some belong to the other houses.

come on, let's go to north tower and see matron. where's darling gwendoline?'

'alicia,' said miss potts, her voice stern, but her eyes twinkling. 'give gwendoline a chance!'

'and sally hope? where's she?' said alicia. 'come on, sally. all right, miss potts, i'll take themalong to north tower, and nurse them a bit!'

sally, gwendoline and darrell followed alicia. they were in a big hall, that had doors leading off oneither side, and a wide staircase curving upwards.

'the assembly hall, the gyms., the lab., the art-rooms, and the needlework room are all on this side,'

said alicia. 'come on, we'll cross the court to get to our tower.'

darrell wondered what the court was. she soon found out. malory towers was built round a largeoblong space, called the court. alicia took her and the others out of a door opposite the entrance theyhad come in by, and there lay the court surrounded on all sides by the buildings.

'what a lovely place!' said darrell. 'what's that sunk piece in the middle?'

she pointed to a great circle of green grass sunk a good way below the level of the court. round thesloping sides of the circle were stone seats. it looked like an open-air circus ring, the ring sunk low,and the stone seats rising upwards around it, darrell thought.

'that's where we act plays in the summer,' said alicia. "the players perform in the ring, and theaudience sit round

on those stone seats. we have good fun.'

round the sunk circle, on the level, was a beautifully set out garden, with roses and all kinds offlowers planted there. green lawns, not yet cut by the gardeners, were set between the beds.

'it's warm and sheltered in the court,' said darrell.

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'it's too hot in the summer,' said alicia, steering them all across the court to the opposite side. 'butyou should see it in the easter term! when we come back, in january, leaving our own homes in frostand maybe snow, we find snowdrops and aconites and primroses blooming in all the beds here, in thesheltered court. it's gorgeous. well, look at the tulips coming out here already, and it's only april!'

at each end of the hollow oblong of buildings was a tower. alicia was making for north tower. itwas exactly like the other three. darrell looked at it. it was four storeys high. alicia stopped short justoutside.

'on the ground floor there's our dining-hall, our common rooms, where we go when we're not inclass, and the kitchens. on the second floor are the dormies, where we sleep—dormitories, you know.

on the third floor are more dormies. on the top floor are the bedrooms of the staff, and the box roomsfor our luggage.'

'and each house is the same, i suppose?' said darrell, and she looked up at her tower. t wish 1 sleptright at the top there, in the tower itself. what a lovely view i'd have!'

girls were going in and out of the open door at the bottom of north tower. 'buck up!' they called toalicia. 'supper's in a few minutes' time—something good by the smell of it!'

'we always get a jolly good supper the day we arrive,' said alicia. 'after that—not so good! cocoaand biscuits, something like that. come on, let's find matron.'

each of the tower houses had its own matron, responsible for the girls' health and well-being. thematron of north

tower was a plump, bustling woman, dressed in starched apron and print frock, very neat andspotless.

alicia took the new girls to her. 'three more for you to dose and scold and ran after!" said alicia,with a grin.

darrell looked at matron, frowning over the long lists in her hand. her hair was neatly tucked under apretty cap, tied in a bow under her chin. she looked so spotless that darrell began to feel very dirtyand untidy. she felt a little scared of matron, and hoped she wouldn't make her take nasty medicinetoo often.

then matron looked up and smiled, and at once darrell's fears fell away. she couldn't be afraid of aperson who smiled like that, with her eyes and her mouth and even her nose too!

'now let me see—you're darrell rivers," said matron, ticking off her name on a list. 'got your healthcertificate with you? give it to me, please. and you're sally hope.'

'no, i'm gwendoline mary lacey,' said gwendoline.

'and don't forget the mary,' said alicia, pertly. 'dear gwendoline mary.'

'that's enough, alicia,' said matron, ticking away down her list. 'you're as bad as your mother usedto be. no, worse, i think.'

alicia grinned. 'mother came to malory towers when she was a girl,' she told the others. 'she was innorth tower too, and matron had her for years. she sent you her best love, matron. she says shewishes she could send all my brothers to you too. she's sure you're the only person who can managethem.'

'if they're anything like you, i'm very glad they're not here,' said matron. 'one of the johns family at atime is quite enough for me. your mother put some grey hairs into my head, and you've certainlydone your bit in adding a few more."

she smiled again. she had a wise, kindly face, and any girl who fell ill felt safe in matron's care. butwoe betide any pretender, or any lazy girl or careless one! then matron's smile snapped off, her faceclosed up, and her eyes glinted dangerously!

a big gong boomed through north tower. 'supper,' said matron. 'unpack your things afterwards,alicia. your train was late and you must all be very tired. all first- formers are to go to bedimmediately after supper tonight.'

oh, matronv began alicia, groaning. 'can't we just have ten minutes after...'

'1 said immediately, alicia,' said matron. 'go along now. wash your hands quickly and go down.

hurry!'

and in five minutes time alicia and the others were sitting down, enjoying a good supper. they werehungry. darrell looked round at the tables. she was sure she would never know all the girls in herhouse! and she was sure she would never dare to join in their laugh and chatter either.

but she would, of course—and very soon too!