3 first night and morning

after supper, obeying matron's command, all the first- formers went up to their dormitory. darrellwas delighted with the room. it was long, and had windows all down the length of it, which, todarrell's joy, overlooked the sea. she stood there, hearing the faraway sound of waves on the beach,watching the slowly moving blue sea. what a lovely place this was!

'buck up, dreamy!' said alicia's voice. 'matron will be along in two ticks.'

darrell turned. she looked at the room. it had ten beds in it, each divided from the next by a whitecurtain which could be drawn or pulled back as the girls wished.

each girl had a white bed with a coloured eiderdown. the eiderdowns were different colours andmade a pretty show as darrell looked down the row of beds. in each cubicle there was a cupboard tohang things, and a chest of drawers with a mirror on top. there were wash-basins with hot and coldwater at each end of the room.

the girls were busy unpacking their small bags. darrell opened hers. she shook out her night-dress.

she took her face-flannel, her tooth-brush and paste. a clean towel hung ready for her on a rail at theside of her chest of drawers.

'it will be fun to sleep here, with all the others,' thought darrell. 'what fun we shall have talking atnight. we could have dormy games too, i should think.'

all the first-formers were in the same dormy. alicia was there, darrell, sally and gwendoline. therewere six other girls besides. they stared at the three new girls as they ran to and from the wash-basins, washing, and cleaning their teeth.

one of the girls looked at her watch. 'get into bed, everyone!' she ordered. she was a tall, dark girl,quiet in her manner. everyone but gwendoline scrambled into bed. gwendoline was still brushingout her fine golden hair. she was counting as she brushed it.

'fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-six

'hey, you new girl—what's your name—get into bed!' ordered the tall dark girl again.

'i've got to brush my hair a hundred times each night,' protested gwendoline. 'now i've forgottenwhat number i got to!'

'shut up and get into bed, gwendoline mary,' said alicia, who was next to gwendoline. 'katherine isthe head of our

dormy. you've got to do what she says.'

'but 1 promised m-m-mo . . .' began gwendoline, tears welling up. 'i promised mother to b-b-b-brush my hair a hundred times each night!'

'you can add the number of brushings you leave out tonight on to tomorrow night,' came the head-girl's cool voice. 'get into bed, please.'

'oh, just let me finish!' said gwendoline and began frantically brushing again. 'fifty-seven, fifty'shall i spank her with my brush, katherine?' said alicia, sitting up. gwendoline gave a squeal andleapt into bed. the girls laughed. they all knew that alicia had no intention of spanking gwendoline.

gwendoline lay down, angry. she determined to make herself miserable and cry. she thought of hermother, and her faraway home, and she began to sniff.

'do blow your nose, gwendoline,' said alicia, sleepily.

'stop talking,' said katherine. there was silence in the room. sally hope gave a little sigh. darrellwondered if she was asleep. the curtains between her bed and sally's were pulled back. no, sallywas not asleep. she lay with her eyes wide open. there were no tears in them, but her face lookedsad.

'perhaps she's homesick,' thought darrell, and thought of her home too. but she was too sensible tobe silly about it, and too excited to be at malory towers to miss her home. after all, she had badlywanted to come, and here she was— and she meant to be very happy and have a lot of fun.

matron arrived. she took a look down the beds. one or two of the girls were already fast asleep, tiredout. matron walked down the long room, twitched an eiderdown into place, turned off a dripping tap,and pulled the curtains across the windows, for it was still very light outside.

'good night,' she said, in a low voice. 'and no talking,please!'

'good night, matron,' murmured those girls who were not yet asleep. darrell peeped to see ifmatron's nice smile was on her face. she caught sight of darrell's peeping eyes and nodded, smiling.

'sleep well!' she said, and went out quietly.

gwendoline was the only one who tried to keep awake. what had mother said to her? 'you'll feeldreadful tonight, i know, darling, but be brave, won't you?'

so gwendoline was determined to lie awake and feel dreadful. but her eyes wouldn't keep open!

they shut and soon gwendoline was as fast asleep as the others. and at home her mother wasdabbing her eyes, and saying, 'poor little gwen! i shouldn't have sent her away from me! 1 feel she'sawake and crying her heart out!'

but gwendoline was giving little contented snores, dreaming happily of how she would queen it overthe girls here, be top of her form, and best at all games.

a loud bell awoke all the girls the next morning. at first darrell couldn't imagine where she was.

then she heard alicia's voice. 'get up, lazy-bones! you've got to make your bed before breakfast!'

darrell leapt out of bed. the sun poured into the room, for katherine had drawn the curtains back. aloud chattering began. girls hopped across the room to the washbasins. darrell dressed quickly,proud to put on her brown tunic with its brown-orange belt, just like all the other girls wore. shebrushed her hair back and put in two slides to keep it tidy. gwendoline left her hair loose over hershoulders.

'you can't have it like that,' said alicia. 'not in school, gwendoline!'

'i've always had it like this,' said gwendoline, an obstinate look coming over her pretty, silly littleface.

'well, it looks awful,' said alicia.

'it does not!' said gwendoline. 'you only say that because your hair is short and coarse.'

alicia winked at katherine, who was coming up. 'better let dear gwendoline show offher long, fine-as-silk hair, don't you think so?' she said, in a bland voice. 'miss potts might be delighted to see it likethat.'

'my governess, miss winter, always liked it like this,' said gwendoline, looking pleased.

'oh—haven't you been to a school before? have you just had a governess?' asked alicia. 'thatexplains a lot.'

'what does it explain?' asked gwendoline, haughtily.

'nevermind. you'll find out,' said alicia. 'ready, darrell? that's the breakfast gong. tuck your sheetin well. that's right. gwendoline, fold up your nighty. look at sally—there's a new girl for you!

everything done to time, nobody's got to chivvy her round!'

sally gave a little smile. she hardly said a word. she did not seem in the least shy, but she was soquiet and self- possessed that darrell could hardly believe she was a new girl. she always seemed toknow exactly what to do.

they all went down to the dinning-hall. the long tables were ready, and girls were already seatingthemselves, greeting their house-mistress politely. matron was there too, and a third grown-up, whomdarrell had not seen before.

'that's mam'zelle dupont,' whispered alicia. 'we've got two french mistresses at malory towers.

one's fat and jolly and the other's thin and sour. we've got the fat and jolly one this term. they'veboth got simply awful tempers, so i hope you're pretty good at french.'

'well, no, i'm not really,' said darrell, wishing she was.

'mam'zelle dupont hates mam'zelle rougier and mam'zelle rougier hates mam'zelle dupont," wenton alicia. 'you should see the fur fly sometimes. matron has to be sent for to calm them down whenthey get too bad!'

darrell's eyes opened wide. katherine, across the table, laughed. 'don't believe all that alicia says,'

she said. 'her tongue runs away with her sometimes. nobody has ever seen our two mam'zelles fly ateach other's throats yet.'

'ah, but they will one day—and i hope i'll be there to see it,' said alicia.

mam'zelle dupont was short, fat and round. she wore her hair in a little bun on top. her eyes, blackand beady, were never still. she wore a black frock that fitted her perfectly, and well-fitting blackshoes on her tiny feet.

she was short-sighted but she would not wear glasses. she had instead a pair of long-handled glasses,called lorgnettes, which she wore dangling on a long black ribbon. these she used when she wantedto see anything at close quarters, holding them to her eyes with her hand.

alicia, who was a good mimic, could keep her class in fits of laughter, blinking like poor mam'zelle,and holding imaginary glasses up to her nose. but she was just as much in awe of mam'zelle dupontas anyone else, and did not rouse her hot temper if she could help it.

'new girls must go to see the head mistress after breakfast,' announced miss potts. 'there are threein the first form, two in the second form, and one in the fourth. you can all go together. join us in theassembly room for prayers later. pamela, will you take the new girls to the head, please?'

pamela, head-girl of north tower house, rose. the new girls stood up, darrell among them. theyfollowed pamela. she took them out of the door that let into the court, and then in through anotherdoor set in the building that ran between east and north tower. the head mistress's rooms werethere, and so was the san. or sanatorium, where any sick girl went.

they came to a door painted a deep cream colour. pamelaknocked. a low voice said 'come in!'

pamela opened the door. 'i've brought the new girls to you, miss grayling,' she said.

'thank you, pamela,' said the low voice again, and darrell saw a grey-haired woman sitting at a desk,writing. she had a calm, unwrinkled face, eyes that were startlingly blue, and a very firm mouth.

darrell felt frightened of this calm, low- voiced head mistress, and hoped she would never have tobe sent to her for misbehaviour!

the new girls stood in a row before the head, and miss grayling looked at them all closely. darrellfelt herself going red, she couldn't imagine why. her knees felt a bit wobbly too. she hoped missgrayling wouldn't ask her any questions, for she was sure she wouldn't be able to say a word!

miss grayling asked them their names, and spoke a few words to each girl. then she addresed themall solemnly.

'one day you will leave school and go out into the world as young women. you should take with youeager minds, kind hearts, and a will to help. you should take with you a good understanding of manythings, and a willingness to accept responsibility and show yourselves as women to be loved andtrusted. all these things you will be able to learn at malory towers—if you will. i do not count as oursuccesses those who have won scholarships and passed exams., though these are good things to do. icount as our successes those who learn to be good-hearted and kind, sensible and trustable, good,sound women the world can lean on. our failures are those who do not learn these things in the yearsthey are here.'

these words were spoken so gravely and solemnly that darrell hardly breathed. she immediatelylonged to be one of malory towers' successes.

'it is easy for some of you to learn these things, and hard for others. but easy or hard, they must belearnt if you are to be happy, after you leave here, and if you are to bring happiness to others.'

there was a pause. then miss grayling spoke again, in a lighter tone. 'you will all get a tremendouslot out of your time at malory towers. see that you give a lot back!'

'oh!' said darrell, surprised and pleased, quite forgetting that she had thought she wouldn't be able tospeak a word, "that's exactly what my father said to me when he said goodbye, miss grayling!'

'did he?' said miss grayling, looking with smiling eyes at the eager little girl. 'well, as you haveparents who think in that way, i imagine you will be one of the lucky ones, and will find that thethings i have been speaking of will be easy to learn. perhaps one day malory towers will be proud ofyou.'

a few more words and the girls were told to go. very much impressed they walked out of the room.

not even gwendoline said a word. whatever they might do, in the years to come at malory towers,each girl wanted, at that moment, to do her best. whether or not that wish would last, depended onthe girl.

then they went to the assembly hall for prayers, found their places, and waited for miss grayling tocome to the platform.

soon the words of a hymn sounded in the big hall. the first day of term had begun. darrell sang withall her might, happy and excited. what a lot she would have to tell her mother when she wrote!