Malory.
Upper Fourth at Malory Towers.
Blyton, Enid.
Darrell goes back to School with Felicity.
Darrell Rivers was very excited. It was the day to return to Malory Towers, her boarding-school-and this time she was taking her young sister Felicity with her.
Felicity stood on the front steps beside her fifteen-year-old sister, dressed in the same brown and orange uniform, feeling excited, too. She was almost thirteen, and should have gone to Malory Towers two terms before, but she had been ill and had to stay at home.
Now it was the summer term, and she was to go with Darrell at last She had heard so much about her sister"s school-the fun they had there, the cla.s.srooms overlooking the sea, the four towers in which the two hundred and fifty girls slept, the great swimming-pool hollowed out of the rocks on the sh.o.r.e ... there was no end to the things that Darrell had told her.
"It"s a good thing we"re going by train this time, not by car," said Darrell. "You"ll travel down with the girls then, and get to know some of them. Sally"s going by train, too."
Sally was Darrell"s best friend, and had been ever since her first term at Malory Towers almost four years ago.
"I hope I get a friend Eke Sally," said Felicity, nervously. "I"m shyer than you, Darrell. I"m sure I shall never pluck up enough courage to speak to anyone! And if Miss Potts gets cross with me I shall sink through the floor!"
Miss Potts was the first-form mistress, and also the house mistress for North Tower, the tower to which Darrell belonged, and to which her young sister would go, too.
"Oh, you needn"t be afraid of Potty," said Darrell, with a laugh, quite forgetting how scared she had been of her when she was in the first form. "Dear old Potty-she"s a good sort."
Their father"s car drew up at the front door, and the two girls ran down the steps. Mr. Rivers looked at them and smiled.
"Both off this time!" he said. "Well, I remember quite well Darrell going off alone for the first time almost four years ago. She was twelve then-now you"re fifteen, aren"t you, Darrell!"
"Yes," said Darrell, getting into the car with Felicity. "And I remember you saying to me, "You"ll get a lot out of Malory Towers-see that you put a lot back!""
"Daddy"s said that to me, too," said Felicity. "I"m jolly lucky to have an older sister to show me round-though honestly I feel as if I know every corner of Malory Towers already."
"Now, where"s Mother?" said her father, and he hooted the horn. "Really, this is a dreadful family to collect. If your mother appears in good time, one of you girls is missing, and if you girls are here, your mother is not! We shall miss the train if we don"t look out!"
Usually they went all the way down to Cornwall to Malory Towers by car, but this time it was impossible, so Mr. Rivers was driving them up to London and seeing them off in the school-train. Felicity had sometimes been to see her sister off by train, and had felt scared of all the girls chattering and laughing on the platform-now this time she was actually going to be one of them! She hugged her tennis-racket to her and thought joyfully of the coming term.
Mrs. Rivers came running down the steps, looking very pretty in a simple grey suit with a little blue blouse. Darrell and Felicity looked at her proudly. Parents mattered a lot when you were at boarding-school! Everyone wanted to be proud of the way their fathers and mothers looked and spoke and behaved. It was dreadful if a mother came in a silly hat, or if a father came looking very untidy.
"My dear, we were just going without you," said Mr. Rivers. "Now-have we really got everything? Last time we got five miles on the way and then you said you"d forgotten Darrell"s night-case."
"Yes, we"ve got everything, Daddy," said Darrell. "I"ve checked every single thing-night-cases, with brush-and-comb, tooth-brush and paste, night-things, health certificate, everything! Tennis-rackets to carry, and bowler hats for riding! We can"t pack those, they"re too awkward."
Felicity glanced round to see if her new bowler hat was there, too. She felt very proud of it She had only had a jockey-cap before.
They set off in the car to drive to London. Felicity"s heart sank a little as her home disappeared from view. Three whole months before she would see it again! Then she cheered up as Darrell began chatting about the girls.
"I hope Bill will arrive with all her seven brothers on horseback," she said. "It"s such a sight to see them all galloping up the school drive. Bill was supposed to come in her parents" car the first term she came, but she slipped off, got her horse, Thunder, and came with all her brothers on their horses, too!"
"Bill"s real name is Wilhelmina, isn"t it?" said Felicity, remembering. "Do even the mistresses call her Bill?"
"Some of them," said Darrell. "Not the Head, of course. And Miss Williams, our fourth-form mistress doesn"t either. She"s a bit starchy-very prim and proper, but I like her now. I didn"t at first."
It didn"t seem long before they were all on the station platform, finding their way between hosts of excited girls to a North Tower carriage. Felicity felt shy and nervous. Oh, dear-so many girls, and they all knew one another, and she didn"t know anyone. Oh, yes, she did-there was Sally, Darrell"s friend, coming towards her, smiling.
"Hallo, Darrell, hallo, Felicity-so you"re really coming to Malory Towers at last. Jolly good! Wish I was coming for the first time too, so that I would have years and years of it in front of me, like you. You don"t know how lucky you are!"
"I remember someone saying that to me on my first day," said Darrell. "I was twelve then-now I"m going on for sixteen. Gosh, how old!"
"Yes-and don"t forget we"ll feel jolly old before this term"s out!" said a familiar voice behind Darrell. "We"ve all got to work for School Certificate! My hair will be quite grey by the end of term!"
"Hallo, Alicia!" said Darrell, warmly. "Did you have good hols? Look, this is my young sister, Felicity. She"s a new girl this term."
"Is she really?" said Alicia, "Well, I must find my cousin then. She"s a new girl this term, too. Now where is she? I"ve lost her twice already!"
She disappeared, and Sally and Darrell laughed. They were sure that Alicia wouldn"t bother much about any new-girl cousin! However, she appeared again almost at once bringing with her a twelve-year-old girl, very like her.
"This is June," she said. "You might as well make friends with Felicity, June, because you"ll see plenty of her this term and for a good many years to come! Though whether Felicity will want to see much of you after she knows you well is very doubtful.
Darrell looked at Alicia to see whether she meant this or not. You never knew with sharp-tongued Alicia! June looked all right, and had a very determined chin and mouth. A bit domineering, Darrell thought-but being in the bottom form of the school didn"t give you much chance for that kind of thing. The older girls just sat on you hard if you didn"t keep your place.
"Look!" said Alicia, nudging Darrell and Sally. "There"s Gwendoline Mary-come by train instead of car-and staging the same old scene as ever!"
Felicity and June turned to see. They saw a fair-haired girl with large, pale blue eyes, saying good-bye to her mother and her old governess. It was a very sentimental farewell, and a lot of sniffing was going on.
"Gwendoline always does that," said Alicia in disgust. "At her age, too! You can forgive a first-former going away from home for the first time-but a fifteen-year-old, no!"
"Well, it doesn"t last long," said Sally. "Gwendoline won"t even bother to remember to wave to her mother, I"m sure, once she gets into the carriage."
Sally"s mother was talking to Darrell"s parents. There were no tears or protestations there! Darrell was thankful that her mother and father were so sensible. She looked at Felicity, and was pleased to see her young sister looking interested and happy.
More girls came up and surrounded Darrell and the others. "Hallo! Had good hols? I say, is this your young sister? Has she got a temper like yours, Darrell?"
This was from Irene, harum-scarum as usual, her night-case coming undone, and her coat lacking a b.u.t.ton already. "Well-Felicity has got a temper," said Darrell, with a laugh. "All our family have. I don"t expect Felicity will show hers much though. She"ll be too shy her first term." "I don"t know about that!" said Sally, slyly. "I seem to remember you going off the deep end properly in your first term, Darrell! Who sent me flying to the ground that first-half-term-and who gave dear Gwendoline some very hearty slaps in the swimming-pool?"
"Oh, dear-yes, I was dreadful," said Darrell, and she blushed. "Really awfuL I"m sure Felicity will never do anything like that."
"My cousin"s got a bit of a temper, too," said Alicia, with a grin. "She"s only got brothers, and you should hear them shout and yell at one another when they disagree."
"Here"s Miss Potts," said Sally, as the first-form mistress came up with a list in her hand. "Hallo, Miss Potts, have you collected everyone?"
"Yes, I think so," said Miss Potts, "except Irene. Oh there you are, Irene. I suppose it didn"t occur to you to come and report your arrival to me? Thank goodness Belinda is going by car. That"s one less scatterbrain to see to. Now, you"d better get into your carriages. There are only four more minutes to go."
There was a scramble into the carriages. Sally and Darrell pulled Felicity into theirs ."The new girls are supposed to go with Potty in her carriage," said Darrell, "but we"ll let you come in ours. Good-bye, Mother, good-bye, Daddy! We"ll write on Sunday and tell you all the news."
"Good-bye!" said Felicity, in rather a small voice.
"Thanks for lovely hols."
"Thank goodness we haven"t got Gwendoline in our carriage," said Alicia. "We are at least spared the history of all her uninteresting family, and what happened to them last hols. Even her dogs are uninteresting!"
Everyone laughed. The guard blew his whistle. Doors slammed, and the train moved off slowly. Parents and girls waved madly. Darrell sank back into her seat.
"Off to Malory Towers again!" she said, joyfully. "Good old Malory Towers!"
Everybody"s Back Again!
The journey was a very long one, but the train arrived at the staion for Malory Towers at last. Out poured the girls, complete with night-cases and rackets, and rushed to find good seats in the school coaches that took the train-girls on the last part of their journey.
Felicity was tired and excited. Darrell didn"t seem in the least tired, but she was certainly excited. "Now we shall see the school, and all the rest of the girls," she said to Felicity, happily. "Watch for the first glimpse of it when I tell you."
And so Felicity had the same first glimpse that Darrell had had four years back. She saw a large castle-like building of grey stone rising high on a hill. Beyond was the deep blue Cornish sea, but that was now hidden by the cliff on which Malory Towers stood. Four towers stood at the corners of the building, and Felicity"s eyes brightened as she thought of sleeping in one of the towers. She would be in North Tower with Darrell-and it had the best view of the sea! She was very lucky.
"It"s lovely," said Felicity to Darrell, and Darrell was pleased. It was going to be nice to have her sister at school with her. She felt sure that Felicity would be a great success.
Girls who had already arrived by car stood about the drive ready to welcome the train-girls. There were shrieks and squeals of delight as the coaches drove up to the magnificent front entrance, and swarms of girls ran to help down their friends.
"Hallo, Belinda!" shouted Irene, climbing down and leaving behind her night-case. "Done any decent sketching?"
"Darrell!" called a shy-looking fifteen-year-old. "Sally! Alicia!"
"Hallo, Mary-Lou! Anyone put a spider down your neck these hols?" cried Alicia. "Seen Betty?"
Betty was Alicia"s friend., as witty as she was, and as mischievous. She came up and banged Alicia on the back.
"Here I am! You"re jolly late-the train must have been even later than usual."
"There"s Mavis," cried Sally. "And Daphne-and I say, hallo there, Jean. Seen Bill anywhere?"
"Yes. She came on Thunder as usual and she"s in the stable with him," said Jean, the quiet, shrewd Scots girl, who was now no longer in the same form as Darrell, but was going up. "She came with the groom, because all her brothers went back to school before we did this term. A very tame arrival!"
Felicity stood unheeded in the general rush and excitement. She hoped that Darrell would entirely forget her. Alicia had completely forgotten about her cousin June. That youngster now came up to Felicity and grinned. "Our elders are making a fine noise, aren"t they?" she said. "We"re small fry to them. Let"s slip off by ourselves, shall we, and make them look for us when they deign to remember we"re here?"
"Oh, no," said Felicity, but June pulled her arm and dragged her away. "Yes, come on. I know we"re supposed to go to Matron and give in our health certificate and our term"s pocket-money. We"ll go and find her on our own."
"But Darrell won"t like ..." began Felicity, as she was led firmly away by June.
So it was that when Darrell looked round for her young sister, she was nowhere to be seen!
"Where"s Felicity?" she said. "Blow! What"s happened to her? I know how awful you feel when you"re new, and I wanted to take her under my wing for a bit. Where in the world has she gone?"
"Don"t worry," said Alicia, unfeelingly. "I"m not bothering about young June. She can look after herself all right, if I know anything about that young lady. She"s got all the cheek in the world!"
"Well, but Felicity hasn"t," said Darrell. "Dash it, where has she gone? She was here a minute ago."
"Anyone seen my night-case?" came Irene"s voice in a mournful wail.
n.o.body had. "You must have left it in your coach seat," suggested Darrell, .knowing Irene"s scatter-brain ways. Irene darted off after the coaches, which were now making their way slowly down the drive. "Hie, hie!" she yelled. "Wait a bit!"
"What is Irene doing?" said Miss Potts, crossly. "Irene, come back and stop shouting."
But Irene had stopped a coach and was climbing up into the one she had ridden in to the school. Miss Potts gaped. Did Irene think she was going home again? She did such mad things that anything was likely with Irene.
But Irene found her night-case, waved it wildly in the air to show the others she had found it, and climbed down again to the drive. She ran back grinning.
"Got it!" she said, and stood it firmly down on the ground-too firmly, because it at once burst open and everything fell out.
"Oh, Irene-why does every case you possess always do that?" said Darrell, helping her to pick everything up.
"I can"t imagine," said Irene, stuffing everything in higgledy-piggledy. "I have a bad effect on them, I suppose. Come on, let"s go and find Matron."
"I haven"t found Felicity yet," said Darrell, beginning to lode worried. "She can"t have gone off with anyone because she doesn"t know anyone."
"Well, anyhow, let"s go to Matron and hand in our health certificates and money, and ask if she"s seen Felicity," said Sally. "The drive"s pretty well empty now-she"s obviously not here."
So they trailed off to Matron, who had been dealing most efficiently with dozens of girls, health certificates and pocket-money for an hour or more. Darrell was pleased to see her-kindly, bustling, starched and competent.
"Hallo, Darrell! Well, Alicia, turned up again like a bad penny, I see!"
"Mother says you always used to say that to her when she came back each term," said Alicia, with a grin.
"Yes. She was a bad lot," said Matron, smiling. "Not nearly as bad as you, though, Alicia. We"ll have to have a talk about "How to Darn" this term, by the way. Don"t forget Aha, Irene, there you are at last. Got your health certificate?"
It was a standing joke that Irene"s health certificate always got lost if Irene was given it to bring to Matron. But the last few terms Irene"s mother had sent the certificate by post, so it had always arrived safely on the morning of the day that school began.
Irene looked alarmed. Then she smiled. "You"re pulling my leg, Matron," she said. "It"s come by post as usual."
"But it hasn"t," said Matron. "That"s the whole point Plenty of post for me this morning-but no health certificate. It"s probably in your night-case, Irene. Go and unpack it and look."
Darrell was looking round for Felicity, but still she couldn"t see her. She really felt very worried and rather cross. Why hadn"t Felicity done as she was told, and kept close by her, so that she couldn"t lose her in the crowd of girls?
"Matron," she said, "you haven"t by any chance seen my little sister, have you?"
"Yes," said Matron. "She was here a few minutes ago, and handed in her health certificate. She said you had her money. Nice to have her here, Darrell."
Darrell was astonished. Felicity had actually gone to Matron and given in her own certificate without waiting to be taken! It didn"t seem like Felicity at all-she was so shy.
"Where"s she gone now?" she wondered out loud.
"She"s gone to have a look at her dormy," said Matron, and turned to deal with Belinda, who seemed to have lost all her money and was turning out her pockets in despair. "Belinda! I vow and declare that I"ll ask Miss Grayling to put you and Irene into another Tower next term. If I have to deal with you two much more I shall go raving mad. Sally, go and see if Irene has found her health certificate yet."
Sally went off to find Irene in the dormy, and Darrell went off to find Felicity. Sally found Irene sitting mournfully on her bed, the contents of her night-case strewn on the eiderdown-but there was no health certificate there.