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Wilhelmina, Bill for short, had seven brothers, all of whom were mad on horses. Some of them accompanied her to school each term, which always caused a great sensation! The girls ran to the window to see.

'Yes - it's Bill - but there are only three brothers with tier,' said Sally. T suppose that means another one's gone into the army, or into a job. Look, there's Clarissa too. She must have come with Bill on Merrylegs, her little horse.'

'And there's Gwen!' said Alicia, with malice in her voice. 'How many many fond farewells have we seen

between Gwen and her mother? Let's least our eyes on this one - it will be the last!'

Bui Gwen was on her guard now. Too olten had the girls imitated her weeping farewells. She stepped out ol the ear, looking rather solemn, but very dignilied. She kissed her mother and Miss Winter, her old governess, and wouldn't let them be silly over her. But she didn't kiss her lather good-bye.

He called after her. 'Good-bye, Gwen.'

'Good-bye,' said Gwen, in such a hard voice thai the girls looked at one another in surprise.

'There's been a row!' said Sally. T expect her father's ticked her oft again tor some silly nonsense. It's a jolly good thing for Gwendoline Mary that there's one sensible person in her family!'

Gwen's mother was now dabbing her eyes with her handkcrchiel. The car swung round, went down the drive and disappeared. Gwen came into the room behind the others.

'Hallo!' she said. 'Had good hols?'

'Hallo, Gwen,' said Darrell. 'Did you?'

'Fair,' said Gwen. 'My father was an awful nuisance, though.'

The others said nothing. Gwen never could under¬stand that it just wasn't decent to run down your parents in public.

'Mother had fixed up lor me to go to Switzerland to a simply marvellous finishing school," said Gwen. 'Fright¬fully expensive. All the best people send their girls there. Lady Jane Tregennton's girl's going there, and . . .'

The same old Gwen! thought Darrell and Sally, feeling sick. Conceited, snobbish, silly. They turned away, teeling that nothing in the world would ever teach Gwen to be an ordinary decent, kindly girl.

Gwen didn't in the least mind talking to people's backs. She went on and on. 'And then, when it was all fixed. Dad said it was loo expensive, ami lie said it was all nonsense, and ] ought to get a job - a job] He said . . .'

'I don't think you ought to tell us all this,' said Darrell, suddenly. 'I'm sure your lather would hale it.'

'I don't care if he would or not,' said Gwen. 'He's tried to spoil everything. But I told him what I thought ot him. I got my own way. I'm going!'

Sally looked at Darrell and Alicia. This was Gwen's last term. She had spent six years at Malory Towers, and had had many sharp lessons. Yet it seemed as il she had learned nothing ol value at all!

She probably never will now, thought Darrell. It's too late. She walked out of the room with Sally and Alicia, all of them disgusted. Gwen scowled after them resentfully. People so olten walked out on her, and she never eon Id stop t hem

Just as I was going to tell them some of the things I said to Dad, thought Gwen. I'm glad I hardly said good¬bye to him. I'm his only daughter, and he treats me like that! Well, now he knows what I think of him.

She was so full ol herself and her victory that she quite forgot to be mournful and homesick, as she usually pretended to be. She wandered oil and lound little Mary- I.ou - a much bigger Mary-Lou now, but still shy and ready to think that most people were much better and more interesting than she was.

Mary-Lou always listened to everyone, Gwen began lo tell her again all she had told the others. Mary-Lou stared at her in disgust. 'I don't believe you said anything .:ko that to your lather!' she said. 'You can't be as beastly as all that'.'

.And little Mary-Lou actually walked oft with her nose in the air! Gwen suddenly began to realize that she wasn't going to be at all popular in her lasi term if she

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When supper-lime came, ihe girls could see who was back and who wasn't. They could see the new girls in their Tower and ihey could see any new mistresses. Each Tower had its own common-rooms and dining-rooms. Norih Tower, where Darrell and her Iriends were, overlooked the sea, and was supposed to be the best Tower of all - though naturally the girls in the other Towers thought the same ol theirs!

Darrell was sure there would be no new girls at all in the sixth. It was rare for a new girl to come so late to Malory Towers. She was very much surprised to see two new faces at the sixth-form table!

One girl was tall and sturdy and rather masculine looking, with her short cropped hair, and big legs and feet. The other was small, beautifully made, and had small hands and feet. As soon as she spoke, Darrell realized that she was French..

Mam'zelle Dupont introduced the girl, with one of her beaming smiles.

'Girls! This is Suzanne! She is niece to Mam'zelle Rougier who is in South Tower, but there is no room there for her, so she has come to me here. She will be in the sixth form - and she must learn the language well. Eh, Suzanne?'

'Certainement, Mam'zelle Dupont,' answered Suzanne, in a demure voice. She flashed a quick look round at the sixth-formers with bright black eyes, then lowered them again. Darrell felt a sudden liking for her.

'Ah non - you must not say one word of French, you bad girl!' scolded Mam'zelle. 'You must say "Certane- lee", not "certainement"!'

'Zer-tane-leee,' drawled Suzanne, and the girls laughed. Darrell nudged Sally.

'She's going to have some fun with Mam'zelle,' she said, in a low voice. 'And we're going to have some fun with Suzanne''

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Mam'zelle then turned to the other new girl. 'And this is - how do you call yourself?' she asked the sturdy newcomer. 'Amanda Shoutalot?'

The girls laughed. The new girl gave Mam'zelle a rather contemptuous look. 'No - Amanda Chartelow/ she said, in a loud voice.

'Ah - that is what I said,' protested Mam'zelle. Amanda Shoutalot. Poor Amanda - her school has been burned down by fire! Helm - it exists no longer!'

Nobody quite knew what to say. Amanda took some more bread, and ignored Mam'zelle. Gwen entered headlong into the gap in the conversation.

'Oh dear - what a dreadful thing! Did anyone get hurt?'

'No,' said Amanda, helping herself to more salad. 'It happened in the holidays. You probably read about it in ;he papers. It was Trenigan Towers.'

'Gosh, yes - I did read about it/ said Sally, remem¬bering. 'Trenigan Towers! That's about the most famous school for sport in the country, isn't it? I mean - you win every single match you play, and you win all the tennis shields and lacrosse cups?'

'That's right/ said Amanda. 'Well, it's gone. There wasn't time to find another building in a hurry, so we all had to scatter and find other schools. I don't know- how long I'll be here - maybe a term, maybe longer. You haven't much of a name for sport, have you, at Maiorv lowers?'

This was rather too much irom a new girl, even if she

had come into the sixth form, and had arrived from a famous sports school. Darrell stared at her coldly.

'We're not loo had,' she said.

'Perhaps you'd like to give us a little coaching,' said Alicia in the smooth voice that most of the girls recognized as dangerous.

'I might,' said Amanda, and said no more. The girls glanced at one another. Then they looked at Amanda and saw how strong she must he. She was a great hefty girl about five foot ten inches tall. How much did she weigh?

Must be thirteen stone, I should think! thought Darrell, comparing Amanda with the slim, elegant French girl. Goodness - have we got to put up with her all the term? 1 shall find it hard to squash her]

Sally was thinking the same. She was games captain lor the whole school, a most important position. What Sally said had to be taken notice of, from the sixth form down to the first. Sally was a first-rate tennis player, a first-rate lacrosse player, and one of the finest swimmers Malory Towers had ever had. Nobody but Darrell could beat her at tennis, and that very seldom.

She took another look at the stolid, rather scornful- looking Amanda. It was going to be very verv difficult to give orders to her - especially as Amanda might easily prove to be a better tennis player and swimmer than even Sally herself. Sally was not as hefty as Amanda, though she was strong and supple.

'You were lucky to be able to find a place at Malory Towers,' gushed Gwen.

'Was I?' said Amanda, coldly, staring at Gwen as if she didn't like her at all. Gwen blinked. What a horrible girl! She hoped Alicia would be able to deal with her. Alicia could deal with anybody - her sharp tongue was quicker and more cutting than anyone else's in the school.

'I suppose you'll be going in lor the Olympic Games.'

said Alicia, meaning to be sarcastic. 'They're held next \ ear in . . .'

'Oh yes. 1 should think I shall go in lor about five different events,' said Amanda, calmly. 'My coach at Trenigan said 1 ought to win at least two.'

The girls gasped. Alicia looked taken aback. It had never entered her head that her scornful remark could be true. She looked so discomfited that Irene grinned.

'We ought to feel very honoured to have you here, Amanda!' she drawled.

'Thanks,' said Amanda, without looking at her.

'Amanda is such a beeg, beeg girl,' began Mam'zelle, mistaking Amanda's ungraciousness for shyness. 'She will be so marvellous at tennis. Sally, perhaps she will be m the Second Team, n'est-ce pas?'

Nobody replied to this. Sally merely grunted. Maiu'/elle pushed on, under the impression that she was putting 'this great beeg Amanda' at her ease.

'How tall are you, Amanda?' she asked, feeling that the girl must be at least seven feet tall; she had made plump little Mam'zelle feel so short when she had walked in beside her! 'And how many - er - how do you say it - how many pebbles do you weigh?'

There was a squeal of laughter from the table. Even Amanda deigned to smile. Mam'zelle gazed round indignantly.

'What have 1 said?' she demanded. 'Is it not right - pebbles?'

'No - stones, Mam'zelle,' chorused the girls, in delight. Our weight is measured by stones, not pebbles.'

'Stones - pebbles - they are the same,' said Mam'/elle. Never, never shall I learn this English language.'

The bell rang for the meal to end. All the giris got up, laughing. Dear old Mam'zelle - her mistakes would fill a

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Darrell and her friends went up to her

gossip. There were 1 he usual crowd - Sally, Alicia, Belinda, Irene, Mary-Lou, Bill and Clarissa. Mavis was not there.

'It seems strange without Mavis,' said Sally. 'She's gone to train as a singer now. Perhaps we shall all crowd into her concerts one day!'

T miss quiet old Janet too,' said Darrell. 'She is training as a dress designer. She ought to be jolly good at it! Do you remember the marvellous dresses she made lor us when we gave that pantomime in the tilth lorm?'

'Catherine has left too,' said Alicia. 'Thank goodness! I never knew such a door-mat in my lile. No wonder we called her Saint Catherine!'

'She wasn't so bad.' said Mary-Lou, loyally. 'It was only that she did like doing things lor people so much.'

'She did them in the wrong way, that's all,' said Bill.

She always made herseif such a manyi. What's she going to do?'

'She's going to stay at home and help Mama,' said Alicia, rather maliciously. 'It'll suit her down to the ground. Mama thinks herself a bit of an invalid, I gather

- so Catherine will really enjoy herself, being a saintly little daughter.'

'Don't be unkind, Alicia,' said Mary-Lou. 'Catherine was kind underneath her door-mat ways.'

T take your word for it,' said Alicia, smiling at Mary- Lou. 'Don't get all hot and bothered. This is only a good old gossip! What are von going to do when you leave next year, Mary-Lou?'

'I'm leaving sooner than that,' said Mary-Lou. 'I've made up my mind what I'm going to be, and I'm going off to train in September. I'm going to be a hospital nurse

- a children's nurse. I never wanted to be anything else, reallv. I'm going to train at Great Ormond Street Hospital, it's all settled.'

The others looked at quiet, loval, idealistic Mary-Lou.

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Immediately each one oi them saw that she had chosen the right career lor herself. Nursing was a vocation - something you lclt you had to do, tor the sake ol other people. It was absolutely right for Mary-Lou.

'I can't imagine anything you'd love better, Mary- Lou!' said Darrell, warmly, it's exactly right for you, and v// '/y exactly right for it! Lucky children who have you to nurse them!'

Mary-Lou looked pleased and embarrassed. She looked round at the others. 'What are we all going to do?' she said. 'Belinda's easy, ol course.'

'Yes. I've yet to be an artist,' said Belinda. 'I always knew that. It's easy, of course, when you've got a gift. You can't do anything else but use it.'

'And Irene will study music,' said Sally. 'That's easy too. Bill - what about you - and Clarissa? You are both \o mad on horses that I can't imagine vou taking a job unless it's on horseback.'

Clarissa looked at Bill. She grinned. 'You've hit the nail on the head,' she said. 'Our job will be on horseback. Won't it, Bill?'

Bill nodded. 'Yes. Clarissa and I are going to run a riding school together.'

'You're not!' exclaimed the others, amazed and interested.

'Yes, we are. We decided it last hols,' explained C larissa. 'I was staying with Bill, and we heard there were some stables for sale. We thought we'd like to get iliem, take our own horses, buy a lew more, and begin a riiiing school. Actually it's not very tar Irom here. We did wonder if we could get Miss Grayling to let us have some Malory Towers girls tor pupils.'

'IW'//!' said Alicia, in deep admiration. 'It you two aten't dark horses!'

There was a yell of laughter at this typical Alicia joke. Lull grinned. She never said verv much hut she was a

most determined young person. Nobody had any doubt at all but that the Bill-Clarissa riding school would be very successful indeed.