The time soon came when the twins had to leave for the winter term at St. Clare's. Their mother had had a list of things they were to take with them, and the twins examined it carefully. "It's not nearly such a long list as we had for Red-roofs," said Pat. "And golly - how few dresses we are allowed! Mary and Frances said that they were allowed to take as many frocks as they liked to Ringmer -- and they had both got long evening dresses like their mother! Won't they show off to us when they see us again!" "And look - lacrosse sticks instead of hockey sticks!" said Isabel in disgust.

They taxied to Paddington Station and looked for the St. Clare train. There it was, drawn up at the platform, labeled St. Clare. On the platform were scores of girls, talking excitedly to one another, saying goodbye to their parents, hailing mistresses, and buying bars of chocolate from the tea wagons.

" This was a nice welcome and the twins liked the look of Miss Roberts. She was young and good-looking, tall and smiling - but she had a firm mouth and both Pat and Isabel felt sure that she wouldn't stand much nonsense from her form! "Your carriage is over here, with the rest of your form," said Miss Roberts. "Say goodbye now, and get in. The train will be going in two minutes." She went to talk to someone else and the twins hugged their mother. "Goodbye," said Mrs. O'Sullivan.

"There's the school, look! Up on that hill there!" The twins looked. They saw a pleasant white building, built of large white stones, with two towers, one at each end. It looked down into the valley, over big playing-fields and gardens. "Not nearly so nice as Redroofs," said Pat to Isabel. "Do you remember how sweet our old school used to look in the evening sun?" Its red roof was glowing, and it looked warm and welcoming -- not cold and white like St. Clare's.For a few minutes, both girls were homesick for their old school and their old friends. They knew nobody at St. Clare's at all. They couldn't call out "Halo, there!" to everyone as they had done each term before. They didn't like the look of any of the girls, who seemed much more noisy and boisterous than the ones at Redroofs. It was all horrid. 

"Anyway, we are lucky to have got each other," said Isabel to Pat. "I would have hated to come here all alone. Nobody seems to talk to us at all." It was the twins' fault if they had but known it. They both looked "stuck-up" as one girl whispered to another. Nobody felt much inclined to talk to them or make friends. Them was the same rush of unpacking and settling in as there is at all boarding schools. The big dormitories Were full of girls putting away their things, hanging up their dresses, and putting photographs out on their little dressing tables.

There were a good many dormitories at St. Clare's. Pat and Isabel were in number 7, where there were eight white beds, all exactly alike. Each was in its own cubicle surrounded by curtains that could be drawn open or closed, just as the girls pleased. Pat's bed was next to Isabel's, much to their joy. When the girls had unpacked a tall girl came into the dormitory calling out, "Any new girls here?" Pat and Isabel nodded their heads. "We are new," said Pat. "Hallo, twins!" said the tall girl, smiling, as she looked at the two sisters so exactly alike, "Are you, Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan? Matron wants to see you.

" Pat and Isabel went with the girl to where the school matron sat in her comfortable room, surrounded by cupboards, chests, and shelves. She was a fat, jolly-looking person, but her eyes were very sharp indeed. "You can't deceive Matron over anything," whispered their guide. "Keep in her good books if you can." Matron checked over sheets, towels, and clothes with them. "You will be responsible for mending all your own belongings," she said. "Good gracious!" said Pat. "There were sewing maids at our other school to do that." "Shocking!" said Matron, briskly.

 "Well, there are no sewing maids here. 

So be careful of your things, and remember that they cost your parents money." 

"Our parents don't need to worry about torn clothes," began Pat. "Why, once at 

Redroofs I got caught in some barbed wire, and everything I had on was torn to 

bits.

They were so torn that the sewing maid said she couldn't mend a thing, 

and..." "Well, I would have made you mend every hole, every rent, every tear," 

said Matron, her eyes beginning to sparkle. "There's one thing I can't bear: carelessness and waste. Now, mind you. ..What is it, Millicent?" Another 

girl had come into the room with a pile of towels, and the twins were very glad 

that Matron's attention was no longer given to them. They slipped out of the 

room quietly. 

"I don't like Matron," said Pat. "And I have a jolly good mind to tear something 

so badly that it can't be mended, and that would give her something to think 

about!" "Let's go and see what the school is like," said Isabel, slipping her 

arm into Pat's. "It seems much barer and colder somehow than dear old Redroofs." 

The twins began to explore. The classrooms seemed much the same as any 

classroom, and the view from the windows was magnificent.

 The twins peeped into 

the studies. At their old school, they had shared a fine study between them, but 

here there were no studies except for the top-form girls and the fifth-form. The 

younger girls shared a big common room, where there was a wireless, a gramophone, and a big library of books. Shelves ran round the common room and each girl 

shared part of a shelf, putting her belongings there, and keeping them tidy

There were small music rooms for practicing, a fine art room, an enormous gym, 

which was also used for assembly and concerts, and a good laboratory. The 

mistresses had two common rooms and their bedrooms, and the Read lived in a 

small wing by herself, having her bedroom in one of the towers, and a 

beautiful drawing room below.