Miss Mitchell, the new peg upon which so much was now to depend at 'The
Moorings,' might not have been blamed for regarding Tuesday morning as
somewhat of an ordeal. If she was nervous, however, she managed to
conceal her feelings, and bore the introduction to her prospective pupils
with cheerful calm.

Forty-six girls, taking mental stock of her, decided instantly that she
was 'the right sort.' She was tall, in her middle twenties, had a fresh
complexion, light brown hair, a brisk decisive manner, and a pleasant
twinkle in her hazel eyes. She was evidently not in the least afraid of
her audience, a fact which at once gave her the right handle. She faced
their united stare smilingly.

"I'm very pleased to meet you all!" she began. "I hope we shall work
together splendidly and have an extremely happy term. As Miss Pollard has
just told you, there have been so many changes at 'The Moorings' that it
is practically a new school. It's a tremendous opportunity to be able to
make a fresh start like this. We can make our own traditions and our own
rules. Some of you have been at the school before and some have been at
other schools, but I want you all to forget past traditions and unite
together to make 'The Moorings' the biggest success that can possibly be.
We're all going to love it and to be very loyal to it. We hope to do well
with our work, and well with our games. I must explain to you later about
all the various societies which we mean to start, but I want to tell you
that though there is plenty of work in front of you there's also plenty
of fun, and that if every girl makes up her mind to do her very best all
round we shall get on grandly. Now I am going to read out the lists of
the various forms, and then you can march away in turn to your own
classrooms."