y dear?" he asked.

"Well," Kit replied, honestly, "partly from Billie and partly from this
letter from Cousin Roxy. You know Cousin Roxy, don't you, Uncle Cassius?"

The Dean's eyes twinkled reminiscently as he took the letter.

"Oh, yes, I remember Roxana well. She used to bully me outrageously." He
opened the letter and started to read slowly, just as Kit suddenly
remembered Cousin Roxy's remarks on Cassius Cato Peabody. But there was
no turning back now. Straight through to the end he read, and several deep
chuckles broke the silence, real chuckles of delight, such as Kit had
never heard from the Dean. When he had finished, he handed it back to her.

"Perfectly true, my dear," he said. "I can quite see why you feel that you
are needed. You had better take your midwinter examinations, and prepare
to return home about Christmas. In all likelihood your Aunt Daphne and I
will accompany you."

CHAPTER XXI

THE CIRCLE OF RA

The next thing was to break the news gently and convincingly to the
family. Kit figured it out from all sides, and finally decided to walk
right up to the horns of the dilemma in a fearless attack. Writing back a
long, chatty letter to the Mother Bird, she simply tacked on the
postscript:

"Don't be at all surprised to see me arrive with the other Christmas
packages, and have a fire laid in the guest room."

At first she had thought only the Dean would accompany her, but when Miss
Daphne heard of the plan, she declared she would not be left out of it.

"Why, brother, I haven't seen any of the folks down east in years and
years, and it would hearten me up wonderfully to visit them. I think I'd
like to be with Roxy as much as possible, because we were girl friends
together."

Whether it was the prospect of going home or the longing to leave a good
record behind her, no one could say, not even Kit herself, but she took
her midwinter examinations with full speed up and colors flying, as Billie
would say.

The girls took her coming departure with many objections, but they
proceeded to give her various send-offs. Charity and Anne decided on a
formal tea, up in the former's room, but the solemnity of the occasion was
banished when Peggy rose to read some farewell poesy, concocted by herself
and the "Jinx."

"She hoped to be the hope of Hope
Alas, how soon she flew,
To bleak New England's rock-ribbed hills,
Ere she her Virgil knew."

"And we her comrades t