And then Kit was in his arms, crying and laughing; and, if Joe's head had not been securely fastened, it never could have stood the pressure.
"Oh, dear darling old Joe! How were you saved? What did Granny say?"
And then the little goose had to go and cry over Granny.
"You have really achieved a fiddle," exclaimed Joe at length. "Kit, my dear, you are on the high road to fame."
"Not very high," returned Kit. "But it's splendid to have. Hal gave it to me, and I can play quite well."
"We shall have to give a party some day,—a golden wedding for Granny."
"Or a golden Christmas. O Joe! I can't believe it a bit. I was awfully disappointed last night when it stormed, and they said I shouldn't come home. I thought how lonely Dot and Hal would be this morning."
The two smiled at each other, remembering the Christmas hymns in the gray dawn.
Dot's dinner began to diffuse its aroma around the room. What with boiling and baking, she had her hands full.
"Let us put both tables together," she said to Hal "It will give us so much more room. And it's to be a regular feast."