ess-ship, and his assurance that such posts were only given to
middle-aged women, had upset her calculations, and remembering her
forlorn condition of the previous night, she was glad not to risk a
repetition of such a painful experience. Mr. Gordon had at first
intended to take her home with him to The Gables, but on telephoning to
his wife on his arrival at Greyfield station, he learnt about the
missing letter which had been discovered in Daisy Scatcherd's coat
pocket, and decided it would be better for her to go straight to
Briarcroft.

The prospect of a letter from her father was a magnet more than
sufficient to draw Gipsy back to school. All fear of Miss Poppleton's
wrath faded away in the excitement of this wonderful news.

"And to think that if I'd gone to South Africa I should have missed it!"
she exclaimed.

Miss Poppleton received the prodigal with wonderful graciousness, and
Miss Edith wept over her, upbraided her, and kissed her all at once.

"Gipsy, darling! How could you be so naughty? You might have known we
were your best friends. I never slept all night for worrying about you;
and I'm sure Miss Poppleton didn't either. To think that you should have
run away from us! And your letter was there all the time, if we'd only
known! It's locked up safely in my desk, all ready for you."

"Give it me now, please!" pleaded Gipsy.

Although Gipsy's return to Briarcroft had been a very desirable
conclusion to the episode of her running away, there were several
matters left which remained in a far from satisfactory condition. In the
first place, though her father's letter had relieved all anxiety about
her school fees and general expenses, and removed her from her former
most unpleasant position, it did not give any clue to his present
whereabouts. Beyond the brief information that he was going to the
sources of a tributary of the Zambesi, she knew nothing. There was no
address given to which she might write, or any definite date fixed for
his return to civilization. The London bankers, with whom Miss Poppleton
at once communicated, had no further knowledge. He seemed to have
disappeared into the unexplored wilds of Central Africa, and to have
left no trace. In view of the dangers to which a pioneering party, such
as he had joined, would be exposed from wild beasts, hostile natives,
lack of food and water, or the hardships of travelling in the interior
of the continent, there was cause for considerable uneasine