Not once, but half a dozen times, he turned in the road to glance over his shoulder at the house he had left behind. Always his gaze went to the scarecrow. He shivered slightly and cursed himself for a fool. The silly thing COULDN'T be looking at him! What nonsense! Still he breathed a sigh of relief when he turned the bend and was safely screened from view by the grove of oaks that crowned the hill above the village. Several automobiles passed him as he trudged along the pike; an old man afoot driving a little herd of sheep gave him a cheery "good morning," but received no response. "I wish I hadn't gone into that beastly house," he was repeating to himself, a scowl in his eyes. "It gave me the 'Willies.' Jolly lot of satisfaction I got out of it,--I don't think. I daresay he kissed her a good many times up there in that,--But, Lord, what's the sense of worrying about something that happened ten years ago?" At the dinner table that noon, Charlie Webster suddenly inquired: "Well, what have YOU been up to this morning, Court?" Courtney started guiltily and shot a quick, inquiring look at the speaker. Satisfied that there was no veiled significance in Charlie's question, he replied: "Took a long ramble up the pike. The air is like wine today. I walked out as far as the old Windom house." Charlie was interested. "Is that so? Did you see Amos Vick's daughter hanging around the place?" "Amos Vick's--you mean Rosabel?" He swallowed hard. "No, I didn't see her. Was she over there?" "Jim Bagley was in the office half an hour or so ago. As he was coming past the house in his Ford he saw her standing at the front gate, so he stopped and asked her what she was doing over on this side of the river. She'd been over here spending the night with Annie Jordan,--that's Phil Jordan's girl, you know, the township assessor,--and went out for a long walk this morning. She looked awful tired and sort of sickly, so Jim told her to hop in and he'd give her a lift back to Phil's house. She got in with him and he left her at Phil's." "I saw her walking down to the ferry with Annie as I was coming over from the office a little while ago," said Doc Simpson. "Sorry I didn't meet her," said Courtney. "She's jolly good fun,--and I certainly was in need of somebody to cheer me up this morning. For the first time since I came out here I was homesick for New York,--and mother. It must have been our talk last night about the theatres and all that." CHAPTER XII WORDS AND LETTEBS