She turned sharply away from him, and he made no effort to detain her. They walked side by side across the hall, absorbed in their own thoughts. Nellie’s were obvious. She was plainly weighing the claims of an excellent _fiancé_ against those of a worthless cousin. Vickers was asking himself, for the first time, whether, after all, he any longer wanted to prove to her that he was not Lee. If he had the proofs in his hand at that moment, would he show them to her? There would be one splendid scene, one instant of triumph. It would be worth a great deal to see Nellie humble; but would it be worth going away for all time? He had to choose between leaving her, a rehabilitated character, or at least partially rehabilitated, but still leaving her; or remaining to be despised. It struck him with some force that on the whole he preferred to remain. It was at best a very pretty question. Chapter VII When Vickers came downstairs ready to start for Mr. Overton’s, Emmons was just arriving to dine at the Lees’. The two men met at the front door. Emmons eyed Vickers suspiciously. Evidently he and Nellie had had some discussion as to the advisability of allowing the renegade as much liberty as evening visits implied. Indeed, the little man almost blocked Vickers’s path for a moment. “Going out?” he asked. “Going to dine with a friend,” returned Vickers. The reply made Emmons curious. In the first place he did not approve of Vickers’s roaming over the country by moonlight; in the second there were few people in Hilltop who would receive Bob Lee into their houses. Perhaps it was not so much curiosity as distrust that was aroused in him. On reviewing the situation he simply did not believe a word, a state of mind his manner did not entirely conceal. “I am sure it is very nice to see you making friends so quickly,” he said. “Oh, I usually make friends quickly, if at all. And the same way with enemies. As I am a little late,” he added, with the utmost geniality, “perhaps you will just step aside and let me go.” Reluctantly Emmons allowed the other to pass, but as he did so, he hazarded one more question. “Going far?” he said. Vickers did not answer. He was some distance down the path, and possibly did not hear; but it is irritating to be left with an unanswered question on your lips, and Emmons came storming in to Nellie, who was standing in the hall. “Where is he going, Nellie? I don’t think we are justified in letting him loose on the countryside--a man like that.” Nellie was watching Vickers’s back as he swung out of sight, and she returned rather absently, “He is dining at the Overtons’.” She did not at first observe the expression of surprise and annoyance that appeared upon the face of her betrothed. “The _Overtons’_!” he exclaimed.