“An apology!” said Emmons, and his color deepened. “I think you must be mad, Nellie. I think I owe an apology to the community for having left him at large so long. I ought to have telegraphed to the sheriff of Vickers’s Crossing at once, and I mean to do so without delay.” Nellie rose to her feet. “If you do that, James--” she began, and then, perhaps remembering that she had been accused of being over-fond of threats in the past, she changed her tone. “You will not do that, I am sure, James, when you stop to consider that you heard Mr. Vickers’s story only because I insisted on having you present. It would be a breach of confidence to me as well as to him.” Emmons laughed. “The law, my dear girl,” he said, “does not take cognizance of these fine points. It is my duty when I have my hand on an escaped murderer to close it, and I intend to do so. He probably means to leave Hilltop to-night, and I shall not be able to get a warrant from Vickers’s Crossing until to-morrow, but I can arrange with the local authorities to arrest him on some trumped-up charge that will hold him, until we get the papers.” He moved toward the door; to his surprise Nellie was there before him. “One moment,” she said. “I don’t think you understand how I feel about this matter. I know Mr. Vickers better than you do. Whatever he may have done in the past, I feel myself under obligations to him. He has done more than you can even imagine, James, to make my uncle’s last days happy. He has been more considerate of me,” she hesitated, and then went on,--“more considerate of me, in some ways, than any one I have ever met, though I have been uniformly insolent and high-handed with him. I admire Mr. Vickers in many respects.” “It is not ten minutes, however, since you turned him out of your house.” Nellie was silent, and then she made a decisive gesture. “I will not have you telegraph for that warrant, James. I let you stay under the impression that you were an honorable man, and I will not have Mr. Vickers betrayed through my mistake.” “Honor! betrayed!” cried Emmons. “Aren’t we using pretty big words about the arrest of a common criminal? I am very sorry if you disapprove, Nellie, but I have never yet allowed man or woman to interfere with what I consider my duty, and I don’t mean to now. Let me pass, please.” She did not at once move. “Oh, I’ll let you pass, James,” she answered deliberately, “only I want you to understand what it means. I won’t marry you, if you do this. I don’t know that I could bring myself to marry you anyhow, now.” She had the art of irritating her opponent, and Emmons exclaimed, “I dare say you prefer this jailbird to me.” She did not reply in words, but she moved away from the door, and Emmons went out of it. The instant he had gone she rang the bell, and when Plimpton appeared she said: “Tell the coachman that I want a trap and the fastest horse of the pair just as quickly as he can get it. Tell him to hurry, Plimpton.”