But while that truly
benevolent inclination was, in his consciousness, unmarred with sinister
motive of any sort; still, deeper than the impulse for good in James
Rutlidge's nature lay those dominant instincts and passions that were his
by inheritance and training. The brutal desire, the mood and purpose that
had brought him to that spot where with the aid of his glass he could
watch Sibyl Andres, were not denied by his impulse to kindly service.
Under all his thinking, as he considered how he could help the convict to
a better life, there was the shadowy suggestion of a possible situation
where a man like the one before him--wholly in his power as this man would
be--might be of use to him in furthering his own purpose--the purpose that
had brought about their meeting.
Studying the object of his pity, he said slowly, "I suppose the most of us
are as deserving of punishment as the majority of those who actually get
it. One way or another, we are all trying to escape the penalty for our
wrong-doing. What if I should help you out--make it possible for you to
live like other men who are safe from the law? What would you do if I were
to help you to your freedom?"
The hunted man became incoherent in his pleading for a chance to prove the
sincerity of his wish to live an orderly, respectable, and honest life.
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