him.
    We know in what spirit John Hewett regarded rebels against the law. Do not
imagine that any impulse of that nature actuated his son. Clara alone had
inherited her father's instinct of revolt. Bob's temperament was, in a certain
measure, that of the artist; he felt without reasoning; he let himself go
whither his moods propelled him. Not a man of evil propensities; entertain no
such thought for a moment. Society produces many a monster, but the mass of
those whom, after creating them, it pronounces bad are merely bad from the
conventional point of view; they are guilty of weaknesses, not of crimes. Bob
was not incapable of generosity; his marriage had, in fact, implied more of that
quality than you in the upper world can at all appreciate. He neglected his
wife, of course, for he had never loved her, and the burden of her support was
too great a trial for his selfishness. Weakness, vanity, a sense that he has not
satisfactions proportionate to his desert, a strong temptation - were are the
data which, in ordinary cases, explain a man's deliberate attempt to profit by
criminality.
    In a short time Pennyloaf began to be aware of peculiarities of behaviour in
her husband for which she could not account. Though there appeared no necessity
for the step, he insisted on their once more seeking new lodgings, and, before
the removal, he destroyed all his medals and moulds.
    »What's that for, Bob?« Pennyloaf inquired.
    »I'll tell you, and mind you hold your tongue about it. Somebody's been
saying as these things might get me into trouble. Just you be careful not to
mention to people that I used to make these kind of things.«
    »But why should it get you into trouble?«
    »Mind what I tell you, and don't ask questions. You're always too ready at
talking.«
    His absences of an evening were nothing new, but his manner on returning was
such as Pennyloaf had never seen in him. He appeared to be suffering from some
intense excitement; his hands were unsteady; he showed the strangest nervousness
if there were any unusual sounds in the house. Then he certainly obtained money
of which his wife did not know the source; he bought new articles of clothing,
and in explanation said that he had won bets. Pennyloaf remarked these things
with uneasiness; she had a fear during her lonely evenings for which she could
give no reason. Poor slow-witted mortal though she was,