Cresswell
pursues Julian; you must pursue him, use your woman's wit, use all your
experience of men; use your heart. Wake up and throw yourself into this
battle, and make yourself worthy of fighting. Only you can tell how. But
this is a fact. Our wills, our powers of doing things, are made strong,
or made weak by our own lives. Each time we do a degradingly low, beastly
thing"--he chose the words most easily comprehended by such a woman as
she was--"we weaken our will, and make it less able to do anything good
for another. If you commit loveless actions from to-day--though Julian
has nothing to do with them--with each loveless action you will lose a
point in the battle against the madness of Cresswell. And you must lose
no points. Remember you are fighting a madman, as I believe, for the
safety of the man you love. If I could tell you what--"
The doctor pulled himself up short.
"No," he said, "no need to tell you more than that, within these last
few days I have found that all you said about Cresswell's present
_diablerie_"--he shook his head impatiently at the language he was using
to the lady of the feathers--"Cresswell's present impulse for evil is
less horribly true than the truth. I shall watch him, day by day, from
now.
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