“Name them.”
“I do not think Rupert Chickering is much better. He makes a bluff at being somebody, but he’s a hypocrite and a sneak.”
“But not a thief.”
“He doesn’t have to be.”
“That’s true. There is no telling what he might become if placed in Hooker’s position.”
“Still, that does not excuse Hooker,” said Bart quickly, as if fearing that Frank was looking for something that might be called “extenuating circumstances.”
“No, that does not, and still, no matter what Hooker may be, I shall feel a pang of pity for him.”
“That’s like you!”
“If he is a crook, it’s because it’s in his blood.”
“That’s it! I tell you I believe with Jack Diamond that ‘blood will tell.’ It is his pet theory. Give a man a father with criminal instincts, and he is bound to have crooked tendencies.”