"What, the Evil and the Good together?" sneered Romanoff. "That were strange justice surely."
"Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do Right? They are all in His care, and His pity and His love are Infinite. That is why I plead with you."
"What, to spare your son? If what you say is true I am powerless. But I am not. Wrong is stronger than right. I defy you."
"Then is it to be a fight between us?"
"If you will. He must be mine."
"And what then?" There was ineffable sorrow in the woman's voice. "Would you drag him into æons of pain and anguish to satisfy your revenge?"
"I would, and I will. What if right is stronger than wrong, as you say? What if in the end right shall drag him through hell to heaven? I shall still know that he has lived in hell, and thus shall I have my revenge."
"And I, who am his mother, am also his ministering angel, and it is my work to save him from you."
"And you are powerless—powerless, I tell you?"
"All power is not given to us, but God has given His angels power to help and save."