"What does he do with it?" said Rotha in full astonishment.
"According to circumstances. To tempt you to wrong, or to tempt you to folly; or if neither of those, to break down your mental and bodily powers, so that you shall be weaker to resist him next time."
"Mr. Digby—do you think so?"
"Certainly. And when people go on in a way like this, giving ground to Satan, he takes all they give, until finally he has the whole rule of them. Then they seem to their neighbours to be slaves of passion, or of greed, or of drink; but really they are 'possessed of the devil,' and those are the chains in which he holds them."
"Mr. Digby," said Rotha humbly, "do you think I have been losing ground?"
"I think you have been gaining ground, for a good while."
"I am sorry," she said simply. "But how can I help it, Mr. Digby?"
"You remember," he said. "You must be under one king or the other; there is no middle ground. 'Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin';—but, 'If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.'"
Rotha drew a deep sigh, and one or two fresh tears fell.
"Now," said he very gently, "do not let us get excited again, but let us talk quietly. What is all this about?"