But they all have a right here, the professional burglar every whit as much as the speckless saint.

The only stipulation is that they oughtn't to come under false pretences: the burglar is in honor bound not to pass himself off to his priest as the saint.

But that is merely a moral obligation, established in the burglar's own interest.

It does him no good to come unless he feels that he is playing the rules of the game, and one of these is confession.

If he cheats there, he knows that he is cheating nobody but himself, and might much better have stopped away altogether." Theron nodded his head comprehendingly.