Mary Roberts Rinehart

“ Now one of its results lay before her. And there were other things fresh in her mind—old Hilary, dead of his revolt against law, and lying in state before an altar erected to a God he had not recognized. And Ward, watching her windows and thinking her the embodiment of what a woman should he.
Over her bitterness rose a hot wave of anger against Walter Huff. She had forbidden this thing and he had done it.
Of course there is a sharp disagreement among the gang over Huff's arson and things come to a crisis quickly with the possibility that all will go to jail. ”

“ Once again Elinor surprised him.
"There have been few really great passions in the world," she said. "I could almost count them on my fingers. The rest of us seem to get along without."
"Perhaps there are more than we hear about. Every now and then, in my work I come across something so much greater than I expected, self-sacrifice, love, charity, faith in mankind."
"Your faith!" Elinor said softly. "That is what I envy you—your faith. Not only your faith in your kind, but—the other sort"
Faith, hope and charity—and the greatest of these is faith. ”

“ Ward represented all that the men Elinor know were not—law to their violence, order to their disorder. There was almost a snarl in his voice.
"He'd better stay down in his valley with his old women," he said, "and leave you alone. You don't need him."
"I'm not so sure of that." Elinor replied quietly, and left him staring....
Huff burned the parish house the next night. He did it himself, without the assistance of the band. Into it he put not only the devilish ingenuity of long experience, but his new hatred of Ward.
Church property is always easy of access. ”