I would fain, before concluding this story, lay before my readers the cause of the discharged prisoner. I would ask the world to take him on his promise once again. If not to forgive, I would ask that you forget. The road to regeneration is strewn with many obstacles. The man leaving prison doesn’t know all of the pitfalls waiting for him. He imagines it easy to break away from the old life and start straight again. But I know better. I know the pull of the old life. I know the magic spell it weaves about one; and, friends, the way is hard. I’ve heard the call of the road, seductive with its melody. I know how it pulls and tugs at the very heartstrings of a man. There’s a magic in the underworld, with its[Pg 118] lights and shadows, hard to comprehend. There’s a glamour in the life like the interest of an old romance. I know the fight ahead of all the men starting out on the straight road, and I would ask that you in some way make it a little easier for them. A smile isn’t much, an encouraging word goes a long way. They all help, they all lift the man a little nearer to the summi............