In this sentence from the passage the best word to replace the word "rogues" is scoundrels. A rogue is a dishonest or unprincipled man. While both scoundrels and felons are dishonest and unprincipled, the best substitution of the word rogue is scoundrels. This is because rogue and scoundrel are synonyms. They mean the same thing. The substitution does not change the meaning of the sentence at all.