acre every eighteen months no in all truth the house of pride ford was an heroic figure fit so ford thought privately to stand beside the statue of i in front of the building ford was gone but he his son carried on the good work at least as if not as he turned his eyes back to the what was the difference he asked himself between the grass dances and the dances of the women of his own race was there an essential difference or was it a matter of degree as he pondered the problem a hand rested on his shoulder ford what are you doing here isn t this a bit i try to be dr even as i look on ford answered gravely won t you sit down the house of pride sat down clapping his palms sharply a white clad servant answered swiftly scotch and was s order then turning to the other he said � f course i don t ask you but i will take something ford said firmly the doctor s eyes showed surprise and the servant waited boy a please the doctor laughed at it heartily as a joke on himself and glanced at the under the tree why it s the he said i thought they were with the hotel on tuesday nights some i guess his eyes paused for a moment and dwelt upon the one who was playing a and singing a song to the house of pride the accompaniment of all the instruments his face became grave as he looked at the singer and it was still grave as he turned it to his companion look here ford isn t it time you let up on joe i understand you are in opposition to the promotion committee s sending him to the states on this surf board proposition and been wanting to speak to you about it i should have thought you d be glad to get him out of the country it would be a good way to end your persecution of him persecution ford s eyebrows lifted call it by any name you please went on you ve that poor devil for years it s not his fault even you will admit that the house of pride not his fault ford s thin lips drew tightly together for the moment joe is and idle he has always been a a but that s no reason you should keep on after him the way you do ive watched you from the beginning the first thing you did when you returned from college and found him working on the plantation as outside was to fire him � you with your millions and he with his sixty dollars a month not the first thing ford said in the tone he was accustomed to use in committee meetings i gave him his warning the said he was a capable i had no objection to him on that ground it was what he did outside working i the house of pride hours he my work faster than i could build it up of what use were the sunday schools the night schools and the sewing classes when in the evenings there was joe with his infernal and eternal of and his strong drink and his dancing after i warned him i came upon him � i shall never forget it � came upon him down at the it was evening i could hear the songs before i saw the scene and when i did see it there were the girls in the moonlight and dancing � the girls upon whom i had worked to teach clean living and right conduct and there were three girls there i remember just from the mission school of course i discharged joe i know it was the same at the house of pride people said i went out of my way when i persuaded and to discharge him but it was the who requested me to do so he was their work by his example afterwards when he got on the railroad your railroad he was discharged without cause not so was the quick answer i had him into my private office and talked with him for half an hour you discharged him for for living if you please dr laughed with a grating sound who the devil gave it to you to be judge and jury does give you control of the immortal souls of those that toil for you i have been your physician am i to expect i the house of pride to morrow your that i give up scotch and or your patronage ford you take life too seriously besides when joe got into that scrape he wasn t in your employ either and he sent word to you asked you to pay his fine you left him to do his six months hard labor on the don t forget you left joe in the that time you threw him down hard and yet i remember the first day you came to school � we you were only a day scholar � you had to be three times under in the swimming � you remember it was the regular dose every new boy got and you held back you denied that you could swim you were frightened hysterical � yes i know ford said the house of pride slowly i was frightened and it was a lie for i could swim � and i was frightened and you remember who fought for you who lied for you harder than you could lie and swore he knew you couldn t swim who jumped into the and pulled you out after the first under and was nearly drowned for it by the other boys who had discovered by that time that you could swim of course i know the other rejoined coldly but a generous act as a boy does not excuse 