"Don't worry, daddy, I will soon have money enough to send you to Dr. Lilly—I have about an hour's work to do tonight, and you know that every cent I earn from this extra work goes into the fund to send you to the specialist."
He placed his arm about her and she pillowed her head on his breast. "Ruth," he said, "you are one of the best daughters that ever lived, and your daddy appreciates what you are trying to do for him, but don't build on it too much, for the doctors here say there is no hope for me."
"They don't know everything, and Dr. Lilly has made some wonderful cures. I can't help but believe that he can do something for you."
Aunt Clara announced dinner, and they went into the dining room. "I am glad you are having dinner early, Aunt Clara," said Ruth.
"Are you hungry, Ruth, or have you an engagement with that Mr. Golter?" her aunt asked.
"I am not very hungry and I haven't a date with anybody, but I have some work to do."
After the meal was over Ruth worked for an hour and a quarter. After her work was finished she went out alone for a walk. She had walked about half way to the business section when she was agreeably surprised to meet Harold.
"Well, when did you get back?" she asked.
"Just got in, and was coming out to call on you."
"I was just taking a walk. Will you walk with me, or shall we return to the house?"
"I would just as soon walk. I have been riding on the train so long that I need to stretch myself."
"How was the luck?" she inquired.
"The finest kind. I got the job, and now it's up to me to make good."
"I am sure you will do that," she said.
"Ruth, it helps a lot to have someone who has confidence in you. Especially when that someone is one in whom you are interested—someone whom you think of as a real friend."
"I am glad on your account that you landed this big job, and I am pleased that you will show Mr. Stover and McBryan that you can succeed without any of their help and in spite of them."
"Ruth, I received a shock when I got off the train tonight."
"Did you touch a live wire?"
"No, worse than that. I heard of your affidavit in the paper, and I couldn't believe it until I got the paper and read it."
"You shouldn't be shocked at a little thing like that."
"I was afraid that you would be subjected to adverse criticism and that Stover would make it unpleasant for you at the bank."
"He wasn't any too well pleased. He wanted to know why I did it. I told him I did it for fun; that I had no intention of injuring the Klan. He said that he did not care how much it hurt the Klan."
"Oh, he didn't! That shows a lack of principle at which I am not surprised."
"Mr. Stover has been good to me and was always a good friend of father's, but he has certainly done and said some things of which I cannot approve. These things have caused me to lose confidence in him to some extent, but, Harold, I can't help but believe that he thought that the only chance to secure the city job for you was to induce you to give up the Klan and that he really believes that it is a bad organization."
"I think you are mistaken. I am of the opinion that Stover is just what he showed himself to be in his attempt to bribe me to turn traitor to the Klan and in this statement he made to you—a crook."
"I don't think that. But—well, I don't know just how to explain it."
"What did he object to about the prank that you played on Rastus?"
"He said that he did not like to have one of the bank's employees the subject of comment and his friend Springer subjected to ridicule."
"He's very solicitous about Springer's feelings."
"I told him that I was not going to shed any tears over Springer; that if he had given an accurate account of the incident without prejudice he would not have been caused any embarrassment by my affidavit.'"
"Good for you! I hope he tells Springer what you said."
"Mr. Stover told me not to do it again and I promised that I wouldn't—but, say, it was lots of fun."
"Tell me about it."
She gave him a full account of the escapade and of the negro's declaration that he was feigning fright to please her. They both enjoyed a good laugh.
After a walk of half an hour or more they returned to the house and he requested her to play and sing. She went to the piano and ran her fingers lightly over the keys and then, turning to him, asked, "What do you prefer?"
"Oh, you know that I like the old Southern melodies. These present-day songs have so little to them."
She had a good soprano voice, and as she sang the songs of the Southland for him, he drifted out on the beautiful sea of finer sentiments. When she had finished singing he walked over to her and took one of her hands in his. "Ruth," he said, his voice vibrant with emotion, "I love you and if you can give me your love I will be the happiest man in the world."
"Harold," she replied, "we have been such good friends that I am afraid that we may destroy that relation in a desire to establish a more satisfactory one. I have heard that friendship is above love. Our friendship has been such a beautiful thing that I would not want to mar it by——"
"You don't believe that stuff even if such a noted philosopher as Plato did say it, do you Ruth? I know that it isn't true. My heart tells me it isn't true. You don't believe it, do you?"
"Plato was a very wise man," she said, and then dropped her eyes. With the disengaged hand she began to toy with the lace on her dress.
"Ruth, if you would only tell me that you love me I would be thoroughly happy." He spoke with great earnestness.
"You should be very happy anyway. A young architect who has just landed a twelve thousand dollar job certainly should be happy."
"I am delighted to have the job, but my heart craves a greater happiness. If you will only——"
The door between the dining room and living room was thrown open and Aunt Clara entered. Harold dropped Ruth's hand and blushed profusely.
"Good-evening. I hope you will pardon the intrusion. I have just been reading an article, and I wanted to ask Mr. King what he thought about it. It was on 'Intolerance in the United States.' The writer went on to say that the Ku Klux Klan is fighting religion. Don't you think it is terrible, Mr. King, that we have an organization in the United States that fights religion?"
"That would be unfortunate if it were true. Did he state what religions the Klan is fighting?"
"Yes, the Jewish religion and the Catholic."
"I am sure the author of that article is wrong. There are a great many people who are making similar statements. No doubt some are misinformed but others desire to misrepresent the purposes of the Klan in order to impede its progress."
"My Catholic neighbor gave me one of her papers to read the other day, and I am sure that the Catholics believe it is an intolerant organization."
"I suspect that's because they can't join it, Aunt Clara," said Ruth.
"The Klan is not anti-Catholic, anti-Jew, anti-negro, or anti-anything else. The Klan is pro-Christian, pro-public schools, pro-America. If the Catholics take offense because the Klan insists on the maintenance of our public schools, the separation of church and state, and allegiance to the United States over and above any foreign allegiance, then so far as I am concerned they will have to be offended. If the Jews construe the adherence to the principles of Christ as an attack on their religion and desire to suppress the organization that adheres to these principles, then it is plain to see that the Jews are most intolerant."
Aunt Clara had made up her mind that the Klan was an undesirable organization, and when she had once made up her mind to anything, like many other folk, she was hard to change. "Members of the Klan wouldn't vote for Catholics for office, would they?" she asked.
"It's the privilege of every American citizen to cast his ballot as he sees fit, and he should always vote for what he believes to be the best interests of the public. If a Klansman or any other citizen believes that a candidate for office would not stand for the best interests of our American institutions, what is his duty as a citizen?"
"Why, to vote against him, to be sure."
"If you vote against a Methodist, a Baptist or a Catholic in the next election because you believe that he is not in harmony with Americanism; that vote could not reasonably be construed as interfering with his freedom of worship, could it?"
"Certainly not, but I think it's a bad thing to arouse so much bitter feeling."
"It isn't pleasant to have bitter feelings aroused, but if standing for things that are essentially American incurs the enmity of groups of individuals we had best arouse such opposition and resist it. I am not in favor of 'peace at any price.'"
"I was talking with Mr. Golter when he called for Ruth a short time ago, and he says that while the principles of the Klan sound well enough the character of the men who belong are such that it is the duty of all good citizens to oppose them."
"The Klan requires that those who become members of the organization be of good moral character. Of course an organization whose members number three million will, in spite of all precaution, get some unworthy members. Whenever a member commits any serious offense he is expelled from the Klan. I am safe in saying that there is no other secret organization in the world with a better personnel of membership than the Klan. The membership is made up from all walks of life—laborers, farmers, doctors, ministers, judges, small business men and big business men."
"If what you say is true, why all this opposition? We scarcely pick up a paper but there is something against the Klan."
"Every great movement has had its opponents, Aunt Clara. You know the early Christians were persecuted, and the Masonic order in the early history of its growth met with just such opposition as the Klan is meeting now," remarked Ruth.
"What you say is quite true," said Harold, "and the opposition to the Klan, in addition to the Catholics, Jews and negroes, consists of the law violators, denizens of the underworld, politicians, misinformed individuals and newspapers that are subsidized by some opposing factor or that are edited by politicians."
"Well, the Klan may be all right, but I have my doubts." The Klan was now dropped and Harold hoped that the aunt would soon retire from the room, but she enjoyed conversing and brought up the subject of Coue's theory and discussed it at such length that Harold excused himself and went home. One statement made by Aunt Clara stuck in Harold's mind and kept him awake the greater part of the night. He tried to dismiss it, but the statement, "When Mr. Golter called for Ruth a short time ago," would not down, but shouted itself in his ears whenever he tried to find sleep. The statement from the aunt, he was quite sure, explained why Ruth could be only a friend to him. This thought tormented him until the light of day broke in the east and Morpheus brought relief.