Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1911-03-09
Such a Thing
as Luck
By M. J. PHILLIPS


Brlnkley Aldrich, you're discharged"
you don't mean I'm canned?"
walled William Adolphus Mcclure.
otherwise known as "Wad." Jaw, say,
Mister Aldrich, give me another
| chance"
The lawyer shook his head. mo
thing doing, William Adolphus.
can't bother with you any more.
First, you lost that draft going down
| street."
Il didn't mean to do It," interrupt
ed the weeping Wad.
| And then you struck my mother in
the face with ball of paper"
Il didn't know she was coming; l
was showing snags Raymond, the ele-
yator kid, the forward pass"
And now you've banged into Mr..
Collision and knocked him down. The
old gentleman recognized you as my
Office boy. and went away angry. His
business was worth a thousand dollars
year to me-"
"Aw, Mister Aldrich," pleaded Wad;
cant you make 'lowances fer a guy
havin' hard luck?"
1t was the wrong thing to say
Since Brinkley Aldrich had graduated
with both scholarship and athletic
honors from college, he had dominat-
ed circumstances. Everything came
out as he planned, because he pos
sessed ability above the ordinary, left
nothing to chance, and was a tireless
worker Luck he regarded as the
excuse of the weak and the indolent
and the stupid
Hard luck!' he snorted now. Hard
luck! There's no such thing as luck,
William Adolphus. A chap either does
thfngs-or he doesn't He alone de-
serves the credit, or he alone is to
blame. There are laziness ana in
competence and thfckheadedness but
hard luck-bah! You know better
than that"
William Adolphus did not pursue
the subject further. II dunno what
III do" he SMILED. Il can tell the old
lady you gave me two days vacation;
but if l don't start out to work Mon
day morning, she'll break my back!"
Aldrich handed him four silver dol
lars. There's your psy,'' he observ-
ed. I'm sorry for your plight, but you
need a lesson. Maybe licking from
your mother will drive this pernicious
hard luck idea out of your head.
And you'll never be successful till
that happens"
Wad took the money and forgot to
weep. A full weeks pay and two days
vacation were tangible This being
canned" had some advantages, after
all. Say, Mister Aldrich," he said at
parting. as he jingled the money in
his pocket. IF you change your mind,
send for me, will you?"
| Aldrich promised, with smile. The
earth might stop and begin spinning
backward; the sky might fall. They
were possibilities, and it was also pos
sible that he might change his mind
In this matter. But once the evidence
had been gathered, weighed, and de-
cision reached. any of the three
phenomena had an equal chance of
coming to pass.
The young attorney caught an after
noon train for his mothers place.
Cornwall-on-the-Lake. The roar and
clash of the city's manifold noises had
seemed more sharp than ever when
he left his Office and walked to the sta
ton. 1t was freezing hard; and there
had been no snow for two weeks. That
meant there would be famous skating
on the lake. His pulses bounded with
pleasurable anticipation.
1t was too early for the homeward
rush of commuters and the train was
only comfortably filled Aldrich Sc
lected seat half way down the day
coach and stretched out his long legs.
His bag went into the rack overhead:
his overcoat was disposed over the
back of the seat beside him.
A two hours run and Cornwall
Junction came into sight. There he
was to change to a branch line; the
lake was still twenty miles away. AS
the train stopped he rose and stretch
ed forth his hand for his bag. At that
precise moment the brakeman opened
the forward door. A cinder sailed
down the aisle, lodged divers and sun
dry other passengers, and struck
Aldich in the right eye.
1t was small cinder-not nearly
so large as the head of a pin. But II
was laden with weighty possibilities.
1t was sharp. and 1t cut a bit, lust
enough to become painful Aldrich
sat down, his grip In his lap. and be.
gan rubbing the tear-laden and pro
testing eye. No use; the cinder
stuck
! Other passengers were disembark.
ing. They streamed out the front
door while the incoming ones charged
on the vacated seats from the rear. At
the conductors warning cry Aldrich
got up. still rubbing his eye, and hast.
ened down the aisle
| On the door 1t occurred to him
that he had forgotten his overcoat,
which would never have happened
had 1t not been for the cinder. He
turned back to get it. He did not
know that hic cant hod olro,d,, ho...