The Meeker herald., 1913-07-19
Messingwell's
Failure
He Kept His Promise
Faithfully
By aARfsA slAoE

The telephone bell rang sharply. and
the girl at the typewriter paused and
drew the receiver to her ear. She
frovned AZ she recognized the voice at
the other end Of the wire.
Perhaps you better talk to Mr.. Mes
singwell: wait q moment, please" she
said. pressing 4 button at the side Of
her desk. She hung mp the receiver.
but did not resume her interrupted oc-
cupation. From behind the closed glass
door Of her employers private once
came the deep bass murmur Of his
voice as he talked with Rudolph Fear
ing.
Suddenly she caught her breath as
Messtngwell's voice rang suddenly
sharp and distinct to her listening ears.
"very well. Fearing; II you don't hear
from mo by noon you can do your
worst-and 60 to the devil afterward!"
Then she heard the receiver slammed
on Its hook and the creak Of bis chair
a. he swung away from bis desk.
Emily Carman had been Alden Mes
singwell's chief clerk for two years.
1t was losing game for Messingwell.
He had come at the bidding Of dying
father to carry on the long established
business Of Messingwell & Co.. which
old Messingwell and q spendthrift
younger son had managed to involve
almost to the point Of failure when a
death stroke laid the father low. The
younger son had taken himself a. far
away from the tottering business as
his means would permit, and 70 Alden
was left with his promise to fulfill to
the best of his ability.
"I'll do the best can, father" he
promised. '"I'm not good business
man-doctors seldom are. you know
but as long us have a penny to my
name the old sign shall swing above
the office door,"
His father had begged him to keep
up the appearance Of prosperity. THE
business will come back again. Alden.
Just give II q chance to recover from
the depression"
The depression was thing of the
past. and prosperity was abroad in the
land, and there still remained the de-
cayins business. perhaps 4 little
strengthened here and thsrs. but hound
= ~ N ~ neer fptnre., ThA macAin-
sry fn the long mill buildings was out
Of date. and Aesslngwell's methods
were hopeiessiy old fashioned
The week before Alden had closed
down the mills and given the hands
two weeks vacation. The notice tackled
on the door spoke Of an ''inventory"
being taken, but Rudolph Fearing had
laughed a. he read 1t and promptly
hired all Of the Messingwell hands for
his own modern, up to the minute fac
tories. He knew that Alden had not
the money to pay his workers another
weeks wages; that there were no or
ders on his books; that failure was
staring the unfortunate physician In
the face.
Emily Carman knew all these things,
and 70 she hesitatea before she turned
the knob that opened the door between
her ONCE and Messingwell's- At last
she summoned courage and slipped in
side. standing with her slender. erect
figure beside him.
"Did you call me, Mr.. Messingwell7 r
she inquired.
He swung about and turned . pale,
despondent face toward her. mo, l
didn't call, Miss Carman. But" be
paused for an instant and looked in her
face for the flash Of sympathy he had
never failed to dnd there, and again he
was rewarded, did you know Fearing
had bought up every obligation We
owe?" he asked biuntiy.
."I heard It yesterday" she said
steadily.
"He gives me until noon to settle.
then he will close me up for good. I've
made q mess Of 1t alll' he ended with
SUDDEN passion. II ought to have hired
q manager and kept out Of 1t myself"
She permitted q little silence to fol-
low In order that he might recover his
poise. Then she said: "Of course 1t
seems hard to let the business 20 to q
man like Rudolph Fearing. but every
arm must come to an end some day,
timely or otherwise. II you sell all the
buildings. machinery and fixtures !
have calculated there would be enough
to wipe out all the obligations and
leave q clean record for the nrm Of
Nessingwell 4 Co."
His astonishment was genuine. "You
have calculatedT' he repeated. "You
have estimated the possibility Of my
giving up-you have seen what a
blanked failure l am?' He smiled bit
teriy and turned his eyes away from
her.
"It isn't failure to withdraw from
business because one cannot honorably
carry It on" she returned with spirit.
'.If failure Is the ultimate end. why not
draw ont before It actually happens
and thus frustrats the endf"
He shook his head hopelessly. 81
promised father I'd hang on to the
h,,~tuoc~ - lnuw aa I hnA \ nanny \