Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1917-03-02
JOINS LUCK
Hy JAMES G. JOHNSON.

In hurry. Still he almost invariably
seemed to be lucky. He was large
boy, or rather his face gave the i'm
preston of largeness; just as his
waistcoat does now. In those days he
had pendulous cheeks and his legs
bulged at the line of his shoe tops. so
that the other boys called him
FATTY"
When he went on an errand he
never hurried himself about 1t, OF
course, but his luck had given him
indulgent parents. so that instead OF
giving him the licking most boys would
have got. they gradually refrained
from sending him-unless they were
in no hurry themselves. 1t goes with
out saying that he was never In
hurry to get up In the morning. There
was one Fourth of July that he did
get up at four o'clock. but he was so
leisurely about his dressing that the
other fellows went off to fire their
cannon without him. John arrived on
the scene just In time to go back and
tell his people about the accident. He
was the only one of the six who was
not hurt.
Another time he went out with a
crew of young reprobates to loot the
orchard of a particularly cross-grained
farmer. He was up in the tree when
the alarm was given, but he calcu-
lated that there would be time to Sc
cure few more apples before the
farmer arrived.
"Get a move on you. Fatty" sung
out fellow criminal below. Hes
a-startin' to rum"
Jaw! What's the hurryT said John,
reaching for an outlying limb. There
was no reply to the question. for the
boy had fled. The farmer saw them
stringing out In the direction of the
fence, overlook and cornered them.
From his perch In the apple tree John
witnessed those unfOrtunates come.
one by one, beneath the horny palm of
the farmer. and saw them hoisted IN
tremendously over the fence. AS their
bowls died away in the distance. John
quietly descended and made off the
other way.
John got through school somehow.
but he was no forced plant. He was
In no hurry about going to work. hut
eventually took clerkship In the local
grocery. His employer dispensed with
his services at the end of a month.
and suggested to his father that po-
litical influence should be exerted to
secure the young man a position IN
some claim department In Washington
where his peculiar diatory talent
would be appreciated. Johns father
thought the idea was good. hut he
didn't happen to have the political in
fuence, so he set his son to studying
law with a conservative practitioner.
1t was intensely aggravating TO the
brilliant and energetic young men OF
the community, those who rose early
and worked late and moEed around
as If they had some object In life, to
see Vanderpoot, who had no brains TO
speak of, no burning ambition TO dis
tinguish himself, becoming one of the
"solid" element. He drawled In his
speech and he dawdled through what
he called his work, hut all the good
things seemed to come his way.
He married, of course. lie was IN
no hurry about 1t, bat ne got the pref
test and brightest young woman in
| the state. What she saw In him 1t Is
| hard to say.
One evening John was loafng In his
office when Dave Hinsley broke in,
GREATNESS and hatless and gasping
"Firew
sat your house, judge" he added.
your Wife told me to hurry down and
get you. don't reckon thete'll be 4
| stick saved If somethin' amt done
pretty soon."
John took one foot down from bis
desk.
"Is the hose company there"
aFes but there amt no water"
"In that case, Dave, | guess the
only thing we can do Is to let 'er
burn" And he put his foot up again.
Of course he was heavily insured.
Johns title of Judge" was purely
honorary, but there Is no doubt that he
would have attained judiciary honors
in course '6f tfme-he was fn no hurry
if it had not been for his Investment
| in Guayquil Central stock. That would
have been his limit however. Beyond
the bench he would have been found
out. Guayquil was down to a pretty
low ebb and a friend of Johns who
! nad inside information, urged him to
buy at once, as 1t was certain to rise.
John said he would, but he deferred
| his purchase from sheer Inertia until mt
| ii went down still lower, OF course
it would 60 down. AS soon as he had
bought it began to rise. That was be-
cause John, like the idiot he was, had
put every available cent he had In the
world into 1t. One day the friend with
inside information wired him to sell
at once. The stock had gone up be-
yond all expectations, and If John had
realized then he would have made
close on to 100000. and have been
comfortable for the rest of bis days.
As it was, he put the telegram Into
his pocket and went on with the pc
rusal of a Judgment transcript.
That evening he said to his wife