Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1919-05-23
At F ailure's Climax
r.
By S. B. iACkLEf
BY S. B. HA.CkLEf
ESopErIsht. 1919. by the Mcclure News
paper SyndicateD

!" ieit the scrutiny of many p;isrS of
eyes. friendly. curious. sympathetic, she
ned her head high. Who wouldn't be
proud to be the sweetheart of .nril
liant promiSe?"
tie wasn't the vale,li~toran. That
conceited. red-haircd Walton Durrptt
was that. but MaNon,s rank WAS high.
ana with his brown i.iop of curly hair.
ms E"hdly height and his clear. friend
~ eyes. was he not good to look at?
mat evening after young Eliot had
gone out with Judge Farra's eldest
daughter. his honor sat long time in
silent thought. For nearly three years
MaH"n Eliot had been JesSamine'S
humble worShiper. and Durrett, the
Se!f-cnntidcnt valcdictorian. had been
her devoted adinirer.
nurrptt was one whom one would
naturally expect to do things. and Eliot
was young man of brilliant promise.
The judges preference inclined to the
latter. hut he or any other would
have to "make good" before he'd give
his little girl To him.
The judge sighed thankfully. Jessa-
mine would always listen to Father"
\ little later when she shyly suggested
:hAt ut the rnI If Mnx'S first school
y@'r In Marion (he'd been given the
nr!ncipaiSh'p Of MariOn'S academy.
there would he n wedding, the Judge
shook his head.
a year is all too short, little girl.
Let him prove himself"
Jessamine smiled certainly. 1.-TWO
years If you think hest. papn-but
when Max is university president.
Wen laugh about our caution. won't
WEI"
The Marion school hoard. Mt the end
OF the year. very quietly asked Pro-
lessor Eliot to resign. 1t was not that
he was not liked-his thoughtful con-
sideration, his gentle courteous man
ner, made friends. but somehow he
had failed as the schools principal.
That summer. through the recon-
incubation of n relative, Eliot secured
the editorshtp of the local paper in the
large town of Hampden. For n year
he wrote brilliant editorials. and strug-
gled valiantly to build up the circula-
ton of the paper. but at the end Of the
take the editorship.
Then when JesSamine, with her sis
ter and parents. sailed for three years
Of foreign travel, Max understood that
he was free.
when the three years were ut an end
and he heard the Farras were coming
home. he managed somehow to scrape
together enough for ticket to New
York.
His was the first face that Jessamina
recognized on the pier. For an instant
her heart bounded and despite the old
world wisdom she had gained. she had
to fight n foolish impulse to lay her
head on the shabby dccency of his
serge coat and tell him. among other
things. that failure in business didn't
matter.
But Fulton Newholdt, who for six
months had followed in their wake.
was looking on and presently Eliot was
forced to step aside to make way for
their other friends.
"Strange that Maxon Eliot should
have happened to be in New York the
very day that we landed" the judge
remarked.
Jcssamine said nothing. She knew
it hadn't lust happened" Max had
Travelled those 500 miles just for
sight Of her! Well, he'd had 1t, and
She. The day after they reached
har homo Nowboldt u,bo ,yos +botr
guest, asked her to marry him.
Instead of saying, Eyes, please" as
she had contemplated, and as she knew
would delight her father and mother,
she found herself saying very earnest
ly, mo, thank YOU"
1t was four years before she saw
Max again, and 1t was at the county
fair.
"Ive been out West" he told her,
"sort OF knocking about, but I'm doing
some bookkeeping work for my cousin
now, at the mills. His regular man
had to stop awhile because of Al
health"
He spoke cheerfully, but his mouth
wore subdued, conquered expression
that was pathetic.
Rob keeps me very busy, but
begged off today to run down here on
the chance Of seeing some of my old
college friends" he remarked; but
Jessamine looked into his wistful eyes
and translated his words: "On the
chance Of seeing you, dear, on the
chance of seeing your
Just then the redhaired valedic-
toriaD, now successful lawyer and
politician. stopped to speak to Jessa-
mine.
"Pity about Eliot's being disnp-
pointnent," he remarked when Maxon
had taken himself Off. "All vision and
no practicnbility. The wonder Is he