It was the mileage made on October 12th, 1492, that counted.
It is the last step in a race that counts.
It is the last stroke on the nail that counts.
The moral is that many a prize has been lost just when it was ready to be plucked.
Perseverance—patience—pluck—pep—are particularly profitable if pursued until you ring the bell.
GEOLOGY
The Earth's Incontestable Pages of Truth
On the wall in the room where I write these lines is a fossil herring which the boys dug up in the Rockies near Frozen Dog, at an altitude of six thousand feet.