With faith undiminished, Edwards forwarded the story to McClure's Newspaper Syndicate. It was returned without an explanation of any kind. Again he prevailed upon Harte & Perkins to consider it. It came back from them on Sept. 13, with this message:
"I am sorry to say that we do not feel inclined to revise our judgement with reference to your manuscript story, 'A Vassar Girl.' I am inclined to think from looking over the review of the story that it would be well for you to sell it just as it is, and we hope you will be able to find a market for it somewhere. It would not pay us to publish."
Edwards knew that the story, wrought out of his Arizona experiences, was true in local color and good of its kind, and he failed to understand why it was not appreciated. Then, on Sep. 14, came this from the S. S. McClure Company:
"During July we had under consideration a story of yours entitled, 'A Vassar Girl.' On July 31 we wrote you from the Syndicate, informing you that we hoped to be able to use the story as a serial in the very near future. The serial was taken back for consideration in the book department by one of the readers who wished again to examine it, and from there it was erroneously returned to you. Now if you have not disposed of the serial rights of 'A Vassar Girl' we should like you again to forward the story to us, and we will submit it to some of our papers as we had always intended to do. We will then give you a prompt decision."
The story was purchased, and Edwards' faith in it was confirmed.
It was during this year of 1901 that Edwards had a fleeting glimpse of fortune as a playwright. His story, "The Tangle in Butte," had been read by an actor, a leading man in a Kansas City stock company, who wanted dramatic rights so that he might have a play taken from it and written around him. Edwards proposed to write the play himself. He did so, and was promptly offered $5,000 for the play, payable in installments after production. Following a good deal of correspondence it was decided to put on the piece for a week's try-out in Kansas City. Edwards waived his right to royalties for the week, models of the scenery were made, rehearsals began—and then the actor was suddenly stricken with a serious illness and the deal was off. When he had recovered sufficiently to travel he went East, taking the play with him. For several months he tried to interest various managers in it, but without effect.
The year 1901 closed for Edwards with the sketches for the trade paper no longer in demand; but, otherwise, he faced a steadily brightening prospect for the Fiction Factory.
| 1900: | |
| Circus Series, 28 @ $40 each | $1120.00 |
| Circus Series, Completing unfinished story | 20.00 |
| Five-Cent Library, 23 @ $40 each | 920.00 |
| Trade Paper Sketches, 10 @ $10 each | 100.00 |
| "He Was A Stranger," | 250.00 |
| "The Man From Dakota," | 200.00 |
| "What Happened to the Colonel," | 75.00 |
| ———— | |
| Total | $2685.00 |
| 1901: | |
| Five-Cent Library, 10 rewritten @ $30 each | $ 300.00 |
| Five-Cent Library, 8 @ $50 each | 400.00 |
| Five-Cent Library, 16 @ $40 each | 640.00 |
| Four Boys' Serials @ $100 each | 400.00 |
| "The Tangle in Butte," | 200.00 |
| "Tale of Two Towns," | 150.00 |
| "A Vassar Girl," | 100.00 |
| Trade Paper Sketches, 9 @ $10 each | 90.00 |
| ———— | |
| Total | $2685.00 |
Very Often.
Poeta nascitur; non fit. This has been somewhat freely translated by one who should know, as "The poet is born; not paid."