Page 40
On a beautiful sunshiny Saturday afternoon on the 23rd of October, 1926, as the train wended its way across the prairies for Sherman, Texas, Robert kept watching out of the car window, his face beaming with smiles as he thought of his meeting with Marie. He counted every turn of the wheels because he knew they were bringing him closer to her
Page 110
On a beautiful sunshiny Saturday afternoon on the 23rd of October, 1926, as the train wended its way across the prairies for Sherman, Texas, Robert kept watching out of the car window, his face beaming with smiles as he thought of his meeting with Marie. He counted every turn of the wheels because he knew they were bringing him closer to her
Page 110
On Sunday, May 29th, Robert and Marie went to
Dallas, Texas. They had planned when they were ready
to elope, that Marie would leave from Dallas on the
“Sunshine Special” in the afternoon of June 4th. She
was to keep her plans absolutely secret and Robert was
to board the same train that night at Texarkana, and
after the train was out of Texarkana, he was to find her,
go on to St. Louis together, be married there on Sunday morning, and leave Sunday noon for New York.
Pages 113-114
Robert told Mr. Kennelworth that he made over $4,000.00 for Marie on her little capital of $400.00 with which she had started. Mr. Kennelworth was very much elated over this. This was the first time he had heard about Marie putting up $400.00 to buy cotton. He told Robert she was the kind of a woman to marry, the one who believed in him and would back him with her money and everything else. He believed it was love of the right kind—that success was sure to follow. Robert was so happy that afternoon that he called Marie on the long-distance phone, and told her of his great success in the market in wheat and the money Mr. Kennelworth had made; told her that they had now a working capital of around $25,000.00 and with that much money, in New York it would be only a question of a few years when he would be a millionaire. The main thing, however, was not money but the use he wanted to put it to in completing his invention. Marie was very happy and told him that she was making arrangements to go to Dallas and would leave there that afternoon on the “Sunshine Special,” and after the train pulled out of Texarkana, he would find her on board. He was to keep everything quiet and not let anybody know anything about the elopement, as her father might try to stop her. No one in Texarkana but Robert's mother and Mr. Kennelworth knew about the secret elopement. Robert kept everything quiet about his resigning from Mr. Kennelworth's and going to New York, because he thought that there might be some leak somewhere and that Mr. Stanton might find out about Marie's elopement and stop it.
Page 115
At 7 P.M. June 4th, 1927, Robert walked into the Railroad Station at Texarkana and bought a ticket for St. Louis, with a reservation on the “Sunshine Special.” This was the greatest and happiest moment of his life. He knew that Marie was already on her way and that in a couple of hours the train would arrive and he would go aboard for St. Louis, where he was to make her his wife. After buying his ticket, he went over to the Huckins Hotel and met Mr. Kennelworth for a final conference and to say good-bye. He told Mr. Kennelworth that he figured it would be time to buy cotton on a little reaction Monday morning, and also time to buy wheat again. Mr. Kennelworth assured him that he was going to plunge on his profits, and if he lost money now, it would be out of profits. He was going to get into the market and try to make a lot more money before he went to New York. Robert said that he intended to wire his broker from St. Louis to buy cotton and wheat for him on Monday morning.
Page 116
The “Sunshine Special” was a little late on Saturday night, June 4th, and Robert's heart was in his throat. He was anxious for that train to roll in. Finally, when the whistle blew and the signal light in the yard of the Texas Pacific showed the “Sunshine Special” was rolling in, the glare of the headlights on the train was the most welcome sight that Robert had ever witnessed thru all the days of his life. He boarded the train as quickly as possible and sat down nervous and anxious awaiting the moment when the train would get about 20 miles out of Texarkana, so that he might go back and look for Marie.
Pages 116-117
Marie told Robert that she knew if her father found out she was eloping, he would make every effort to stop her and prevent their marriage, as she was not of age, and he was anxious that she complete her education. Robert asked her if she had any regrets in the steps she was taking, and she told him she did not, that if she did have, she would never have started. She thought it was wonderful that Robert had been able to make money so rapidly and was very happy that he had stuck to the Bible and studied so hard, and now was getting his reward for his faith and hard work. She expressed her supreme confidence in him and the work that he intended to do. Robert hoped it would be a beautiful sunshiny Sunday morning when they arrived in St. Louis, so that they could be married and then proceed to New York.
Pages 118-119
Robert returned to his berth and tried to rest, but found that he couldn't sleep. He thought over what Marie had said about—“suppose the train should be wrecked, or something should happen that you should never see me again.” He thought that nothing could happen to separate Marie from him, but just the same it was the thought that she said something might happen. He felt lonesome being separated from Marie. She was two cars back, but he felt that the good God who had endowed him with faith would protect Marie, and that no harm would come to her; that there was no danger of a wreck on the “Sunshine Special” and that there was sunshine waiting for Marie and himself. In the wee small hours of the morning, Robert dozed off and had a few hours of sound sleep. He arose early and dressed. About 8 o’clock, he hurried back to Marie’s car, to take her to breakfast. When he arrived at her berth, he found it empty. He went back to the dining-car to look for Marie, but couldn’t find her there, and then went on thru to the end of the train, but was unable to locate Marie. The Pullman porter told him that he hadn't seen her that morning and the last he saw of her was when Robert was talking to her in the berth late that night. Robert then searched the train again from one end to the other and become uneasy and anxious about Marie. He returned again to her car and had the porter look for her baggage, and after looking thru the car, found that it was gone. Robert was now almost frantic and could not imagine what could have happened to her, because her baggage was gone. The porter assured him that there had been no hold-up of the train that night and that nothing unusual had happened. He had been up all night helping people get on and off at different stations but had seen nothing of Marie at any time. The train conductor was notified and the Pullman-car conductor was told. Both of them searched the train from one end to the other, and nowhere could Marie be found.
Pages 138-139
Robert felt very faint and weak because he was hungry. He had not eaten all day Sunday, and now realized that he must get something to eat, and strengthen himself for the ordeal to follow. He went to the dining-room and ordered a light breakfast but when the food was served, he found it hard to eat because he thought of the breakfast the Sunday morning before that he had intended to have eaten with Marie on the dining-car. Everything he saw reminded him of her. Her smile was in the glittering sunshine which played upon the windows in front of him or appeared in the clear crystal water in the glass and the sweet odor from the flowers on the table brought memories of sweet kisses and soft caresses which haunted him. Finally, Robert managed to eat a little, because he knew he must if he expected to keep up and have strength to fight on and find Marie.
Page 179
Robert returned to his hotel more hopeful and with the firm decision to face the future and carry out his plans, living faithful to Marie. On his arrival at the hotel, he received a telegram from Mr. Kennelworth, reading:
LEAVING ON THE SUNSHINE SPECIAL TONIGHT ARRIVE ST. LOUIS SATURDAY MORNING BE READY TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY WITH ME FOR NEW YORK.
Pages 192-193
Then Walter quoted from Southey, “‘There are three things a wise man will not trust, the wind, the sunshine of an April day and a woman’s plighted faith.’” Robert replied—“Nevertheless nearly every wise man has loved and trusted some good woman and most of them have not regretted it. Walter, you have never really been in love and you don’t know what love is. If you did, you would have faith and trust, regardless of all conditions.” “I guess the subject of love and women is too deep for me,” said Walter, “and the sooner you get down to business and your studies and get love off your mind, the greater success you are going to make.” Robert answered, “Without love this world would never have existed. It was God’s love for the world that saved it. My love for Marie will make me whatever I am to be in the future. Without that love I know I would be a miserable failure. The time will come when you will go to sleep at night with your last thoughts of beautiful rosy lips, of eyes that shine like Golconda’s purest gems, of a voice that is sweeter than a nightingale, of luxurious hair and of a form that to you is more beautiful than Venus, and when you awake in the morning your first thoughts will be of her. You will see her in the beautiful flowers, her face will be reflected from the ripple of the pure waters; everything you think about she will appear in connection with. Your slumbers will be disturbed. When you get a fever like this, you will then know and understand the power of love. Then nothing else will matter, only one thing will count in your life -- the woman you love. A great love like this must come to every man. In the Springtime of life it may be, or in those sunny solaces of the afternoon when the waning day brings sadness and man looks back and longs for the time when he might have loved, when he was younger and lived longer. Love is the elixir of life. It is a greater cure than any medicine. It has built up kingdoms and destroyed nations. You have ambitions now and a desire for gold, but after all, Walter, what can it buy? All the gold in the world cannot buy the tender touch of a little child’s fingers or the lovelight in angel eyes like Marie’s. It gives satisfaction that nothing else can.”
Page 251
That she was a participant in a tragedy is known only to a very few of Ocala's oldest citizens, and seldom referred to by any of them. In the near vicinity of Ocala, when first it was settled, stood a splendid old mansion owned by Capt. Harding Douglass, a South Carolinian of considerable wealth. His only child was a son, who, with his mother's beauty of countenance, had inherited her tender, shrinking nature, and, like herself, was a slave to the old man's iron will. In the beautiful little City of Ocala lived Bernice Mayo, whose blond beauty won, at first sight, the heart of Claire Douglass. Although of Virginia ancestry, Bernice was a true child of the "Land of Flowers," passionate and impulsive. Her eyes were blue and clear as the waters of Lake Munroe, beside which she had spent her childhood, in the fair little City of Sanford. Her hair was as golden as Florida’s own sunshine, and Florida's tropical splendor ran riot in her blood. For six months Bernice Mayo and Claire Douglass were constant companions, and Silver Springs was their favorite resort. For half a day at a time they would drift about on the bosom of the splendid, placid curiosity of nature.
Page 255
Claire Douglass looked unusually handsome as the party drifted down Silver Springs in the April sunshine, but there was a curious pallor on his face, and the uncle and niece were left to carry on all the conversation. What a contrast the blooming girl in April sunshine bore to the one in the solemn moonlight, who had drifted over the same water the evening before! As the skiff neared Boiling Springs the party noted a little boat hovering over it. The boat was rowed by Aunt Silly; and its other occupant was an old woman, whose eyes were swollen with weeping. The skiff paused beside the little rowboat, and the occupants of each gazed into the curious, transparent depths below.
Page 257
Robert was greatly impressed with this story and what they told him about the wonderful powers of Lady Bersford. After consulting with his friends, he decided to go immediately to Silver Springs to see her. On Sunday morning about 10 o’clock he boarded a local airplane for Silver Springs and arrived in the afternoon. It was a fitting setting for the scene. The day was beautiful, the sunshine at its best. Robert had watched the plane as it flew swiftly across the country. He had viewed the many beautiful orange groves and thought of the wonderful work of the hand of Nature in painting beauty grander than any hand of man could ever do. Here he thought of something that he would write of Marie in contrast to her beauty.
Page 265
After this, Robert was much more cheerful and hopeful. His own mind told him that he was at last on the right track. He thought of the laws laid down in the Bible; remembered what Jesus said when they asked him for a sign that the Son of man would remain three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, then rise and ascend to heaven. Robert knew the meaning of this. He knew that sorrows, sufferings and disappointment had to come before joy and happiness; for every day of sunshine comes a night of darkness, for every aching in the heart there is a returning flow. That all the laws of Nature taught the eternal law of action and reaction. He took great comfort in this; knew that the promise was laid down in the Bible of great reward for love and faithfulness and he felt very happy because he believed “Laughing Waters” story that Marie would come into his life again.
Pages 266-267
Lady Bersford said, “Thank you very much, Mr. Gordon, I have enjoyed our visits and hope that we will meet again some time. May I ask where you are going from here?” “I am going direct to New York as I have important business matters to look after there,” he replied. “Mr. Gordon, you don’t look strong,” she said. “It seems to me you need to take more care of your health and have more rest. I am going from here to Sebring, Florida. Have heard so many stories of this wonderful place that I want to go there to recoup my health.” “Is it a health resort?” asked Robert. Lady Bersford said, “I understand there is a sunshine sanitarium there. They teach you how to eat and play. The water is the finest in the State of Florida; in fact, one of the few places in Florida where you can get good drinking water. The climate is ideal. Lake Jackson, one of the most beautiful lakes in the State is near there, as well as many others. I am told the fishing and boating is fine. The Kissimmee River is near there. This beautiful river is associated with songs and stories of the Southland and I am anxious to see it. I met some friends in England who spent the past winter at Sebring and they were enthusiastic over the place. They had regained their health and felt that it was the place Ponce de Leon was looking for when he made his search to find the fountain of youth. They said that Sebring had more sunshine than any other place in Florida. I made up my mind that I would never leave Florida before I visited this wonderful spot and see what it would do for my health.
Pages 269-270
As Robert started toward New York, his heart was light, his hopes were revived and he had greater faith than ever that Marie was alive and would in the not distant future return to him. When he arrived in New York he went direct to his office and laboratory. Walter and Edna greeted him with enthusiasm. Were happy to see him looking so well. Walter grabbed both of Robert's hands and said, “Old pal, I have never seen you looking so well. You must have found Ponce de Leon’s fountain of eternal youth while you were in Florida.” Robert replied, “I certainly did. Had some wonderful experience at Silver Springs, the most beautiful spot in Florida. It was there that I received information that made me very happy becuse it made me sure that Marie is alive and will return to me. Also while there I heard about the most wonderful health resort in the world at Sebring, Florida, where I went and indeed found the ‘fountain of youth,’ spending over a month there playing, fishing and boating. It is about the only place in Florida where you can get good water to drink without having it shipped in. The sunshine and climate are ideal. I began to get better the second day after I was there and gained strength every day. You should certainly go to Florida on a vacation next winter and spend your time at Sebring. If you ever get married, be sure to go to Silver Springs on your honeymoon for you will enjoy this beautiful spot and scenery. Take the trip down Silver River to the Ocklawaha, then down the beautiful St. Johns River. If you can make the trip next March or early April, you will find Nature at her best. You will forget all of your troubles, for Nature has so staged the scenery that it reminds you only of pleasant things and inspires hope and happiness in the future.”
Pages 383-384
The enemy was losing confidence and decided to risk 50,000 planes, the best that they had, on a concerted attack upon Washington. They figured that if they could take the Capitol, it would be a telling blow and help them on to further victory. This was to be a supreme test and they decided to make the attack in broad daylight because they thought it would be a surprise and there would be more people on the street, and the attack would have a greater demoralizing effect on the people thruout the country. July 4th, Independence Day, was the time selected for the attack. The plan was to send one fleet up the Potomac, have another fleet come down the Potomac from the North and Northwest and the third wing come across by Baltimore. Colonel Edna Kennelworth was on duty when the Tel-Talk buzzed and a scouting plane reported to her that the enemy were approaching in large numbers up the Potomac. She had never operated the sleeping gas machine in daylight before, but knew that it would work just as effectively. Having seen the attack upon New York and knowing how swiftly one attack followed the other, she realized that she must work fast. She adjusted the gas machine toward the enemy approaching down the Potomac and set it for a certain range, about 75 miles. She looked thru her telescope and saw the enemy when they were about 50 miles away and decided to let go the sleeping gas. She swept it quickly right and left and in the glistening sunshine saw hundreds of planes going down. In fifteen minutes the entire fleet was safely asleep in the Tunnel thru the Air. By this time report came that another fleet was making from Baltimore in a direct line for Washington. She set the machine again, looked thru her powerful glass and saw the enemy approaching. She started discharging the gas, and in twelve minutes the entire fleet had been plunged into the Tunnel.
Pages 113-114
Robert told Mr. Kennelworth that he made over $4,000.00 for Marie on her little capital of $400.00 with which she had started. Mr. Kennelworth was very much elated over this. This was the first time he had heard about Marie putting up $400.00 to buy cotton. He told Robert she was the kind of a woman to marry, the one who believed in him and would back him with her money and everything else. He believed it was love of the right kind—that success was sure to follow. Robert was so happy that afternoon that he called Marie on the long-distance phone, and told her of his great success in the market in wheat and the money Mr. Kennelworth had made; told her that they had now a working capital of around $25,000.00 and with that much money, in New York it would be only a question of a few years when he would be a millionaire. The main thing, however, was not money but the use he wanted to put it to in completing his invention. Marie was very happy and told him that she was making arrangements to go to Dallas and would leave there that afternoon on the “Sunshine Special,” and after the train pulled out of Texarkana, he would find her on board. He was to keep everything quiet and not let anybody know anything about the elopement, as her father might try to stop her. No one in Texarkana but Robert's mother and Mr. Kennelworth knew about the secret elopement. Robert kept everything quiet about his resigning from Mr. Kennelworth's and going to New York, because he thought that there might be some leak somewhere and that Mr. Stanton might find out about Marie's elopement and stop it.
Page 115
At 7 P.M. June 4th, 1927, Robert walked into the Railroad Station at Texarkana and bought a ticket for St. Louis, with a reservation on the “Sunshine Special.” This was the greatest and happiest moment of his life. He knew that Marie was already on her way and that in a couple of hours the train would arrive and he would go aboard for St. Louis, where he was to make her his wife. After buying his ticket, he went over to the Huckins Hotel and met Mr. Kennelworth for a final conference and to say good-bye. He told Mr. Kennelworth that he figured it would be time to buy cotton on a little reaction Monday morning, and also time to buy wheat again. Mr. Kennelworth assured him that he was going to plunge on his profits, and if he lost money now, it would be out of profits. He was going to get into the market and try to make a lot more money before he went to New York. Robert said that he intended to wire his broker from St. Louis to buy cotton and wheat for him on Monday morning.
Page 116
The “Sunshine Special” was a little late on Saturday night, June 4th, and Robert's heart was in his throat. He was anxious for that train to roll in. Finally, when the whistle blew and the signal light in the yard of the Texas Pacific showed the “Sunshine Special” was rolling in, the glare of the headlights on the train was the most welcome sight that Robert had ever witnessed thru all the days of his life. He boarded the train as quickly as possible and sat down nervous and anxious awaiting the moment when the train would get about 20 miles out of Texarkana, so that he might go back and look for Marie.
Pages 116-117
Marie told Robert that she knew if her father found out she was eloping, he would make every effort to stop her and prevent their marriage, as she was not of age, and he was anxious that she complete her education. Robert asked her if she had any regrets in the steps she was taking, and she told him she did not, that if she did have, she would never have started. She thought it was wonderful that Robert had been able to make money so rapidly and was very happy that he had stuck to the Bible and studied so hard, and now was getting his reward for his faith and hard work. She expressed her supreme confidence in him and the work that he intended to do. Robert hoped it would be a beautiful sunshiny Sunday morning when they arrived in St. Louis, so that they could be married and then proceed to New York.
Pages 118-119
Robert returned to his berth and tried to rest, but found that he couldn't sleep. He thought over what Marie had said about—“suppose the train should be wrecked, or something should happen that you should never see me again.” He thought that nothing could happen to separate Marie from him, but just the same it was the thought that she said something might happen. He felt lonesome being separated from Marie. She was two cars back, but he felt that the good God who had endowed him with faith would protect Marie, and that no harm would come to her; that there was no danger of a wreck on the “Sunshine Special” and that there was sunshine waiting for Marie and himself. In the wee small hours of the morning, Robert dozed off and had a few hours of sound sleep. He arose early and dressed. About 8 o’clock, he hurried back to Marie’s car, to take her to breakfast. When he arrived at her berth, he found it empty. He went back to the dining-car to look for Marie, but couldn’t find her there, and then went on thru to the end of the train, but was unable to locate Marie. The Pullman porter told him that he hadn't seen her that morning and the last he saw of her was when Robert was talking to her in the berth late that night. Robert then searched the train again from one end to the other and become uneasy and anxious about Marie. He returned again to her car and had the porter look for her baggage, and after looking thru the car, found that it was gone. Robert was now almost frantic and could not imagine what could have happened to her, because her baggage was gone. The porter assured him that there had been no hold-up of the train that night and that nothing unusual had happened. He had been up all night helping people get on and off at different stations but had seen nothing of Marie at any time. The train conductor was notified and the Pullman-car conductor was told. Both of them searched the train from one end to the other, and nowhere could Marie be found.
Pages 138-139
Robert felt very faint and weak because he was hungry. He had not eaten all day Sunday, and now realized that he must get something to eat, and strengthen himself for the ordeal to follow. He went to the dining-room and ordered a light breakfast but when the food was served, he found it hard to eat because he thought of the breakfast the Sunday morning before that he had intended to have eaten with Marie on the dining-car. Everything he saw reminded him of her. Her smile was in the glittering sunshine which played upon the windows in front of him or appeared in the clear crystal water in the glass and the sweet odor from the flowers on the table brought memories of sweet kisses and soft caresses which haunted him. Finally, Robert managed to eat a little, because he knew he must if he expected to keep up and have strength to fight on and find Marie.
Page 179
Robert returned to his hotel more hopeful and with the firm decision to face the future and carry out his plans, living faithful to Marie. On his arrival at the hotel, he received a telegram from Mr. Kennelworth, reading:
LEAVING ON THE SUNSHINE SPECIAL TONIGHT ARRIVE ST. LOUIS SATURDAY MORNING BE READY TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY WITH ME FOR NEW YORK.
Pages 192-193
Then Walter quoted from Southey, “‘There are three things a wise man will not trust, the wind, the sunshine of an April day and a woman’s plighted faith.’” Robert replied—“Nevertheless nearly every wise man has loved and trusted some good woman and most of them have not regretted it. Walter, you have never really been in love and you don’t know what love is. If you did, you would have faith and trust, regardless of all conditions.” “I guess the subject of love and women is too deep for me,” said Walter, “and the sooner you get down to business and your studies and get love off your mind, the greater success you are going to make.” Robert answered, “Without love this world would never have existed. It was God’s love for the world that saved it. My love for Marie will make me whatever I am to be in the future. Without that love I know I would be a miserable failure. The time will come when you will go to sleep at night with your last thoughts of beautiful rosy lips, of eyes that shine like Golconda’s purest gems, of a voice that is sweeter than a nightingale, of luxurious hair and of a form that to you is more beautiful than Venus, and when you awake in the morning your first thoughts will be of her. You will see her in the beautiful flowers, her face will be reflected from the ripple of the pure waters; everything you think about she will appear in connection with. Your slumbers will be disturbed. When you get a fever like this, you will then know and understand the power of love. Then nothing else will matter, only one thing will count in your life -- the woman you love. A great love like this must come to every man. In the Springtime of life it may be, or in those sunny solaces of the afternoon when the waning day brings sadness and man looks back and longs for the time when he might have loved, when he was younger and lived longer. Love is the elixir of life. It is a greater cure than any medicine. It has built up kingdoms and destroyed nations. You have ambitions now and a desire for gold, but after all, Walter, what can it buy? All the gold in the world cannot buy the tender touch of a little child’s fingers or the lovelight in angel eyes like Marie’s. It gives satisfaction that nothing else can.”
Page 251
That she was a participant in a tragedy is known only to a very few of Ocala's oldest citizens, and seldom referred to by any of them. In the near vicinity of Ocala, when first it was settled, stood a splendid old mansion owned by Capt. Harding Douglass, a South Carolinian of considerable wealth. His only child was a son, who, with his mother's beauty of countenance, had inherited her tender, shrinking nature, and, like herself, was a slave to the old man's iron will. In the beautiful little City of Ocala lived Bernice Mayo, whose blond beauty won, at first sight, the heart of Claire Douglass. Although of Virginia ancestry, Bernice was a true child of the "Land of Flowers," passionate and impulsive. Her eyes were blue and clear as the waters of Lake Munroe, beside which she had spent her childhood, in the fair little City of Sanford. Her hair was as golden as Florida’s own sunshine, and Florida's tropical splendor ran riot in her blood. For six months Bernice Mayo and Claire Douglass were constant companions, and Silver Springs was their favorite resort. For half a day at a time they would drift about on the bosom of the splendid, placid curiosity of nature.
Page 255
Claire Douglass looked unusually handsome as the party drifted down Silver Springs in the April sunshine, but there was a curious pallor on his face, and the uncle and niece were left to carry on all the conversation. What a contrast the blooming girl in April sunshine bore to the one in the solemn moonlight, who had drifted over the same water the evening before! As the skiff neared Boiling Springs the party noted a little boat hovering over it. The boat was rowed by Aunt Silly; and its other occupant was an old woman, whose eyes were swollen with weeping. The skiff paused beside the little rowboat, and the occupants of each gazed into the curious, transparent depths below.
Page 257
Robert was greatly impressed with this story and what they told him about the wonderful powers of Lady Bersford. After consulting with his friends, he decided to go immediately to Silver Springs to see her. On Sunday morning about 10 o’clock he boarded a local airplane for Silver Springs and arrived in the afternoon. It was a fitting setting for the scene. The day was beautiful, the sunshine at its best. Robert had watched the plane as it flew swiftly across the country. He had viewed the many beautiful orange groves and thought of the wonderful work of the hand of Nature in painting beauty grander than any hand of man could ever do. Here he thought of something that he would write of Marie in contrast to her beauty.
Page 265
After this, Robert was much more cheerful and hopeful. His own mind told him that he was at last on the right track. He thought of the laws laid down in the Bible; remembered what Jesus said when they asked him for a sign that the Son of man would remain three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, then rise and ascend to heaven. Robert knew the meaning of this. He knew that sorrows, sufferings and disappointment had to come before joy and happiness; for every day of sunshine comes a night of darkness, for every aching in the heart there is a returning flow. That all the laws of Nature taught the eternal law of action and reaction. He took great comfort in this; knew that the promise was laid down in the Bible of great reward for love and faithfulness and he felt very happy because he believed “Laughing Waters” story that Marie would come into his life again.
Pages 266-267
Lady Bersford said, “Thank you very much, Mr. Gordon, I have enjoyed our visits and hope that we will meet again some time. May I ask where you are going from here?” “I am going direct to New York as I have important business matters to look after there,” he replied. “Mr. Gordon, you don’t look strong,” she said. “It seems to me you need to take more care of your health and have more rest. I am going from here to Sebring, Florida. Have heard so many stories of this wonderful place that I want to go there to recoup my health.” “Is it a health resort?” asked Robert. Lady Bersford said, “I understand there is a sunshine sanitarium there. They teach you how to eat and play. The water is the finest in the State of Florida; in fact, one of the few places in Florida where you can get good drinking water. The climate is ideal. Lake Jackson, one of the most beautiful lakes in the State is near there, as well as many others. I am told the fishing and boating is fine. The Kissimmee River is near there. This beautiful river is associated with songs and stories of the Southland and I am anxious to see it. I met some friends in England who spent the past winter at Sebring and they were enthusiastic over the place. They had regained their health and felt that it was the place Ponce de Leon was looking for when he made his search to find the fountain of youth. They said that Sebring had more sunshine than any other place in Florida. I made up my mind that I would never leave Florida before I visited this wonderful spot and see what it would do for my health.
Pages 269-270
As Robert started toward New York, his heart was light, his hopes were revived and he had greater faith than ever that Marie was alive and would in the not distant future return to him. When he arrived in New York he went direct to his office and laboratory. Walter and Edna greeted him with enthusiasm. Were happy to see him looking so well. Walter grabbed both of Robert's hands and said, “Old pal, I have never seen you looking so well. You must have found Ponce de Leon’s fountain of eternal youth while you were in Florida.” Robert replied, “I certainly did. Had some wonderful experience at Silver Springs, the most beautiful spot in Florida. It was there that I received information that made me very happy becuse it made me sure that Marie is alive and will return to me. Also while there I heard about the most wonderful health resort in the world at Sebring, Florida, where I went and indeed found the ‘fountain of youth,’ spending over a month there playing, fishing and boating. It is about the only place in Florida where you can get good water to drink without having it shipped in. The sunshine and climate are ideal. I began to get better the second day after I was there and gained strength every day. You should certainly go to Florida on a vacation next winter and spend your time at Sebring. If you ever get married, be sure to go to Silver Springs on your honeymoon for you will enjoy this beautiful spot and scenery. Take the trip down Silver River to the Ocklawaha, then down the beautiful St. Johns River. If you can make the trip next March or early April, you will find Nature at her best. You will forget all of your troubles, for Nature has so staged the scenery that it reminds you only of pleasant things and inspires hope and happiness in the future.”
Pages 383-384
The enemy was losing confidence and decided to risk 50,000 planes, the best that they had, on a concerted attack upon Washington. They figured that if they could take the Capitol, it would be a telling blow and help them on to further victory. This was to be a supreme test and they decided to make the attack in broad daylight because they thought it would be a surprise and there would be more people on the street, and the attack would have a greater demoralizing effect on the people thruout the country. July 4th, Independence Day, was the time selected for the attack. The plan was to send one fleet up the Potomac, have another fleet come down the Potomac from the North and Northwest and the third wing come across by Baltimore. Colonel Edna Kennelworth was on duty when the Tel-Talk buzzed and a scouting plane reported to her that the enemy were approaching in large numbers up the Potomac. She had never operated the sleeping gas machine in daylight before, but knew that it would work just as effectively. Having seen the attack upon New York and knowing how swiftly one attack followed the other, she realized that she must work fast. She adjusted the gas machine toward the enemy approaching down the Potomac and set it for a certain range, about 75 miles. She looked thru her telescope and saw the enemy when they were about 50 miles away and decided to let go the sleeping gas. She swept it quickly right and left and in the glistening sunshine saw hundreds of planes going down. In fifteen minutes the entire fleet was safely asleep in the Tunnel thru the Air. By this time report came that another fleet was making from Baltimore in a direct line for Washington. She set the machine again, looked thru her powerful glass and saw the enemy approaching. She started discharging the gas, and in twelve minutes the entire fleet had been plunged into the Tunnel.
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