CHAPTER XI

At7P.M.June 4th, 1921, 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.

Mr. Kennelworth bid Robert good-bye with all good wishes for success and said he was sure he was going to succeed, but that if failure and disappointment should come, he should always remember that he could rely upon him; that a young man often had trouble and disappointment and made many mistakes before he reached his goal and that if anything went wrong in the market,he could always come to him and ask for any aid possible and he would gladly grant it. He thought as much of Robert as he did of his own son, Walter, and wanted them to work together in New York, and was sure that they could be a great success. He wanted Robert to encourage Walter to continue his studies along chemical lines, because he believed that Walter would be able to make some great discoveries and they could work together to good advantage.

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.

The minutes passed slowly away and it seemed like years before the train crossed the Red River and Robert decided that it was safe to go back to the car where Marie was and see her. He found Marie all anxious and nervously awaiting his arrival. She flew into his arms and seemed the happiest woman in the world and Robert was too happy for words. They sat there and talked of their future plans until after midnight.

Marie told Robert that she knew if her father found out she was eloping, he would make every effort to stopher 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.

Marie seemed very enthusiastic over the prospect of getting to St. Louis. Robert had a little surprise for her, and she asked him to tell her what it was. But he said, she must wait until they arrived in St. Louis. "Robert, just suppose the train should be wrecked and I should be killed, or something should happen that I would never see you again, don't you think you had better tell me about the surprise now?" He said, "No, there is not going to be any wreck. Good luck is following us, and the surprise will keep until tomorrow morning." She said, "Robert, I may not be able to sleep. I don't think I can sleep anyway, after all this excitement and happiness and everything that is to come in the future." Robert knew that he couldn't sleep either, but he would go up to his car, lie down and try to get some rest before they arrived in St. Louis the next morning. They agreed to meet early in the morningand go back into the dining car for breakfast before they arrived in St. Louis.

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 became 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 whatcould 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.

Robert did not explain to the conductor or the porter that they were to be married in St. Louis that morning. The conductor told him that it seemed plain that in some way during the night, she must have left the train because her baggage was gone. Robert was now almost in a state of collapse. He imagined all kinds of things which might have happened to Marie. Thought that she might have become insane during the night, and had thrown her baggage out of the window, and jumped out. Thought her father might in some way have found out about her plans and had some officer or someone secreted on the train who had taken Marie off at some point enroute. But no matter what he thought or imagined, it was no relief to his mind because he did not know where Marie was. All his future happiness was blasted in a moment.

By the time the search was over, the train was nearing St. Louis. Robert began to think of all the things he could and must do to try and find Marie. The first thing he thought of was to wire Mr. Kennelworth, and have him make a search and ascertain whether her father or mother knew anything about what had happened.The railroad conductor and Pullman conductor had tried to cheer Robert up and assure him that nothing seriously wrong could have happened to her, and that for some unknown reason she must have left the train at some station during the night without anyone knowing it, because they were sure that she could not have jumped out or fallen from the window without someone knowing about it and they thought there was nothing to worry about. Robert had decided on sending telegrams and making every search possible to locate her. He put his hand in his inside pocket to find a pencil and draw out a wallet. In the pocket was an envelope addressed to him in Marie's handwriting. He did not know where it had come from or how it could have gotten into his pocket, but he hurriedly tore the envelope open and this is what he read:

June 5, 1927—3A.M.Dearest Robert:According to your faith, be I unto you. Love will always have faith, understand and wait. Time proves all things. You will get everything you want. I will come to you when I mean the most and your need for love is the greatest.Lovingly always,Marie.

June 5, 1927—3A.M.Dearest Robert:

According to your faith, be I unto you. Love will always have faith, understand and wait. Time proves all things. You will get everything you want. I will come to you when I mean the most and your need for love is the greatest.

Lovingly always,Marie.

When Robert finished reading this little note, tears were streaming down his face. He was frantic. He knew that the mysterious letter was written by Marie's own hand and must have been written on the train and for some unknown reason she was leaving him. He at once thought of his great faith in her, and his faith in God and the future as he read. He wondered what thiscould mean: "According to your faith, be I unto you—love will always have faith, understand and wait." Robert thought, "How can I understand, how can I wait, when I left her only a few hours ago supremely happy anticipating being married a few hours later in St. Louis, and going on to New York to spend our future lives together. What in the world can she mean by, 'time proves all things.'" Time had proved his faith and love for her. She had had faith in him and had encouraged him; had put up the $400.00 she had saved, not to make money for herself but to try to help him. She told him that she didn't want the money, but wanted him to use it in any way that would help him. Then he pondered the next line where she said: "You will get everything you want." He thought, "My God, there is only one thing that I do want, there is only one thing in this world that means anything to me and that is my Marie, and where will I find her." Reading the next line over and over, "I will come to you when I mean the most and your need for love is the greatest."

He almost exclaimed aloud, "My God, my God, now is the time that I need her the most. I will never need her more. How can I go on? Life will be a blank. I will be a dismal failure without her." He wondered if there ever could be a time in the future when he would need her more, when she would mean more to him, than she meant at this moment.

He could imagine no unfriendly circumstances, no break of any kind that would cause Marie to change in a few hours and decide to turn back from the step she had taken. He could not understand how she couldhave slipped to his berth in the wee small hours of the morning and placed this note in his inside coat pocket. It was her handwriting, and he knew that Marie had written it. But why! why! why!

As the train rolled into the Union Station at St. Louis he stood in the car dazed, with her letter crumpled in his hand. With a heavy heart he made his way to the station and sat down to think what he could or should do. Finally, he decided to send a telegram and lay the circumstances of Marie's disappearance before Mr. Kennelworth and ask his advice before making any move.

Robert realized that he must have time to collect his thoughts, if he ever could think again. His thoughts turned back to the dream Marie had told him she had, where some terrible tragedy had overtaken him and she had gone out of his life in a mysterious way and came back into it in the same way. He wondered if at that time Marie had had any doubt that she might not want to continue to carry out the plans agreed on. Then he thought of what she said just before bidding good-night in the train, when she had asked him to tell her what the surprise was he had for her and said to him that the train might wreck and kill her or that something might happen to separate them. He wondered then if she had something in her mind which she thought might separate them during the night, or if she intended to hide from him in some way.

But he must get all that out of his mind—must have faith in Marie, must understand and wait. Then like a flash he became contented. Thought it was all a joke that Marie had played on him, that she was hidingsomewhere in the train and in a few minutes would show up, so he decided not to send a telegram to Mr. Kennelworth but simply stay in the station and wait. He opened his suit case and took out the Bible, and there began to read from St. Paul, who said that love suffers long and is kind, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked and thinks no evil. Robert resolved to have patience, to have faith in Marie, and never doubt her, and never to think any evil of her no matter what happened. His mind was relieved. He felt happy and more cheerful, and was hopeful.

He waited a short time in the station, hoping Marie would join him. The seconds drifted away like weeks, the minutes seemed like months, and when an hour had gone by, to Robert it seemed like years. He waited and hoped; watched in every direction for Marie's beautiful eyes, the eyes he told her he loved so much and always wanted them to greet him when he came home from his work because they were an inspiration. Slowly the hands on the great clock in the Union Station showed it was nearly 12 o'clock noon. Robert listened attentively as the old clock tolled twelve times for 12 o'clock and each time it seemed that the blood from his heart was slowly trickling away. Hope was fast giving away to despair. Robert found his patience waning, but that was not to be. He must trust to the word of God which said: "O, ye of little faith, saith the Lord," and must try to find Marie who meant everything to him.

As the last stroke of the clock died slowly away, Robert started to think again. He finally decided that he would stay in the Union Station and have patienceto wait one more hour for Marie. He thought that she was really playing a joke on him and would surely come by 1 o'clock. While he waited he continued to read the Bible: "The heavenly Shepherd is leading you in the right way to his own blessed fold. Leave all to him, to his faithfulness, his love, his power, his watchful, sleepless care." Robert decided to trust, to have faith and leave it all to God that He might protect Marie and bring her safely back to him.

Then he read the poem by Gerhart:

"The prison where thou artThy God will break it soon,And flood with light thy heartIn his own blessed noon."

Robert thought how happy he would have been, as he expected by this time to be married to Marie and happily on their way to New York to celebrate their honeymoon. The hour had drifted slowly away and it was now a quarter to one. Robert was troubled and discouraged, but had not lost hope. He opened his Bible and read—Job 6:8:

"Oh that I might have my request, and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!"

Robert knew that he longed for Marie and believed that if he had faith God would answer his prayers. He read again—Job 6:11-13:

"What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?"

"What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?

Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?"

This was a great consolation to Robert. He realized that at last in desperation like Job he must hope and have faith; that his wisdom and strength was in himself and that if he had faith in God and trusted him that he would find Marie; that he would be able to overcome trials and tribulations and would have wisdom and faith to hold on and hope until he realized his dream and again found Marie. Robert remembered reading in the Bible where it said:

"Whom God loveth he chastiseth."

He thought that Marie was chastising him to try his faith and decided that he would not lose patience no matter what happened, that he would seek her to the ends of the earth.

Robert watched the movement of every woman who passed thru the gates of the Union Station for Marie, but each minute brought bitter disappointment. His heart, which but a few hours ago was filled with love and happiness, was sad. Robert looked up as the hands on the clock in the Union Station pointed to 1 o'clock,—the time that he had appointed unto himself to wait without taking some action to try to find Marie. No Marie was in sight. He walked over to the news stand and bought a paper and decided to sit down for a few minutes and try to read. As he slowly turned the pages of the paper looking for something he knew not what, suddenly his eyes fell upon the heading; "The Best Thing on Earth" by R.L. Cole. The first thought that entered Robert's mind was that the best thing on earth was Marie and that the greatest thing in the world was love. He read the entire article.

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