CHAPTER XXVI
September, 1930
Afterlong days of anxious waiting, with the people nervous and excited, came the attack on San Francisco. The enemy planes attacked from the West, the South and the North, slipping in silently in large numbers. Poisoned gas was turned loose, bombs were dropped all over the city and most of the important business and Government buildings were destroyed. The destruction was the greatest in history, much greater than the earthquake in 1906. Loss of life was terrific. General Pearson ordered Captain Gordon and Kennelworth to lead the defense of the city, using the Japanese planes which had been taken from the wreck of the "Tokyo J-1." As soon as they got in high altitude over San Francisco, they could see that this was a gigantic attack. Thousands of airplanes were circling the air from every direction. It was evident that the enemy intended to destroy San Francisco very quickly. Captain Gordon and Captain Kennelworth were able to keep in communication thru their Pocket Radio. They agreed that one of them should attack the enemy planes approaching from the North and the other, the planes approaching from the South and West, going as high as they could and if possible getting above the enemy planes and dropping bombs on them. WhenCaptain Gordon got high in the air, he saw another mother ship anchored and with the smaller planes taking off from it. He sailed over and let loose his bombs and destroyed this ship. Other ships were coming from every direction by the thousands. He sailed over them letting loose his bombs cautiously.
Captain Kennelworth also encountered planes by the thousands coming across from the West and succeeded in bringing down numbers of them. Finally, the enemy planes turned on him and when he saw that escape seemed almost impossible, decided to try to race back to headquarters. The enemy planes were firing on him. One wing of his plane was damaged, then a propeller was broken and as his plane was crashing to the earth, he felt that he was sure to lose his life; tried to steer the best he could and finally, seeing that he was going to land on a smooth spot where there were no trees or buildings, he crawled out on top of one of the wings. A few minutes after the crash he regained consciousness, finding himself uninjured with only a few minor scratches. Fortunately he was near one of the army bases and made his way quickly there. He could see to the West that San Francisco was in flames and knew that the destruction was complete. His first thought was what had happened to his old pal, Robert Gordon. Feeling in his pocket and finding his radio safe, he sent the distress signal which they had always used, asking "Are you alive and where are you?" Minutes went by and no reply. He was heartsick and feared that Robert had lost his life. He slowly made his way to headquarters and reported what had happened.
Captain Gordon finally exhausted his bombs, but he estimated that he had brought down several hundred of the enemy planes because he had sailed over them where they were flying by the hundreds in wedge formations, each division being followed by a giant supply ship which could anchor high up in the air and supply more bombs when the bombing planes exhausted their supply and returned for more. Robert thought, "this is just what our Government needs. If there were only a supply ship in the air now where I could go and get more bombs, I could bring down hundreds more of the enemy's planes." He decided to make his way back to the base or headquarters as he was powerless without bombs, but his decision was too late. The enemy planes had located him and were coming straight toward him. He speeded up and tried to make his way to safety, fearing that any minute the enemy would fire on him or drop a bomb on his plane, but the Japanese had discovered that he was flying one of their own planes and they thought he was one of their own aviators and had no intention of harming him. When they got close enough to see that the plane was piloted by an American aviator, they flew close beside him, signaled him to follow them, one plane leading and two others falling in beside him. There was nothing else to do and he was glad of a chance to save his life. They led him up, up, up, thousands of feet in the air, finally reached a giant plane anchored, where they landed, taking Captain Gordon a prisoner.
As soon as they had landed with him, his mind went back to the days of his youth, when he had built hisfirst bicycle to ride on the water, and when he had read the Bible and talked about the wars to come and made his plans for the great airship. He recalled the dream his mother had which greatly disturbed her. She told him she dreamed that she saw San Francisco destroyed by some terrible machine and that one of her sons had nearly lost his life there. He thought of how his mother had told him about his oldest brother losing his life in the San Francisco earthquake and he wondered if now he was to lose his life there, because he felt that the Japs were very treacherous and would probably not keep him a prisoner but would take his life. He prayed for his dear old mother and prayed for Marie that she might be safe and her life be spared, no matter what his fate might be.
Through all this excitement, for the first time he thought of his Pocket-Radio. Before he could get it out of his pocket, he received the S.O.S. signal from Walter and answered, telling him what had happened and where he was.
Ever since the first battle of Los Angeles, the United States officers had felt certain that an attack would come upon San Francisco and had prepared for it the best way possible. They had concentrated a greater portion of their best airplanes there and had thrown them into the fight by the thousands and they had gone down in large numbers, not only being outnumbered by the enemy planes but being unable to follow the enemy planes high enough to destroy them. When reports were made the following morning, more than three thousand of this country's airplanes had been lost.The loss of life in San Francisco was appalling. Almost half of the population had been wiped out. Most of the valuable buildings had been destroyed. All the ships anchored in the harbor were blown to pieces. A poisonous gas which American chemists had never seen or heard of before had been distributed all over San Francisco and the people who were left were sick and dying by the thousands. The waters in the bay had been poisoned and the fish were dying from this deadly gas. It was indeed a time of trouble such as the world has never known, as spoken of by St. John in the Book of Revelation.
The capture of Captain Gordon and the loss of both of the Japanese airplanes which had been captured at the destruction of the "Tokyo J-1" was a disheartening blow, because Captain Kennelworth had reported how effectively he had worked over the enemy planes and how many he had destroyed. He was sure that Captain Gordon had destroyed many of their planes. When a survey was made of the city it was found that several hundred of the enemy's planes had been brought down. Most of this was attributed to the work done by Captains Gordon and Kennelworth with the high altitude foreign planes. When all reports were in, the commanders of the United States armies got together for a conference. This disaster in such a short time was bewildering and it required quick decision as to the next move. They were at a loss to figure out what the enemy's next move would be, remembering that after Los Angeles had been surrendered and the white flag had floated over it, it had never been molested.Knowing that another attack would finish the remains of San Francisco, they decided to surrender it, and again the white flag was raised over all the remaining buildings. When General Pearson saw these instructions being carried out, he was overcome with emotion. Tears were flowing down his cheeks and he exclaimed; "My God, my God, is the land of liberty to be destroyed? Is there no way to prevent this deadly destruction?"
As soon as the Japanese had captured Captain Gordon they knew who he was. He was the man who had sold them the great silent muffler. They brought him to headquarters in Mexico where he was questioned as to what other inventions he had. He told them that the only invention he had of value was the secret radio, with which he could send communications without any sound in the air and without anyone intercepting the messages, but made no mention of the other discoveries that he had which he knew could be used in time of emergency and of which he had never told the United States Government officials. The Japanese offered Robert his freedom and a large amount of money if he would sell them this invention. After communicating secretly and silently with Walter, Robert had him tell the commanding General about the proposition the Japanese had offered him and asked for instructions as to what he should do. Their reply was to remain prisoner and not give up any of his secrets to the enemy, because the situation was bad enough at the best. But Robert knew that his services would be of greater value to his Government and that it was bad judgment for him to remain a prisoner. He felt that he could makeanother invention for communications which would outwit the Japs, so he decided on his own responsibility to give up the secret radio, and after they tested it, they gave him his freedom and conveyed him safely out of the enemy lines. Robert returned to headquarters near San Francisco and reported to Colonel Davis just what he had done. He was immediately sent before General Pearson who was then in command of the United States Air forces. General Pearson after hearing the story and considering Robert's splendid record, decided that clemency should be extended to him but, before doing so, decided to communicate with the President of the United States and await his decision and instructions. A meeting of the Cabinet was called and they voted that Captain Gordon was a traitor to his country, but decided that he should not be court-martialed and shot, but dishonored. Orders were sent that his uniform be torn from him and that he be held a prisoner. This was the greatest blow to Robert that had ever befallen him since the loss of Marie, but he had faith in God. He knew that he had done right and what was for the best, just as the Creator of the universe does all things well and for the best. He read his Bible that night while in prison and was consoled by reading Job, where he said, "Lord, Lord, I'll wait until my change comes." Robert knew that the time would come when he would be able to demonstrate to his Government that his judgment was right and that he was acting for the best. His heart and soul were with his country and he would sacrifice time and money to be prepared to protect his Government. He asked to be allowed to have a conference withWalter, which was granted. Told Walter to say nothing about his sleeping gas discovery or the "Demon of Death,"—the great light ray destroyer which they could use, and to tell nothing of the great ship "Marie the Angel of Mercy," which they had safely stored away in the Adirondack Mountains. That when the Government came to realize the need of great help and faced defeat, he would then demonstrate the inventions that he had to save the country.
General Pearson was very much interested in Gordon's case. He remembered the great feat of bringing down the "Tokyo J-1" and believed that Robert was a genius and a valuable man to the Government. If the officials had listened to Robert and taken the discovery he had offered them, probably the defeat in San Francisco would never have happened. He did not blame Robert for selling his invention to Japan in peace time, nor did he condemn him for turning over his secret Pocket Radio to the Japanese to secure his freedom. Believed he was loyal to his country and acted as he thought best and had not done it for a selfish motive. The General decided to visit Robert at the prison. After holding a conference with him, ordered him removed and brought to headquarters where he could keep him under his personal supervision. Robert confided to General Pearson that if he could secure his release, and let him return to his laboratory in New York, he could very quickly complete another invention to enable the United States forces to communicate secret orders from place to place, which the enemy could not understand or use. He told him that he hadan invention partly completed which when placed a certain distance from an airplane would prevent any communication by his secret radio and that with this it would make the secret radio which he turned over to Japan, absolutely useless. General Pearson believed his story and had faith in him so communicated with the President of the United States and obtained permission to send Robert Gordon to his New York laboratory. The General realized that the situation was much worse than the newspapers were letting the public know. The Government was suppressing their weakened condition. General Pearson knew that with help from England or any other foreign country, it would be easy for the enemy to take New Orleans, Chicago and then sweep down on Washington and New York. The liberty of the United States now hung in a balance and unless something was done, and done quickly, their cause would be lost.
General Pearson wrote to the President that there was no denying the fact that the situation was critical and that the enemy had something up their sleeve and that unless every effort was made to forestall their move, he feared a repetition of the terrible disaster at San Francisco. He sent the record of Robert Gordon. Said that while he was a young man, he was one of the bravest aviators that he had ever known; that he was not only bright but brilliant. He believed he was a genius. That he had had a long talk with him and that Gordon had asked to be released and permitted to return to his laboratory in New York where he believed he could complete a valuable invention which would prove a greathelp to the country. The General recommended that Gordon be released and permitted to return to New York and given a chance. Said that this was the age of the young men because they were progressive and up to the times.
The President wrote General Pearson to use his own judgment and send Gordon to New York if he thought best. General Pearson gave orders that Robert Gordon be brought to him. He communicated the good news, gave him a passport and told him to proceed immediately to New York and work just as rapidly as possible to perfect any kind of invention that would help defeat the enemy's plans.