Robert wrote to Walter telling him that he had been to Sherman to see Marie, that they had made up and that he was supremely happy. He confided to Walter his hopes of a great discovery and told him that with the love of Marie and her faith in him there was nothing he could not do.
He had figured out from the Bible that a time of trouble such as the world had never seen would begin in 1927, and would continue until 1932. There would be war, famine and pestilence all over the earth, and that except the time be shortened every human being on the face of the earth would be destroyed according to the Bible. He was anxious to make money to complete his invention to protect his own country because he knew that the United States was yet to face the greatest war in history, and every nation would rise against us. The great gold supply that was gathered by the United States from the beginning of the great World War had caused commercial jealousy of all other nations and it would only be a short time before we were at war. Unless we were prepared with modern inventions we were going to lose the next war. He knew what was coming and wanted to prepare to meet the emergency that was to come.
Many letters passed between Robert and Marie during the latter part of 1926. Her letters of love and encouragement helped Robert to make progress in his work. He saved his money and planned for their future.
Christmas, 1926, was the happiest that Robert had ever known and wanting Marie to share it with him he sent her a beautiful ring, wrote her that he had saved his money and was now in position to buy it. The diamond, he said, represented purity, firmness and faith and symbolized all those things in her and his great trust in her. He told her that he was anxious to get in shape to go to New York to continue his studies, and work and make money and be near his old chum, Walter, who had always been a great comfort to him and encouraged him in so many ways.
In thanking Robert for the ring, Marie wrote that so long as she lived, she would wear it in honor of him, and as an emblem of faith and trust in the greatest man in the world. That she knew there was nothing he could not do. The little poem entitled, "It Can Be Done," which she sent along was a great inspiration to Robert when trials, troubles and obstacles arose in the years that followed.
IT CAN BE DONE
Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he, with a chuckle, replied
That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he tried.
So he buckled right in, with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that:
At least it has never been done,"
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it,
With the lift of his chin, and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you;
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Then take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing,
That cannot be done and you'll do it.
On the 1st day of January, 1927, Robert received a beautiful letter of commendation from his employer, Mr. Kennelworth, in which was enclosed a check for $500 as a bonus, and also notice of an advance in his salary of $50 a month. This was very gratifying to Robert, because he felt that he was making progress, and that a man who had made the great success that Mr. Kennelworth had, must have been watching him closer than he thought. He thought that Mr. Kennelworth had seen something in him worthy of advancement, so he only worked harder to show his appreciation. He wrote a letter to his friend Walter in New York telling him of his father's generosity and how much he appreciated it now that he was working, planning and saving his money, hoping to be with Walter in New York soon where he could start speculating and make a lot of money so that he could complete his great invention and do something to benefit the world.
Robert wrote Marie of this good fortune which had come to him in the new year and how it had stimulated his hopes to greater things in the future. He was sure that with her love, he would continue and accomplish every desire that he had hoped for. Marie wrote him beautiful letters of encouragement, filled with love and admiration for the man that she was living for,—her ideal. She told him that she was making great progress with her studies and hoped to graduate in a few years and be an honor to him and assist him in his work. She sent a little poem, entitled: "Act the Man and Face It Out."
ACT THE MAN AND FACE IT OUT