1918 Cedrus Yearbook

I. 19 ii1J11111'I 11.W:ft WHEN THE VICTORY WAS WON N a plearant summer evening two lovers lingered along a country lane. The glimmering twilight invited sweet meditation, yet the two faces were sad. The girl broke a long silence. "Must you really go in the morning, Bob dear?" The young man pressed her hand silently. "Pennsylvania will be empty without you," she continued,"and how your mother and father will miss you on the farm." She stopped suddenly and put both hands on his shoulders—"Oh Bob! how frightfully lonely it will be at our farm when you are not here to run in every evening." Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. Robert Holsworth's own eyes were misty as he looked down at the girl. "Mary," he said quietly, "I'm going to fight for our country and for humanity, so we must be brave." "I'll try to be" answered the girl, "but I do hate to think of you in the dangerous aviation service." After a moment she slipped something into his hand. "Here is a little remembrance," she whispered. Bob opened his hand and looked into the face of an exquisite miniature of his sweet- heart. He could find no words, but his eyes were eloquent with love and gratitude as he drew her close in his arms. Finally they turned toward Robert's home, where a little group of friends had come to bid him good-bye and Godspeed. At the training camp at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Bob made great progress. He was a natural mechanic and being quick to learn he soon surpassed the men in his own squadron. A month later he was transferred to a squadron that was about to leave for France. They were sent to Mineola and three days later embarked on a passenger steamer for England. They went as first-class passengers and being the only soldiers on the ship were practically free from military routine on the way over. One day Bob met a young lady whose appearance pleased him very much and later they were often seen together. She was a slender graceful girl with large brown eyes and dark hair. Bob soon learned that she was very fond of out of door sports, and in this her taste coincided with his. Her name was Frances Henderson and she was returning to France after graduating from an American college. As she explained to Bob, her parents, although American, had come to France when she was a child. At last the ship reached its destination and the time came to part. Bob got everything ready to leave and then went to bid Frances good-bye. When the signal was given for him to fall in line she handed him a card on which her address was written. While Bob was crossing the gang-plank he attempted to put the card in his pocket but a gust of wind snatched it from his fingers and carried it away to the water below. It was too late to turn back so he went on feeling intensely disappointed. However, that night he wrote to Mary and he wondered at his own heart, as he thought of how near he had come to forgetting her. 70