CHAPTER XXXI
April 1st, 1932, arrived and no attack had been made. The enemy was evidently making gigantic preparations for an attack and Supreme Commander Gordon decided to make the first move. He then sent instructions to France to begin attacking England and Germany again. France was well prepared with a large number of airplanes. The attack started and they were successful. When this news reached the enemy headquarters in the United States there was great consternation. They thought that this was the secret behind the United States refusing to accept peace terms, but felt that France could not hold out long alone. Spain and Japan ordered their reserve planes from home to England and Germany to help fight France. The "Tel-Talk" recorded that a large fleet of planes had been sent across the Atlantic to attack France. Supreme Commander Gordon ordered the French to go out and meet the attack. A great battle raged over the Atlantic for hours with the French winning. Thousands of the enemy planes went down into the ocean. The Spanish and Japanese withdrew. This stopped Germany and England from striking back at France. The news reached the enemy headquarters in the United States and they figured that in some way the United States had a large number of planes out guarding the Atlantic and realized that the time had come to strike at the Eastern Coast of the United States before France and the United States could do more damage on the other side.
In June, 1932, the enemy decided to make the attack on the Eastern part of the United States. Supreme Commander Gordon had time to make ample preparations to meet it. He had established Colonel Kennelworth in Boston with one of the sleeping-gas machines and he remained in New York in the Mammouth Building, with a "Demon of Death," awaiting the attack upon New York.
BATTLE OF BOSTON
On June 6th, the enemy attacked Boston. The planes came in large numbers from every side, some from across the water, some from the North and West. Colonel Kennelworth let them approach within a reasonable distance and then turned loose the sleeping gas among all the enemy planes. The aviators immediately went to sleep and the planes all dropped slowly to the earth and some landed on the water and were not damaged. Hundreds after hundreds of planes followed up, each one sharing the same fate. Of all the planes sent out by the enemy, not one returned. Colonel Kennelworth reported to Supreme Commander Gordon that Boston was safe,--that there had not been the loss of one life and not a bomb had been dropped upon the city.
The Commanders of the Allied Enemy armies were unable to get any report of what had happened to the planes that went to attack Boston. They waited until the next day; and when not a plane returned and there was no report of any kind, decided that the same fate had befallen them as at the attack on Detroit; that the Americans certainly had something by which they were destroying every ship and plane which attacked them. This was unusual and unheard of. The fact that thousands and thousands of planes had attacked Boston and not one had escaped capture or destruction, made it plain that Yankee ingenuity had discovered something that was turning the tide of war in their favor. They now knew that they had made the greatest mistake by not pressing us hard after the fall of Chicago. They should have refused to grant the 15 days' armistice without demanding the surrender of the Eastern Coast. Another great mistake was the long delay between the attack on Detroit and the attack on Boston. This had enabled the Americans to get better prepared. There was no denying the painful truth. Something must be done and done quickly. They decided to order every plane that could possibly be spared from the Pacific Coast and from the lines extending from New Orleans to St. Louis and Chicago; to concentrate a supreme attack upon New York and Washington, making Washington the final goal. Planes were concentrated and mother ships anchored out in the Atlantic Ocean to prepare for the attack upon New York City. This was to be the greatest battle in all history.
On the night of June 7th, Supreme Commander Gordon had grown tired from his long vigil waiting for an attack upon New York. He placed Colonel Edna Kennelworth in charge of the "Demon of Death" while he went to get a few hours' sleep. While he was sleeping, the "Tel-Talk" machine and the secret radio communicator began to work. Colonel Edna Kennelworth listened in and soon had the plans of the enemy. She knew that Supreme Commander Gordon needed rest and she did not awaken him until early next morning. When he entered the headquarters on top of the Mammouth Building, she saluted him and said, "Supreme Commander Gordon, this is going to be a great birthday for you. The enemy is going to attack New York City with probably 100,000 airplanes and you and I are alone to defend it. It will be the day of all days for you." He replied: "I had forgotten all about my birthday. We have been so busy preparing for the final attacks of the enemy that I have had no time to think of myself." She reminded him that five years ago he arrived in New York just after his birthday, then of the birthday
## parties that they had had since and that always something unusual
happened around his birthday. "You remember the birthday party we had the year Walter and I were married. Last year we had too much trouble to think of your birthday. The enemy was sweeping up the Mississippi, making complete destruction and taking every city; but there was something eventful around your birthday. About that time you discovered how to take electricity from the air and completed the machine for sending an electric discharge into the water which destroyed the battleships and hydroplanes of the enemy at Cairo. This was our greatest victory up to that time, and while the disaster at Chicago and St. Louis followed, it gave us the first ray of hope. Now, one year later, complete victory is in sight. I know that you have supreme faith in our new machines and that our recent successes will be followed by greater successes. This attack upon New York is going to be the greatest in history because the gain will be the greatest should the enemy win. Should they fail their cause is lost, and they will fail." She saw that Supreme Commander Gordon was very happy and that there was a note of confidence in his tone. While she shuddered to think of what might happen if they should fail, she knew that Supreme Commander Gordon had great confidence in the "Demon of Death" and the sleeping gas machine and knew what they would do, because he alone knew all the secrets of working these machines.
At 8 o'clock on the evening of June 8th, Supreme Commander Gordon stood near the "Demon of Death" watching his different instruments and soon noticed on the other side of the room the radio interceptor start to work. He stepped up to it and listened, caught the orders going from the different enemy headquarters, giving instructions for the combined attack on New York City at 10 o'clock that night. He immediately gave instructions for all the electric lights to be kept on all night and all buildings to be well lighted to show his confidence and let the enemy know that he expected the attack. Colonel Edna Kennelworth was ordered to instruct all army headquarters to send radio messages to the enemy that Supreme Commander Gordon had ordered the City of New York and all buildings lighted up for the night so that they would not miss the city and that he awaited their coming with pleasure. Asked them not to overlook the Mammouth Building which was 110 stories high; that he would be there alone, waiting for them to destroy the building.
GIGANTIC ATTACK ON NEW YORK CITY
When the news reached the enemy, they knew that in some way their plans had leaked out, but it was too late now to make any change and to delay attack might mean defeat later, so the orders were carried out. About 10 minutes after 10 o'clock, Supreme Commander Gordon sighted the first airplane of the fleet approaching 40 or 50 miles up the Hudson River. He watched them until they got within about 20 miles of New York City, near Yonkers, then he slowly swung the "Demon of Death" around on the revolving base and turned on the rays, at the same time starting the sleeping gas machine working. He swept the territory for 50 or 60 miles in every direction, and as the rays from the "Demon of Death" struck the enemy planes, their motors leaped into a liquid flame. Supreme Commander Gordon saw that the "Demon of Death" was doing its work so he pressed a button and Colonel Edna Kennelworth appeared. He told her to put on powerful glasses and to look at the planes going down. One by one she saw the motors dissolved by the flame from the rays of the "Demon of Death" and the planes falling, one by one, to the ground.
A few minutes after the Northern army was wiped out, the signal came that a great fleet of airplanes was making its way across Long Island Sound. Supreme Commander Gordon swung the "Demon of Death" around and watched the approach of the enemy planes as they came out from the Atlantic Ocean and crossed Fire Island. He let them get within 30 to 40 miles as they came up across the Great South Bay, then he again turned loose the "Demon of Death." Swiftly the planes went down in flames, ending the attack from the ocean.
He watched a little while longer and saw across Staten Island another flock of planes which he knew was coming from Southern headquarters. He called Colonel Edna Kennelworth and said: "This time you may operate 'Spitfire' and destroy the Southern wing." She was a little nervous at first but knowing what this great machine could do, she turned it on, slowly lowered and raised it, moving to the right and left, until she gauged the distance of the approaching planes. One by one she saw their motors turn to liquid fire and sink to the earth. Turning to Supreme Commander Gordon she said, "Look." He focused his powerful glasses toward the South and saw that the air was clear. Turning around he said: "Edna, you are a wonderful woman and I am happy to have you take this part in saving your country. This is the day of women and their influence must help to win war forever." "It seems a shame," she replied, "that the lives of all these brave men from so many nations should be sacrificed. Among the planes that went down by the thousands, I could see some were English, German, Spanish, Austrian, Russian, Japanese, Turkish, and Arabian planes. Certainly almost the entire world is against us and we are winning. This must mean the end of the war. While I know that it is God's plan to teach man a lesson so that he will cease to go to war any more, it does seem a shame that we should take the lives of any more of these innocent men who are forced by selfish rulers of their countries to attack us."
"You are quite right," the Supreme Commander said. "Your noble husband invented the sleeping gas because it was my desire to protect my country and win the war with as little loss of life as possible. From this time on, no more lives will be sacrificed. We will use the sleeping gas, put all the attacking aviators to sleep for seven days and the war will soon be over. I know that there will be another final attack upon New York in a few minutes and I am going to allow you the honor of using the sleeping gas machine and ending the final attack upon the great City of New York without loss of any life."
About the time that Colonel Kennelworth was transferred from Cincinnati to Boston, General Pearson had been sent to Cincinnati to operate the Tunnel machine from there. Immediately before the final attack on New York City, Supreme Commander Gordon ordered General Pearson to swing the Tunnel machine to the East and establish a Tunnel thru the Air between New York and Cincinnati, informing him that the expected final attack upon New York would come over the mountains of Pennsylvania and that this final attack would be from the West; that he wanted a Tunnel thru the Air at least 30 miles wide so that he could protect the Jersey shores and prevent the attack upon New York City. In a few minutes a test was made and the Tunnel was ready to receive the invading army of planes and airships. He knew that New York was now safe and awaited the final combined attack of the Enemy planes that would come across from St. Louis and Chicago to meet on the Western side of the Hudson River.
About 12 o'clock he sighted the enemy planes across the Western coast of Jersey moving in triangle form, and knew that it was the combined forces with probably more than 50,000 planes ready for the final attack. Swiftly they approached, closer and closer. He played his powerful searchlight upon their glistening wings, until they were within 15 to 20 miles of New York. Fearing that they might start dropping bombs on Newark, Jersey City and the towns on the other side before attacking New York, he adjusted the Tunnel thru the Air until it was high enough to reach the enemy planes flying at the highest altitude; then turned to Colonel Edna Kennelworth and said: "Turn on the sleeping gas machine. The Tunnel is ready and as the aviators go to sleep, the machines will plunge into the Tunnel thru the Air and remain suspended without the planes being destroyed or the loss of any lives. This will be a silent, painless victory, but it will demonstrate our power to the enemy and the world."
Slowly and carefully, with a trembling hand, she swung the powerful gas distributing machine into action and as she saw the planes coming by the thousands begin slowly to plunge into the Tunnel thru the Air, she thought of how she had risked her life taking the sleeping gas for seven days to prove its success for the love of her husband, who invented it, and for the love of her country. She thought of Supreme Commander Gordon naming his great ship "Marie the Angel of Mercy" and then realized what was in his mind at the time; that the sleeping gas should be named the "God of Mercy" because it was winning the war in a humane way without taking human lives. Her mind went back to the great destruction of Los Angeles and San Francisco and above all, she remembered the loss of more than a million lives at the battle of Chicago; how merciless the enemy had been, sparing not the lives of women or children. We were now indeed merciful unto our foes and heaping coals of fire upon their heads and she believed this would be a great example to the world. She knew that the enemy had used poisoned gas of all kinds, poisoning the water and foods in the various cities and resorted to every means to destroy both life and property.
As these thoughts were flitting thru her mind, battalion after battalion of planes followed and she was pouring the sleeping gas into the noses of the aviators and the planes were diving into the Tunnel. This was indeed a great victory and she was glad to help accomplish it without the loss of life. The great Tunnel machines had worked successfully and perfectly. The sleeping gas had done its silent, painless work and the army of more than 50,000 planes--the giant attack from the West--rested safely in the Tunnel thru the Air, not a single one having escaped.
At 12:30 the sky in the West was clear and there was not an enemy plane in sight in any direction. During the minutes of the final battle Supreme Commander Gordon had remained as motionless as a statue, standing with his hand upon the levers of the Tunnel machine, with the powerful searchlights playing upon the enemy planes, and watching thru his field glasses the planes as they dived swiftly into the Tunnel thru the Air after the aviators inhaled the sleeping gas. When the last plane had landed safely in the Tunnel, his features relaxed and his face showed a smile of victory. His first thought was of Marie, his next thought was of his old friend Walter Kennelworth. He sent the first message of the victory over his secret radio to him. "The enemy has attacked New York from four sides, more than 100,000 strong. The 'Demon of Death' has done its work. The Tunnel machines have performed a miracle. More than 50,000 aviators are sleeping in our nets. Your great discovery has made this a painless victory. Edna, your noble wife, performed the painless herculean task and played her part in the final stage of the great victory."
On receiving this message Colonel Kennelworth was overjoyed, knowing that it meant that the end of the war was near. His reply was brief--"Congratulations, Robert Gordon. Love to Edna. I hope that you may yet have Marie to share with you in the great victory."
Supreme Commander Gordon's next thought was of General Pearson who had been his friend and had saved his life after his capture by the Japanese at the battle of San Francisco. They next informed him of the great victory. This was the greatest news that General Pearson had ever received in his life. He felt doubly happy because he had had faith in Robert Gordon from the first and had been the one to offer to turn over his command and authority to Gordon and make him Supreme Commander. He answered: "Supreme Commander Gordon, our country made no mistake when they placed their fate in your hands. My faith in you has been supreme and I had confidence in you from the first time I met you. Accept my sincerest gratitude for the great service that you have rendered our country. You deserve all the honor and reward that we can give you."
When reports came to headquarters in Washington that the enemy had attacked New York with more than 100,000 airplanes; that they had all been destroyed or captured; that New York was safe, and prepared for further attacks, there was great rejoicing. The President of the United States hurried to the War Office, ordered the swiftest plane to convey him to New York City to congratulate Supreme Commander Gordon. He was given a fast plane which could travel more than 300 miles per hour.
After the last attack and Supreme Commander Gordon had relaxed from the terrific strain, he walked to his desk and picked up the Bible. Turning to Ezekiel 5:2, he read: "Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife; and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them." He knew that Ezekiel was talking about the Tunnel thru the Air and the scattering of a third part of the army in wind and that they were caught while traveling in the Tunnel thru the Air. Then he read
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