E-text prepared by David Garcia, Barbara Kosker, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Kentuckiana Digital Library (http://kdl.kyvl.org/) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 29071-h.htm or 29071-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/29071/pg29071-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29071/29071-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Kentuckiana Digital Library. See http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=kyetexts;cc=kyetexts;xc=1&idno=b92-222-31182254&view=toc CHIT-CHAT NIRVANA THE SEARCHLIGHT by MATT J. HOLT [Illustration: Winter of 1918. Mt. Adamello Sled Dogs, Veterans of the Italian Army.] Louisville Westerfield-Bonte Co. Inc. 1920 Copyrighted 1920 by the Author INDEX. CHAPTER PAGE CHIT-CHAT I. CHIT-CHAT 1 II. CORNWALL MEETS A MOUNTAIN MAID 11 III. CORNWALL LOCATES IN HARLAN 18 IV. A WEEK IN A MOUNTAIN HOME 27 V. THE SAYLORS MOVE TO THE BLUEGRASS 39 VI. CORNWALL BUYS A HOME 44 VII. MARY AND JOHN PROGRESS 60 VIII. DOROTHY AND BRADFORD--ROSAMOND AND CORNWALL 72 IX. THE SAYLOR FAMILY 87 X. MARY AND JOHN ARE MARRIED 103 XI. HOME LIFE 114 _SEEING ITALY AT MRS. O'FLANNAGAN'S EXPENSE_ I. SEEING ITALY AT MRS. O'FLANNAGAN'S EXPENSE 127 II. "Y" SERVICE 139 III. JOHN CORNWALL TRAVELS A BIT AND RETURNS HOME 161 IV. TWO CANDIDATES 172 NIRVANA NIRVANA 181 A CONSCIOUS MUMMY 198 DOCTOR BROWN OF DANVILLE 213 RICHARD HAWKWOOD 225 THE SEARCHLIGHT THE SEARCHLIGHT 269 CHIT-CHAT. CHAPTER I. I thought to write a book entitled: "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." How much is buried in the wreckage of yesterday--how uninteresting today is and how little is to be done--our burden we shift to the strong, young shoulders of tomorrow; tomorrow of the big heart, who in kindness hides our sorrows and whispers only of hope. I ended by writing,--this--which I have called "Chit-Chat," thus classifying the book, knowing that such a book if true to name will picture the age and find a publisher.