While in this school he met his first real boy chum, one who seemed to understand him and one who proved to be a help to him in school. Walter Kennelworth was the son of a wealthy lumberman. He had every advantage that money could bring and was far advanced in his studies, thus being able to render help to Robert, who had no interest in grammar but took a great interest in history and mathematics. Walter would help him with his work in grammar and geography. They became fast friends. Robert told Walter of his plans for the future; that he hoped to be a great inventor; wanted to get an education and travel around the world to see the country and learn about things and develop the ideas which he thought would help his country in time of war. He had heard so many stories about his grandfather's adventures in the Civil War and his father's experiences in the Spanish-American War that he had the desire to be a great soldier and serve his country. He spent nearly all of his time reading the newspapers and following the progress of the war. He was extremely interested in the victories of our boys overseas, and when they began to turn the tide against the Germans, he was greatly elated and told his mother that he knew that the Stars and Stripes would never trail the dust and that victory was sure as soon as the American boys went on the other side. Walter Kennelworth also had ambitions of becoming a soldier and of making new discoveries and inventions along chemical lines. His hopes and aspirations were to one day become a great chemist. The vast difference in the environment and conditions under which these two boys had been brought up seemed to make no difference in their friendship. It ripened as the years went by. Robert and Walter were often together and Walter often invited Robert to his father's home. Walter's father and mother became very fond of Robert. When the armistice came in 1918, Robert talked with his mother and father, asking them if that would be the last war. They, of course, expressed the hope that it would be, and Robert said that he had read the Bible and thought that the greatest war in history was yet to come. He began to express ideas about new inventions, years ahead of the times. He begged his father and mother to let him leave school and go to work in an automobile factory where he could learn about machinery and understand how to complete the inventions which he was always talking about.