The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-09-13
individual Time.

A fat man with bald head and lit
tie man with hooked nose sat next to
one another in one of the smokers
seats in an open horse-car which was
jogging down a Boston street. Though
evidently strangers, they were convers-
ing pleasantly. AS the car neared the
head of Milk street, the bald-headed
man CHANGED to look upward toward
the historic church-tower which loomed
in front. With an exclamation of sur
prise he turned away from, its con-
temptation, hastily pulled out a hand
some-looking gold watch from his fob,
regarded it moment, and, settling
back in his seat with an air of mingled
relief and satisfaction, remarked to his
companion: "Old South clocks 'off
again, 1 see. Thought it couldn't be
quite so bad.n
"Off? Off" cried the man with the
hooked nose, with an argumentative
air, like one who had been challenged
and was bound to stand on the
defensive. "You say it's off, do you?
Well, may be, sir, may be. Let us see. !"
The watch which he drew out of some
recess of his waistcoat was not digni-
fed with chain, had broken second
hand, discolorcd dial, a tarnished case
and a general air of shabbiness. But
the little man bent over it with an air
of respectful confidence. Carefully
scanning the face of the church clock,
and looking narrowly at the dial in his
hand, and repeating this dual inspee-
tion for second time as if to make per-
fectly sure that he read them both
right, he replied to the fat mans ques-
tioning gaze, in which there was the
barest suspicion of contempt:
''Clock's all right, sir; quite right
sir; in short, exactly right, sir. My
watch here verifes it..''
''Oh, your watch agrees with it, sir,
does it?' replied the bald headed man,
with a bit of a flush rising into each of
his fat cheeks. "Weu, now, it S a little
singular, but my watch, sir, makes the
way, sir.'' The bald-headed man had
pronounced the words ''my watch"
very loud indeed. But the little man
was unruffied. Tapping that portion of
his clothing in which it was presumable
that his time-piece lay hidden, he re-
| joined with perfect coolness:
"Then your watch is wrong, that S
| all. Mine agrees with the clock, and,
as we are two against one, 1 fancy that
you will not care to contend"
"Contend, sir? Contend? I'd have
you know that I'd stand by my watch if
the odds were 100 to one, sir; yes, sir,
100 to one. Why, sir, paid $3.50 for
that watch within year, and it hasn' t
needed setting since 1 first began to
carry it. I'll bet $500 that it isn't fif-
teen seconds out of the way. My watch
wrongP Preposterous! And the fat
man mopped his bald head vigorously,
the while he looked askance at his
quondam companion as if the latter be-
gan to show signs of being suspicious
| character.
81 don't care if you paid S150,000 for
| your watch, sir. Yours is handsomer
than mine, I'll admit; and cost more
money; but when it comes to running!
why, I'd bet my head on it. This
watch is an heirloom, sir. My old father
carried it for twenty-five years, and
then left it to me when he died, fifteen
years ago. Run? You never saw such
watch to run! 1t hasn't varied over
half a minute year since I've had it,
and it. only been cleaned once. Run?
tell you, sir, that this watch"
Unfortunately the reporter was OBJ
iged to leave the car at this point and
therefore it is impossible to state
whether the bald-headed gentleman was
duly convinced of the superiority of the
hook-nosed mans time-piece to his OWL
or not.-Bosto,a Herald.