Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-03-19
THE CLOCK THAT STOPPED.

0.OOHN - ~ 49,
How Ned "Fixed" 1t and Made 1t Go,
and the Way It Went.
The eight-day clock gave great deal
of trouble. 1t had habit of stopping,
and no one knew why. 1t was duly
wound and everything done for it that
could be done for clock. But still it
would stop. 1t was the clock frankie
went to school by, and the one that
marked off the happy play hours when
his little friends came to see him, or
when he was allowed to visit them. So
he missed it, and wondered good deal
about it, and wished it could be fixed.
But some alterations were to be made
in the house, and his mother said Ninny
should take the clock to the garrett
until its new nook was ready, and then
it should be sent down town forrepairs.
The garnet was the place where all
the boys got together on stormy days.
There was room to play circus and
soldier, and no one came there to say
'.Hush," or g Pray, boys. do be quiet y
In one corner was Frankie's playhouse.
There was his big dappled- gray rocking
horse, his span of rocking-ponies, his
swing, his box of tools, and more play
things of every kind than you could
count. Ninny, when she carried the
clock up there. took care to get it as far
away as possible from this corner.
'"Thim boys will be sure to be afther-
it," she said, $50 I'll put it on high
beam in the dark, where they'll niver
find it,
But it had not been long in its dusty
solitude before there came q rainy day.,
and all the neighborhood boys tiocked
in- Ned was the biggest and most rest
less one, and it was not long before he
spied the clock
Hello, frankie! Whose. clock is
that?" he cried
Its ours; it's spoiled
'@Spoiled? Doesn't it go9'
mo, it doesn't go; it dosn't do any
thing but STOP"
well, don't see. how it can stop if
it hasn't been going." roared Ned with
loud laugh.
Lets look at it, anyway" he add
ed, climbing up ON a box and lifting
the clock from it's shelf. He carried
it to window and set it down on the
floor. ALI the boys gathered around.
"Open it!'' cried John.
Leu s. Se6e GAc7 WucciS, cialnOlcu
Willie
Ned opened the door, but found in
side only the Key to. wind it with, for of
course the face hid the machinery Ned
shook it and it began to tick.
Il can fix it" he said. 'lYou let it
stand too, still. See, it goes" And,
sure enough, ID did, feebly. and foronly
a few minutes.
4 L l. so& 1vnt
he had a great desire to tinker. Say
frankie, may fix it?'
elf you can" replied frankie, glad
". Mamma said she wanted it
tixed.''
Frankie's box of tools stood near, and
Ned took screw driver, and undm one
loose This he took Off. The. boys
questions
'-Oh, what a lot of wheeIs!T' cried
one.
care they guld?" asked another.
They're Brass said Ned. 'sAnd
this thing here is the spring.
1t was interesting indeed to see its
wheel within wheel, and that coil of fiat
steel-blue wire. Ned examined every
part, took out one screw and then
another, until finally he had everything
out of the case. This took him an hour
or more. Then he tried winding up the
spring, and found he could turn the KEY
round and round, and the spring would
tighten by slow degrees. But as soon
as he took away the key it would UNI
wind with whirl.
cit gcvs now. doesn't it?' said
frankie.
Eyes" said Ned, a little doubtfully.
Truth is he was beginning to be dis
tressed at the sight of so many scat
tered pieces, and SO many screws, and
to feel certain he could never put them
together as they were before.
Eyes, it goes" said frankie joyfully.
''Now, Ned, let me wind it,"
The winding it was the chief part of
the fun. Each took turn at it. They
thought the whizzing of the spring very
lively music. Ned did not like to own
that he had spoiled the clock, but SO he
feared.
Now we'll put it up, he said.
''But how can we tell what time it is
when the hands are off ?'' asked
frankie, beginning to be suspicious.
"rl put them on some other time,
said Ned, growing very red in the face.
This was far from being satisfactory,
but a play was to be stared, and
frankie reluctantly allowed the frag-
ments to be piled together in heap
near the window and then joined the
other boys in '.gray wolf But he felt
that his mother ought to know. So that
night when he went to bed, he said:
Mamma, the clock will go. {"
..What, tho clock in the garnet? How
does it go?"
Ned made it go. You wind it with
the key as tight as you can and then let
it go and, oh, it runs down just as fast!''
n hope Ned hasn't been meddling
with the clock, dear.
Eyes. he took it all apart. told him
YOU wanted il fixed. =
81 presume it is fixed, If he has