The Osceola times., 1886-08-21
REGULATING THE CLOCK.
How a Comm rcial Missionary Was soia
by a Party of Rural Missourians.

by Party of Rural Missourians.
'No, I'm not feeling very WELL" said
a drummer in the smoking car. The
fact is, I've been losing too much sleep
of late. What doing? Scheming. Yes,
I'll tell You what I'm schcming on.
You know how it is in the country
towns, boys, where the fellows who loaf
around the hotels are always trying TO
! play Jokes and sells on travelling men.
AS a rule the travellers more than keep
even with the boys, but of course they
are caught up once in awhile. / was
never badly taken in but once. That
was last week, out in Northern Mis-
sour. lpride myself on being a pretty
good pedcslr an, and when the fellows
IN the hotel office got to talking about
fast walking, of course was inmyelc-
ment ! made my brag aS to what |
bad done and could do in the walking
line, and was surprised to hear one of
the fellows stand up and make fun of
me and insiuuatc that was lying.
why, says this fellow, YOU cant walk
mile in ten minutes, and I'll bet YOU
$50 yOu can't Now, | have often
walked mile in nine minutes, and as
this challenge looked like picnic | ac-
cepted il, pulled out my money and
said | was ready to perform the feat.
The other fellow produced his money,
too, greatly to my surprise, and then,
to avoid the possibility of catches or
Misunderstanding insisted upon hav-
ing q written memorandum of our
agreement. This he accepted TO, and
We agreed TO post the money with the
landlord, that the time was to
be taken by the regulator clock
which stood in the hotel Office,
that no watch time taken by other
parties was to influence the referees de-
ciSion, and that was to walk to a GER
tain corner, which the county atlas
showed to be just half mile away, and
return. The wagcrer was to accom-
pany me with bis horse, and for extra
precaution ! stipulated that if there
should be- any unusual obstruction in the
road, or any one should interfere with
me, the bet was to be of. ! also tested
the clock for a few minutes by the sec
ond-hand OF my watch, and found that
it was all right, and engaged friend of
mn" another commercial traveller, to
see that the clock was not tampered
with. In fact suspected that they had
some scheme for beating me, and de-
termncd that would not let them do
it. After all the arrangements were
made and the memorandum signed,
started on my walk. The way was clear
and | made good time. Every thing
seemed all right. According to my
watch | made the first half mile in
li.tle more than four minutes, giving me
a whole minute to spare. Imagine my
surprise on entering the hotel to have
my friend tell me that ] had lost and
inquire what the matter was. looked
at tac clock, and, sure enough, | had
been twelve minutes on the trip.
asked him if nybody had tampered with
the clock, and he said: No, nobody has
been near it.. Again compared il for
a few minutes with my watch, and il
was running right TO the very fraction
of second This was a puzzler The
money was paid over and the town fell
lows had jubilee with it. But | was
Just as certain as could be that they had
swiudled me in some manner, and ! de
termi ned to find out how. They had
done Their work very sleeklv, that must
be admitted, but this only excited my
curiosity the more.
That night, when everybody was
asleep. slipped downstairs and
clinbcd up and made an examination
of the regulator clock on which | had
lost my money. and toward which my
suspicious had been directed. had no
idea what the trouble was, and went
about the se earch in blind sort of way.
| knew nothing alout clocks, and the
chances were that | would be unable to
d ScOvrr the nature of the little
trick that had been played on me.
| fumblcd and fooled with the clock
for ten or fifteen minutes, and was
just about to give up the search in
despair when luck came my way. As
was climbing down from the chair on
which | stood noticed piece of white
thread hanging ON the wall. This struck
me as being peculiar, and on following
it up saw that it entered the clock.
Tracing the other end, | found it in the
clerks desk twelve or fifteen feet away.
Then the whole scheme was obvious.
The clerk and the local jewcler-he was
the man had bet with-had fixed up
a scheme to beat me or any other such
they could catch on the time a mile was
walked in, the correct running of a
pet watch. or any thing of that ma
turc, The icwelcr had fixed things so
that pulling at that thread increased
the speed of the clock about One-fourth,
and this was the manner in which they
had beaten me in my race against time.
"In about sixty days I'll be back in
that town. and that accounts for my
losing 50 much sleep. I'm sitting up
late nights trying to hatch up a scheme
TO get even with them. ~ Chicago Her.
aid