The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-11-03
Worse Than An 1nfsrna, Machine.

This is a story, says the New York Tribune,
about clock which made q great deal Of
trouble for two people and gave the same two
people very poor opinions Of each other. The
brother says that no woman in the world save
his sister could have had such amazing ignor
ance about clocks in general, and this one in
particular, while his sister declares that only
her brother, of all men on earth, would havl
allowed little bit of clock to make fool OF
him before carload Of strangers.
The trouble with the clock was that it
wouldn't keep time. There was no reason in
the world why it shouldn't; it just wouldn't.
ana that was all there was to 1t. This was
painful TO the young woman for several reasons.
IL IL only necessary to mention one: the time
piece had been given her by her betrothed. He
thought It was little gem Of a clock, and that
1t would please her. She agreed with him as to
the beauty OF the delicate little affair, and was
pleased for a time. Then she began to get
alarmed. This was ali, Of course because the
thing would not 90. and because she feared he
might think she had broken IL, or, worse STILL as
she herself had confessed between time, that
she hadn't sense enough to make a clock go,
while her irreverent and impatient brother
suggested sweetly that he was more likely to
think that it was her face which had stopped
the clock"
The family were in the country when the clock
was received, and when the time drew near tor
the arrival OF the betrothed clock-gver affairs
began 70 be desperate. The young woman de-
clared that that CLOCK hal to 20. The clock
simply wouldn't, She would wind it up-it
would always wind without the slightest re-
slstance-out it would not 20. She shook it.
she turned it upside down. she coaxed it, she
laid 1t on its face and then ON its back, and the
hands were still frozen to the face of the clock.
ALBERT, she said to her brother, you must
TAKE this clock over to town and get it repaired.
1t must be repaired; it must CO."
Now town was ten miles away. and Albert did
not see why any one should make 50 much fuss
over clock, and such little clock too as that
was. But when arguments and pleadings could
not move him he yielded to tears, and chuck
ing the timepiece under his arm, he boarded
the train and started for town In the car he
placed the clock on the seat beside him and
rested bis hand on it. Then more trouble be-
gan The clock began to strike. 1t went into
the striking business in a calm determined way
II struck right along, up grade and down grade,
around curves and on straight tracks The
brother felt fainting around his heart Tine
people IN the car who had first been amused be-
gan TO De annoyed. The young mans face got
red; 1t got warm; his hair became bathed with
dampness, but he chung to the clock like Tro-
Jan. He had an idea that he might be able to
hide it, or smother it, or close it, he didn't
Know which, aud so he kept his hand tightly
pressed omit. e'
And all the time that Internal machine lust
sawed wood. IL had struck a gait which it
liked, and 1t kept it up without a break ir
showed no signs of getting tired or of running
down. IL was striking along at 2:20 gait when
.ne traln reached the town. 1t continued to
strike when the brother made his escape from
the car. IL went on striking I'D the street until
the orother wanted TO throw it over a fence and
tncn oounllb suicide No burglar alarm was
ever more persevering than that clock, No
Changing fire engine ever made more noise and
caused more excitement The clock was strik.
ing away industrionsly and cneerfulIy when the
brother ran into jewelers. shop and threw the
thing down on a counter:
For heavens sake, stop itv' he cried
But 1t had stopped, There it lay on the
counter, as dumb as an oyster and as silent as a
tomb
well, I'll be hanged" said the brother.
breathlessly. whats the matter with it, any
way" he asked, looking at it as if it were a dy-
Mantle cartridge.
The jeweler picked It I'D,
Look OUT" cried the brother THAT thing
will start up again IL you touch il"
But IL didn't. 1t never made q sound only in
minute came gentle and rhythmic ticking.
Theres nothing the matter with it, " said the
jeweler, setting the hands and then examining
the little Internal machine. You sea ne added
with sympathetic smile, "this is a repeating
clock. You can make it strike the last hour
BY touching this spring. You have been wind
ing up the repeating sounder, but not the clock
And you must have held your hand on the
spring when you kept 1t striking. It's all right
now. All you want to do 10 to wind the clock
more and the repeater less"
20, said the brother with a gasp-and that
was all.
Now the brother says that any woman who
doesn't know enough to wind a clock doesn't
know enough TO live. And the sister says-weIl
every brother knows what sisters can say,