Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1893-01-26
AN INTERNAL MACHINE.
story OF n Clock That Might Have shat
s.r.H NIuusa afInI

brother says that no woman save his
sister could have had such amazing ig-
norance about clocks in general. and
this one in particular, while the sister
declares that only her brother, of all
men on earth, would have allowed n
little bit Of a clock TO make a fool Of
him before a carload Of strangers.
The trouble with the clock was that
IL wouldn't keep time. There was no
reason in the world why IL shouldn't;
II just wouldn't, and that was all there
was TO H. This was painful TO the
young woman for several reasons. II
Is only necessary To mention one: The
timepiece had been given her by her
betrothed. He thought IL was a little
gem Of n clock. and that IL would
please her. She agreed with him
as 10 the beauty OF the delicate little
affair, and was pleased for a time.
Then she began TO get worried; then
she got nervous and lastly alarmed.
This was all, Of course. because the
thing would not go, and because she
feared he might think she had broken
IL, or, worse still, as she herself con.
fessed between that time, that she
N
go, while her irreverent and imperti.
nent brother suggested sweetly that he
was more likely TO think that II was
her face (which had stopped clock"
The family were in the country when
the clock was received. and when the
time drew near for the arrival Of the
bethrothed cloclS-giver affairs began to
be desperate. The young woman de-
clared that the clock had TO go. The
clock simply wouldn't She would
wind IL up-it would always wind
without the slightest resistance-but II
would not go. She shook II. she turned
IL upside down, she coaxed II, she laid
IL on its face and then on It's 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 IL repaired. 1t must be re-
paired; it must GO"
Now town was ten miles away, and
Albert did not see why anyone should
make so 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, chuckinR the timcpiece 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
his hand on IT, Then more trouble be-
gan. That 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.
The people in the car who had first
been amused began to be annoyed.
The young mans face got red; IL got
warm; his hair became bathcd with
dampness, but he chung To the clock
like Trojan. lie had an idc that he
might be able TO hide IL. or smother IL,
or close IL, he didn't know which, and
so he kept his hand tightly pressed
on It,
And all the time that internal ma.
chine just sawed wood" IL had struck
II gait which il liked, and It kept II up
without Il break 1t showed no signs
Of getting tired or running down. 1t
was stalking along at n 800 gait when
the train reached the town. II con-
tinued to strike when the brother made
his escape from the ear. IL went on
striking up the street until the brother
wanted to throw IL over the fence and
then commit suicide. No burglar alarm
was ever more pcrsevering than that
clock. No changing fire-cngine had
| ever made more noise and caused more
excitement The clock was striking
away industriously and cheerfully
when the brother ran into jewelers.
shop and threw the thing down on n
counter.
/ For Heavens sake stop t!' he cried.
! But 1t had stopped. There IT lay on
counter, as dumb a an oyster and us
/ silent MS tomb.
"Well, I'll be hanged" said the
brother, brcathlesslv. whats the
matter with it, anyway" he asked,
looking at it as II 1t were II dynamite
cartridge.
The jeweler picked II up.
Look out" cried the brother. THAT
thing will start up again il you touch
It,"
But it didn't 1t never IN de sound,
only In II minute came q gentle and
rythmic ticking
There's nothing the trouble with
it," said the jeweler. setting the hands
and then examining the little internal
machine.
you see," he added. with n sympa'
thetic smile, this is Il repeating clock
You can make it strike the last hour
by touching this spring. You have
been winding up the repeating sounder
and not the clock. And you must have
held your hand on the spring when 20,
kept II striking It's all right now
All you want to do is to wind the clocl
more and the repeater less"
"oh," said the brother with gasp
and that was all,
Now the brother says that any
woman that doesn't know enough L
wind u clock doesn't know enough L
live. And the sister says-well, every
N--'@-- ''"c,"s what u sister can say. =
out OF the Question.
"Can you relax the features trihe,
asked the photographer, raising his
head from the back of the camera
1.-The expression is too severe. Try L
look little more pleasant"
. Never mind the expression" said tn,
, sitter dejectedly 1.-THE expression 4
all right. Go ahead with the picture
You can't expect Il man that's just los
four silk hats, suit of clothes. hors
and sixty-seven and half dollars in casl
besides, on the election, to look rs pleas
ant as II he had fallen heir TO II farm,
ut isn't any of my business, o
; course" suggested the photographer