The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1893-05-06
IT WAS A REPEATER CLOCK.

And Ignorance OF That Fact Caused Dis
sension In the Family.
There is a story about n clock which
made a great deal of trouble for two
people and gave the same two people
very poor opinions OF each other. The
brother told man that no woman in
the world save his sister could have had
such amazing ignorance about clocks
in general, and this ORC in particular,
while his sister declares that only her
brother, of all men on earth, would
have allowed little bit OF clock to
make a fool of him before a carload OF
strangers The tro=ble with the clock
was that 1t would not keep time. There
was no reason in the world why it
wouldn't; it just wouldn't, and that
was all there was to it. This was pain
full to the young woman for many
reasons 1t is only necessary to men
ton one-the timepiece had been given
to her by her betrothed- He thought
It was q 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 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
It, or, worse still, as she herself con-
fessed between times, that she hadn't
sense enough to make q clock go, while
her irreverent and impertinent 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 for the arrival of the
betrothed clock-giver affairs began to
be desperate. The young woman de-
clared that that clock had to go The
clock simply wouldn't She would wind
Il up-it would always wind without
the slightest resistance-but it would
not go She shook it, she turned 1t up
side 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 60"
Now town was ten miles away. and
Albert did not see why any one should
make so much fuss over clock, and
such little clock, too, as it was But
when arguments and pleadings could
not move him he yielded to tears and,
chucking 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 his
hand on it Then more trouble began.
That clock began to strike. 1t went
into the striking business in a calm, de-
termined way. 1t struck right along.
up grade and down grade, around
curves and on straight tracks. The
brother felt q fainting around his heart
The people in the car who had first
been amused began to be annoyed. The
young mans face got red; it got warm;
his hair became bathed with dampness,
but he chung to the clock like Trojan.
He had an idea that he might be able
to hide 1t, or smother it, or close it, 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" Ithad struck
q gait which 1t liked and it kept 1t up
without break 1t showed no signs OF
getting tired or of running down. II
was striking along at a 900 gait when
the train reached the town. 1t con-
tinued to strike when the brother made
his escape from the car. 1t went on
striking up the street until the brother
wanted to throw it over fence and
then commit suicide. No burglar alarm
was ever moro persevering than that
clock No changing fire engine ever
made more noise and caused more ex.
element The clock was striking away
industriously and cheerfully when the
brother ran into jewelers. shop and
threw the thing down on counter.
"For heavens sake, stop i'll" he cried.
But it had stopped. There it lay on
the counter as dumb as an oyster and
rs silent as tomb
swell, TIL be hanged" said the
brother breathlessly. whats the
matter with it anyway" he asked
looking at it as If 1t were q dynamite
cartridge.
The jeweler picked it up
Look outr" c'ied the brother s'Tha
thing will start UP again If you touch it.
But It didn't 1t never made a sound
only In q minute came gentle and
rhythmic ticking.
There's nothing the trouble will
It," said the jeweler, setting the hand.
and then examining the Little inferna
machine. "You see," he added with
sympathetic smile, this is repeating
clock. You can make it restrike til,
last hour by touching this spring. 70,
have been winding up the repeating
sounder, but not the clock. And 20,
must have held your hand on tn,
spring when you kept it striking. IT.
all right now. All you want to do is I.