The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-05

| thing really stopped at two minutes past
| 6, and I was only dreaming. / did not ex-
pect it TO keep any sort of time, as you say,
| but did not buy it for that purpose. |
| found it in the darkest corner of Junk
shop, where it had lain for many years.
1t was covered with dust but glance con-
WINGED me that it was a genuine antique
and great prize. / opened it, and to my
amazement discovered it to be the most
exquisite piece of workmanship that had
ever seen from clockmaker's hands; and
| l have seen most of the finest old clocks in
he world. l bought it for So, and | would
not take $4,000 for it,"
Mr.. Enderlin abruptly paused in his
rapid and excited speech, listened
| moment, and then bounded to the mantel
"Why, upon my word, it is runningp' he
exclaimed in amazement
No sooner had he uttered the words than
the clock began to strike. He stepped
back. his eyes wide and bright, and breath
lessly watched the clock. After it had sol
EMMY struck 6, the silence in the room
was profound, and an oppressive sense of
an impending catastrophe seemed to sit
upon the two men, as they stood i'm
movable and watching the clock Slowly
|
ominous ticking fell like blows on the
brain. Steadily the minute hand crept
backward.
This discovery seemed to have worked it
self into Mr.. Enderlin's mind with ex-
IRENE slowness, but when it did, he uttered
suppressed exclamation and suddenly
turned strange, fierce, hard look upon
Develle.
Up to this moment the wretched young
man had been gazing at the clock with
CLASSY eyes shining strangely out of pal
lid, wrinkled face; and now, when that
burning, penetrating look, which already,
at another time, had filled him with dread,
flashed upon him with even more terrify-
ing effect than before, rigor shook him
from end to end. Never till that moment
had fear laid so formidable weight upon
him, and never till that awful instant had
there been any strain upon his will to COM
pare in violence with this. 1t was not posi-
BILE for him now to order his understand
ing or weigh his peril. The fine, strong
and intricately woven bonds with
which his brain had bound up his
secret, whose clamorings and strain
lngs for freedom had not prevailed against
with alarming rapidity, and the struggling
prisoner was fercely fighting its way to
liberty.
Mr.. Enderlin, standing erect, motion
less and threatening observed the terrible
struggle proceeding before him. Then,
suddenly, after another glance at the clock
to reassure himself that the hands were
steadily moving backward, he seized
Develle by the arm, dragged him to the
mantel. tore open the door of the clock
briskly rubbed with his thumb dim
silver plate soldered to the bronze case
back of the pendulum and brought to
plain view these two words ornately en-
graved in old French text:
DEvELLE: ToULON.
A spasmodic action of the young mans
throat muscles made him gasp and
strangle, and a profuse perspiration
trickled down his face, which had now
changed from pallor to an apoplectic hue
The fierce, brilliant, burning gaze of the
old man was melting, untwisting and un-
binding the fine strong bonds that had
held his secret so securely; and then a
deep, strange voice, issuing seemingly
from the throat of no living man, charged
him specifically with his crime.
Then went the bonds and all his cohe-
sion wholly to pieces and asunder. He
sank to the floor miserable, disorganized
heap; and his secret, freed of its bondage,
issued brokenly and Historically through
his sobbing voice in wretched confession.
Gentlemen said Mr.. Enderlin, adj
dressing two uniformed policemen, who
stood at the curtained opening of a closet
behind them, ''you have heard his con-
fession
Eyes, Captain Leonard" responded one
of them, who held pencil and notebook
in his hand, land have taken it down
word for word"
'Then take him to the prison, and send
me hack, as want to go home. To-mor-
row take this clock to Wagner, the clock
maker, with my thanks, and tell him that
his ingenuity in soldering on the plate and
in making the hands run backward worked
to charm"