Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-12-23
CHAPTER XN.


When Stamer came to the gable OF tne
house next but one TO the public house
and the wall of which formed one half OF
the northern boundary of the yard, he
paused and listened. He could hear no
sound of life or movement near him be-
yond the snort or cough of horse now
AID then.
After a pause of two or three minutes,
he stopped, slipped off his boots, slung
them round his neck, and having hitched
the crook of his heavy stick to a belt he
woro under his waistcoat, he laid hold OF
the waterpipe that descended from the gut
ter Of the double roof to the yard, and be
gan ascending the gable of the house with
surprising agility and speed.
In less than two minutes from the time
he first eeized the waterpipe he disap-
reared in the gutter above. He crawled
In q few yards from the edge and then
reclined against the sloping states of the
roof to rest The ascent had taken only
. couple of minutes, but the exertion had
been very great, and he was tired and
out of breath
Then he unscrewed his ferrule and
withdrew the hampton and unscrewed the
handle Of his stick, and was busy in the
darkness for awhile with the weapon lie
carried.
He particularly wished to have a steady
band and arm that night, SO he made up
his mind that he would rest until five min
ures to IL. Then he should get into
position. He should creep down the
gutter until he came to the gable wall
standing up over the roofs Of the houses
On which he now was lying. He should
then be almost opposite the window at
which he last night saw the dwarf wind
ND his clock. He should be little out
Of the direct line, but not much. The
width of the street was no more from
house to house than fifty feet The dis
tance from the wall of the house he
should be on then, and the wall Of Forbes
bokery could not be more than sixty feet.
The weapon he carried was perfectly
Trustworthy at hundred and fifty yards.
or more. He had been practicing that
afternoon and evening at IN old hat forty
yards, and he had never missed 1t once.
Forty yards was just double the distance
he should be from that window If he were
on a parapet instead of being at the coping
tie, lying on the inside slope Of the roof.
Allow another ten feet for that. This
would bring the distance up to seventy
feet at the very outside, and he had never
missed once at hundred and twenty feet.
lie had given himself now and then a
good deal of practice with the gun, for he
enjoyed peculiar facilities; because the
factory wall by which the lane at the
back of his place ran, prevented any one
seeing what he was doing, and the noise
of th. factory drowned the whir of the
gun and the whiz of the bullet.
At half-past IL that night the private
bar Of the public house held about hall
q dozen customers, but it lacked the ele-
waiting presence of Oscar Leigh, who al
ways gave the assembly distinctly in.
tellectual air.
A few minutes later, however, the spir.
its of those present rose, for Mr.. Oscar
Leigh came in, rubbing his forehead and
complaining of the heat.
II have only a minute or two. l must
be of to wind up" said Leigh. "Ten
minutes to IL by your clock, Mr.. Will
iams; that means a quarter to right time
.It is, l have heard, the most wonder.
full clock in Chicago" spoke an acquaint'
ance-
.In Chicago! In Chicago! In the world
sir. 1t ID the most wonderful clock ever
conceived by man. Well, my time Is up
Goodnight, gentlemen:
He scrambled of his high stool and was
quickly out of the bar. 1t was now five
minutes to IL O'Clock, right time. He
vate door of Forbes, went in, closing the
door after him.
A. he came out John Timmons turned
Into the street. He went on until he came
opposite the window Of the clock-room
Here he stood still, thrust his hands deer
down In his trousers pockets, and leaning
his back against the wall. prepared to
watch with his own eyes the winding OF
the clock.
In less than FIVE minutes the window oi
the TOD room, which had been dark, grad
ually grew illumined until the light came
full through the transparent oiled muslin
curtain. Timmons could see for all prac
tical purposes a. plainly as through glass
There Leigh is, anyway" though,
Timmons, working away at his lever
1t this hour last night? Nonsense. Hs
was walking away from this place witt
me ut this hour last night az sure az
am here now. l must be going mad
There, he 10 turning round now and nod
ding IL the men at the bar. They sale
he did the same last night, and, as live
there's the clock we we're under striking
the quarter past ssain! l must be goinf
mad. I begin to think last night mus
have been all a dream with me. 1 dom
think he's all right. l don't believe il
vitchcraft. but there's something wroni
here; I'll watch this out anyway"
Whir-whiz!
"Why, what's that over head!'
Tfmmons looked up, but saw nothing.
sIt's some young fellows larkins."
He glanced back at the window.
'EWhat a funny way he's nodding hi
head now. And there's hole In the cur
tain and there seems to BE- noise In thu
room. There goes the gas out ] suppos'
the clock is wound up now. Strange
didn't hear the clock strike the hour, ant
yet Leish's light is out"
And John Timmons walked out OF Chet
wynd street and took his way eastward
CHAPTER XXI.
On Saturday morning aboct o'clocl
1immons was repos:ng o,i the high stvV
at his doorway. He had bought morn
Ing paper on his way to business, and h'
now glanced over it casually. Finally
As came upon the place where local new!
was given. His eye caught large head
ing, Fire and Loss of Life in Chet
Wynd Street" The paragraph was, Ow
Ing to the late hour at which the even
took place, brief. 1t ran as follows:
Last night, between half-past II and
1clock, a disastrous and fatal fire broke
out In the bakery establishment of Mr.
S6sees In ChstFyRd atrsst The III