Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-10-28
|. THAT MYSTERIOUS CLOCK. :
BY 2. 7. Montague.
.@~e~@~OO~e~O~e~t

ence that day. I accidentally dis
covered the retreat-in cypress swamp
of detected incendiary, young ne
gro who had formerly been in my en-
pIoy, but who in latter days had struck
into the smooth road leading to the gal
lows. He was wanted Just now for the
burning of old Peter Gillam's gin house,
circumstantial evidence clearly prov
ing him to be the guilty person.
Upon riding into the village I re-
ported my discovery to the authorities
and joined a posse of men who imme-
diately set out for his capture. He re-
sisted arrest and was shot down and his
body brought back to town. One way
or another 1 felt in meausre RESPONSE
BILE for that mans death. While it was
evident from his latter day exploits that
he would eventually meet with such a
fate, if not a more ignominious one, for
this particular offense felt that he real
ly did not deserve to die in such cold
blooded fashion. l had surely done only
my duty, but / almost wished that it
had fallen to the lot of somebody else
the doing of it.
What added to my discontinue was
that towards nightfall disagreeable
drizz1e set in, one of those hideous rains,
which dampens the very soul and makes
one an easy prey to every gloomy fore
boding.
I went to my solitary abode in the
thrall of black depression. 1 could
not shake it off. My beloved books Of
fered no acceptable temptation; even
my pipe was poor comfort. A fellow is
Il L., ia L.
pipe. Manifestly bed was the place for
me; so into it I got, after taking good
drink of the blessed Three Stars;" and
very soon tumbled off to sleep.
I slept the sleep of the conscientious,
to be awakened at last by hearing the
crash of something which sounded like
a breakable thing flung from the cell
ing to the floor and smashed.
I was considerably startled, got up
hurriedly and struck a match to find
that my small alarm clock had fallen
off the mantelpiece; that the crystal
was broken, and that the hands pointed
to $500 a. m. I lit the lamp, sat on the
side of the bed and wondered how that
clock got off the mantelpiece-surelya
very singular thing. I expended half
hours thought upon the subject, finally
getting round to the conclusion that,
probably, a mouse had run across the
shelf and thrown it down. AS had to
meet train at five a. m. Il am rail-
road MANI I got into my clothes, and
after fooling about space went on
down to the office. Somehow 1 could
not get rid of the idea that it really was,
after all. strange thing how that clock
AIA II. D. ~ T L i
given over the mouse theory. All day
long the matter was in my mind, so
that by night, when 1 once more went
10 my room, I had worked myself into
quite state about it. tried the books
again dead failure. Pipe almost
grown to be an enemy. Bed regarded
with distrust. Sleep not to be thought
of. This thing kept up until about ten
o'clock, when / came to the conclusion
that was baby; and got up, wound
my clock, set my alarm and went to bed
but not to sleep. / was looking out
for that clock. I had a rooted notion
that the last nights performance would
be repeated. I found myself saying:
HAnd if il comes three times I'll take it
for sign"
Good heavens! this was getting ridic-
ulous. I would be ashamed to see nv
face in the glass tomorrow. Having ar
raigned and convicted myself of wom-
anishness, contemplate cowardice,
shut my eyes and swore I'd 60 to sleep
or wake up my next door neighbor and
get him to kick me. No good. Twas de-
termined to be in at the finish. 1t
was now, however. about Ct imagine)
one o'clock tumbled off to sleep, and
the next thing / knew crash came the
clock again off the mantelpiece. shot
out the bed as il legion of demons
had routed me and lit the lamp. Yes,
there was my peace-disturbing clock
On the floor, with the hands pointing to
$3.50 a. m.
If the angel Gabriel had that minute
told me Buck Anderson (the dead ne
pro) and that clock were not in league
together would have doubted him. III
was consumed with deadly horror of
the supernatural. knew that Buck An
lerson was pulling the strings that
waltzed my clock off the mantelpiece,
and / knew he meant me some deadly
harm for the hand 1 took in his down
fall. Good heayensi Was I to be fol-
lowed about by a negro ghost for any
great length of time? Cold perspira-
ton broke out over me.
But why did he select the clock. What
had the clock to do with it? Did he
mean to hurl it at me and it fell short?
On what did he mean, anyway? And
nhy 500 in the morning. / wished old
Gillian and his whole family had been
brrut at the stake before had dabbled
In their Clubhouse affair. 1t was raining
insistently outside and the March wind
WAS bufging under the doors and rat
fling the window in a CHASTITY fashion.
sat shivering upon the side of my
he'd. lost in horrible speculation. My
-loak lay upon the floor and the lamp
sent out pale. uncanny light which did |
riot quite reach into the corners. so that |
INV erstwhile cozy little sitting-room |
more 10 my disordered mind the aspect |
Of a vault.
was plainly q thought) in super
natural presence. and that presence a |
hst soul. an avenging spirit. What |
was going to happen to me? am not |