, 1905-01-11
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uncle's advice to convince the old man
that nothing could succeed without his
supervision. when in reality Gustave
always followed his own counsel. to
the greater satisfaction of the custom
ers and the increased prosperity of the
establishment.
The arrival of the Faversham clock
set the old mans body and mind both
in a flutter. The circumstance of its
great size or the fact of its being the
property of John Faversham would,
either of them, have excited unusual
interest, and the two combined caused
Emile Doricourt to hover about Gus
tave with unwonted anxiety.
1--WE must use our utmost skill, be-
cause ii is the clock of our enemy.
'Noblesse oblige,' Gustave, 'noblesse
oblige,'" said the old %Frenchman. in
advertently standing in his nephew's
light.
Eyes, uncle" replied the young man,
listening with but half IN ear.
Gustaye intended to do his best, not
because the immense timepiece was
John Faversham's, but because, in a
way, it belonged to Kitty, or might be-
come hers some day.
perhaps it is the great spring which
is broken continued the old man,
looking over Gustave's shoulder. 1T
often breaks in old clocks, one knows
not why"
at is not the handspring" replied
Gustave. The works must all be
taken apart, rs you thought ut first,
Uncle Emile
Did | think so? | had forgotten; l
am so old. No doubt | was right. But
it will take no little time, and as | am
not Immediately needed | will go gath
er the salad for dinner"
Well pleased to be left alone with
his thoughts, Gustave continued his
work, humming as he tOiled IA quaint
old song of the Proyencal trouyeres.
Kitty's fear of her uncle had made
her extremely timid, and Gustave hest
tated to ask her to meet him outside.
If he did sc his design might never be
effected. And when lie had spoken of
coming down in a balloon or rising
from the ground like a gnome and car
rying off Kitty to be his bride, while
he spoke tiguratively, there was still a
substantial substratum of truth in his
language.
With his fancy as busy as his fingers
Gustave had now removed the intri-
cate mechanism of wheels and springs
from the case and placed them upon
the big table by the largest window.
Bit by bit lie took the works apart,
and to his surprise found nothing bro
ken. All needed cleaning, and ut first
the young man deemed that the II
of the stoppage. But, pursuing his in
v%estigation, he suddenly came upon II
dusty triple sealed envelope, yellowed
by age. which had evidently been con
cealed in the case of the clock, and,
becoming dislodged, possibly by a
mouse, had fallen among the wheels
and hindered further motion.
Blowing the dust from the envelope,
Gustaye put it in his pocket to be re-
turned to John Fayersham with the
clock.
Happy to find that so little was the
matter. he set to work a-cleaning, and,
lttAAti ~ ~
whistling as he toiled, his mind revert
ed to the problem of entering the Fa-
yersham mansion unperceiyed.
With the consciousness that the clock
wonld be in order sooner than he had
expected. another thought came, and
his ewes frightened. Perhaps at the
time of its return in the excitement
caused by the arrival of the valued
heirloom Kitty might hide him in the
house till darkness should come and
enable them to leave the house to-
gether unnoticed.
Alas. a moments thought revealed
the impossibility of this scheme. To
carry it out, besides trucking John
Fayersham's watchful eyes, he must
needs take into his confidence the men
who accompanied him to lift the clock
from the wagon to its place On the
stair. else they might not drive away
without MN.
He could devise no plan for entering
the Faversham mansion that seemed
more practicable than the mine or bal
loon method of which he had spoken
in jest TO Kitty.
In his deep detection a scheme of the
utn ost audacity flashed through his
brain like a rocket in the darkness.
The next moment he sprang to his feet
and began to laugh and sing, while the
blood that bounded from his heart
seemed full of sparks, for it set every
part of his body tingling with delight.