The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1907-11-20
The Town Clock.


cA> 49,
church tower.
at has stopped" said one.
"No, but the hands move at a snails
pace" said another.
81 have been standing here fully ten
Minutes said a third, land can't de.
tect the slightest change"
"And have watched 1t for an hour"
said a fourth. 1.-THE long hand shows
a gain Of two and a half minutes"
"When was the change noticed?"
AT Il o'clock midnight. 1t has not
struck the hour since"
Let me see-two and a half minutes
to the hour. At that rate the minute
hand would sweep the dial In twenty.
four hours. The clock registers but
an hour a day"
From a little shop near by old Roth
holz, the matchmaker, glanced out Of
his window at the group, shook his
head at them, then turned and resumed
his work. The day before his son had
come to him, wringing his hands.
"Oh, father" he exclaimed, "Cicily
has been condemned! Old Mothe,
Gault swore that she had seer he,
with her own eyes vomiting crooked
pins"
"What! That innocent girl con
demned for witchcraft on the testi
mony of that hag?"
eyes, and she is to be burned at the
stake in three days. Oh, father. help
We are betrothed"
The youngster, still in his teens, had
not ceased to rely on his father for
everything. The old mar scratched
his head and gave himself up to deer
thought. Presently he said, Il cannot
It,"
"How!' asked the boy eagerly.
"You know, my son, that the clock
In the church tower, which l made
and about which no n except my
self knows anything, is the legal time
In the village-that I, the town clerk
as we'll as matchmaker. keep the Legal
calendar and keep 1t by the clock. II
I stop the clock l stop the village time.
but in that case they would adopt an.
other standard. I will make the hands
go cry slowly. This will delay the
execution, and something may happen
to save the girl"
In the middle of the night the old
man went up into the tower and chang
ty-four. Cicily could not be legally
burned for more than two months.
The group standing in the market
place after further discussion moved
together to old Rothholz's shop, told
him that the clock had nearly stopped
and he must fix it. Don't bother your
heads about the Clock he sail; ut
will go we'll enough in time" 'When?'
"After the girl who was condenned
yesterday has been burned" What
has that to do with it?' II don't
know. | only know that the clock,
which has kept perfect time ever since
1t was set up in the tower, has sud
denly zone wrong" NONSENSE OK
claimed most of the party. and they
went away.
The old man insisted that he could
not fix the clock, though, to satisfy the
authorities, he pretended to try. In a
few days the burghers, finding a new
subject of interest. ceased to talk
about the clock. \ week later Antoine
Hecker presented Il note that was due
to Karl Becker for payment. Becker
declared that he would pay 1t when
the town clock should say the time
for payment had expired. Hecker
went to RothhOlZ and asked for Il GER
tificate to that effect. Hccker declared
that by the village time the note was
nOt due. The result was a quarrel be-
tween the debtor and the creditor.
Then came Il widow who wished to
marry again. BY the terms of her late
husbands will she would lose every
thing he had left her If she married
before a certain date. The date had
expired, but the legal town time said
that it had not. The clerk said it was
his duty to keep the calendar by the
clock. He could do nothing. The
Judge ordered him before the court
and to fix the clock OF keep the calcn,
der by another timcpiece. The town
clerk refused to break the law. and
the judge had no power to compel him
to do SO.
AS the days and weeks elapsed the
condition Of the people Of the village
became more irritating. They quar-
relied about the time to so to bed, to
get up, for meals. The children would
not so to school till the clock struck
the hour. Nobody would so to church
because there was no knowing when
they should go. Those who had
watches tyrranized over those who had
not and Quarreled among themselves
as to whose watch was right. At las,
the hubbub was so great that 1t be
came in%tolerable. A committee wait
ed on the town clerk and begged him
to fix the clock or break the law, prom
Using him immunity.
mot l." he said. Il believe thai
heaven shows its displeasure through
the clock for the condemnation of {
pure young girl for witchcraft."
When this vas repeated to the judge
he called the court together and re