Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-01-08
THAT'S NOT NEWS To MEL"

whom there was no male heir to the
title. Caspar was forty years old and
his wife thirty-eight, and they had no
children. This was q source of dis
tress to the old baron, realizing, as he
did, that with his son the title would
become extinct. Since it was one OF
the oldest and most respected in the
land those living in the vicinity felt
the same regret.
One night when bleak November
wind was blowing those asleep in the
castle and those at the base of the bill
were awakened by a strange sound,
sound that thrilled them and filed
them with wonder. They heard the
stroke Of a tower clock. To those on
the hill it sounded close by. To those
at the bottom it seemed to come from
a distance. The only clock capable of
creating such strong vibrations within
a hundred miles was the one in the
tower of Wertheim castle.
And what sound it vast Some
said that 1t seemed to them like the
distant boom of gun on sinking
ship, some that it was q knell, some
like the angelus that summons NOR
tails to prayer. All agreed that it was
dirge and to all there were that
hoarse wheeling and creaking that
might be expected from long disused
and rusty mechanism.
One, two, three! Then there was a
silence, while the listeners counted the
beating of their hearts, at the end Of
which the strokes were resumed.
But what difference between the
first and last series of beats! Instead
of being funeral the second were joy
Gus. Could those silvery tones come
from the old clock In the tower? And
yet what clock was there near by that
could be heard so distinct, so vivid!
None. One, two, three, four, five, six.
seven, eight, nine, ten. The strokes
were counted by every person in the
castle, beneath the castle and within
| bearing distance of the castle. They
were heard by persons living ten miles
| away. These joyous strokes sounded
differently to different persons. To
some they were like the sound of wed
ding bells. to some the chimes Of East.
er, TO others those which ring out at
a christening.
OF all who heard them the old baron
was the only one to interpret them.
He counted the first strokes and when
he heard the third knew that his broth
er, as he sometimes called the clock,
had sent him a message. Then when
the ten strokes that followed ended he
sank into a restfUl slumber such as he
had not known for years.
/ The next morning the castle yard
/ was filed with people looking up at
/ the tower and the clock above. There
was a babel Of voices. some averring
that a trick had been played upon
/ them by some mischievous person who
/ had climbed up to the clock and struck
I the bell. that 1t was superstition Or
/ imagination alone that led those who
! heard the sounds to attribute to them
different intonations. One of these skep'
/ tics entered the tower at the bottom
| and looked up to determine If he could
/ see any evidence left above as to how
/ it could have been scaled. There was
| nothing but the four interior sides
/ showing marks here and there oil
/ where the staircase had been built
! against them. But even this man beat
hasty retreat. for while he stood
gaping upward piece Of stone Oh
mortar fell from above, landing with
| in few feet of him. He was too
frightened to notice what it was. anC
! no one else dared enter the tower.