The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-17

Isn't Ii Funny 1t WORKS Alright L.
young nephew as he sped away to
Uncle Jim's room to get the clock
which mother had declared to be in
good condition except that the alarm
refused to ring any more.
Dick watched his uncle take out
the many little screws used in the in
tricate mechanism of the clock and
wondered now he was going to locate
the trouble.
Isn't ii funny it works alright ex-
cept for the alarm 2" questioned Dick,
when Uncle Jim had at last discov-
cred just where the trouble lay.
Like lots of folks" murmured the
boys uncle, half to himself.
why, how can that be?" asked
Dick, wonderingly, adding with a
laugh that folks were not like clocks,
and certainly had no alarm bells in
side of them.
''rhe very cleverest, most wonderful
alarm bell of which 1 know is the
one inside of me-" Dicks Uncle aston
ished the lad by saying.
when you have been about to do
something which you knew perfectly
we'll was not right, haven't you heard
a voice inside of you telling you to
stop? That's your alarm bell" the
man went on without waiting for Dick
to reply. Folks call it a mans con-
science and when that is stilled the
man is no good to either the world
or to himself.
1T acts for all the world like an
alarm clock" said Uncle Jim. why,
| had friend who once lost a very
fine position because he allowed him
self to get so he couldn't hear his
alarm clock when it rang to awaken
him in the mornings. You see his
employer required him to be in his
office at a certain hour and the man
was mighty fond of his morning nap,
and never could have awakened with
out someone to call him. Being all
alone he bought an alarm clock, and
for the first week he sprang right up
just as soon as it began to ring and
everything went splendidly. Then one
morning he lay quite still in bed when
1t rang, thinking that he would just
take a little bit of a nap as he was
SO very sleepy. He was late at his
office because the nap was longer than
he had intended 1t to be, but his boss
made no remark, SO the next morning
when the alarm began to warn him
that it was time to get up he Needed
it so little that he was scarcely con-
scious of 1t at all, and the third morn
ing he slept right on when 1t rang out
at the hour for which he had set il
the night before, and was so late at
n0 that he 4
you've got to obey the call of an
alarm clock quickly if you want it to
be effective" ended Uncle Jim, look
ing into Dicks eyes very searchingly,
for he had told his story with a pur-
pose.
On Monday afternoon Dick had
come home with a sleek, flushed face,
and when mother had asked him
where he had been, he replied that he
had been with Fatty" Webster just
up to the camps on Libby Hill, but his
hesitation had led his uncle to sus-
pect that he was telling his mother
only half the truth, which is as bad
as a bald-faced lie.
TITS Just the same with the alarm
bell which God has given each one OF
us-the little voice which man calls
conscience. and which Shakespeare
said makes towards of us ALL We
are afraid of it because 1t never lies
And when it rings out warning to us
we make a terrible mistake not to
heed what it says, and to heed il
promptly, for if we ignore it we get
after a little lille, like my friend and
his alarm clock-we do not hear the
warning call at all" Uncle Jim tolc
the boy at his side as he held up the