Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-12
Kss9&'de'ty! 5 sS U.s.! Stores 3..s 1aS +
Tik-Tok the Machine Man

After an hour or so most of the
band of Wheelers rolled back into
the forest. leaving only three of
! their number to guard the nils.
| These curled themselves up like big
dogs and pretended to go to sleep on
the sands; but neither Dorothy nor
Billina were fooled by this trick, so
they remained in security among the
! rocks and paid no attention to their
| cunning enemies.
Finally the hen, fiuttering over
! the mound. exclaimed: why. here's
| a path!"
So Dorothy at once clamored to
where Billina sat, and there, sure
| enough, was smooth path cut be-
! tween the rocks. 1t seemed to wind
around the mound from top to bot
| tom. like a cork-screw, twisting here
and there between the rough bould-
| ers but always remaining level and
| easy to walk upon.
Indeed, Dorothy wondered at first
why the Wheelers did not roll up
this path; but when she followed it
to the foot of the mound she found
that several big pieces of rock had
been placed directly across the end
of the way, thus preventing any one
! outside from seeing it and also pre-
venting the Wheelers from using 1t
to climb up the mound.
Then Dorothy walked back up the
path, and followed it until she came
to the very top of the hill, where a
solitary round rock stood that was
bigger than any of the others sur
rounding it. The path came to an
end just beside this great rock, and
for moment it puzzled the girl to
know why the path had been made
at all. But the hen, who had been
gravely following her around and
was now perched upon a point of
rock behind Dorothy. suddenly re-
marked:
1T looks something like a door,
doesn't it?"
What looks like a door?" en-
quired the child.
why, that crack in the rock, just
facing you," replied Billina, whose
little round eyes were very sharp and
seemed to see everything. 1T runs
up one side and down the other, and
across the top and the bottom"
what does?"
why, the crack. So / think it
must be. a door of rock, although I
do not see any hinges"
"Oh, yes" said Dorothy, now OBJ
serving for the first time the crack
in the rock. And isn't this a key
hole, Billina?" pointing to a round,
deep hole at one side of the door.
"Of course. If we only had the
key. now, we could unlock it and see
what is there" replied the yellow
hen. May be it's a treasure cham
ber fu1l of diamonds and rubies, or
heaps of shining, gold, Or,
THAT reminds me-" said Dorothy.
"of the golden key 1 picked up on
the shore. Do you think that it
would fit this key-hole. Billina?"
TRY it and see." suggested ,the
hen.
So Dorothy searched in the pocket
of her dress and found the golden
key. And when she had put it into
the hole of the rock. and turned it,
sudden sharp snap was heard;
! then with solemn creak that made
! the shivers run down the child's
| back, the face of the rock fell out
ward. like door on hinges, and re-
vealed a small dark chamber just
| inside.
Good graciousi" cried Dorothy,
shrinking back as far as the narrow
path would let her.
For, standing within the narrow
chamber of rock, was the form of a
manor. at least, 1t seemed like a
man, in the dim light. He was only
about as tall as Dorothy herself,
| and his body was round as a ball
and made out of FURNISHED copper.
| Also his head and limbs were copper,
and these were jointed or hinged to
his body in a peculiar way, with
metal caps over the joints. like the
armor worn by knights in days OF
old. He stood perfectly still. and
where the light struck upon his form
1t glittered as If made of pure gold
| Don't be frightened" called
Billina. from her perch. 'It isn't
alive"
II see it isn't" replied the girl
drawing a long breath.
Its only made out of copper, like
the old kettle in the barnyard al
home" continued the hen, turning
her head first to one side and then
to the other. so that both her little
round eyes could examine the object
"Once," said Dorothy 81 knew a
man made out of tin who was a
woodman named Nick Chopper. He
was as alive as we are. cause he
was born real man, and got his
tin body little at a time-first a
leg and then finger, and then ar
ear-for the reason that he had sc
many accidents with his ak, and
cut himself up in a very careless
manner"
oh" said the hen, with a sniff
as. if she did not believe the story.
But this copper man." continued
Dorothy, looking at 1t with big eyes
'is not alive at all. and 1 wonder
what it was made for, and why il
was locked up in this queer place.
THAT is mystery" remarked
the hen. twisting her head to arrange
her wing feathers with her bill.
Dorothy stepped inside the littl,
room to get a back view of the cop
per man. and in this way discoveret
a printed card that hung between
his shouldersL it being suspended
from a small copper peg at the bacl
of his neck. she unfastened thi
card and returned to the path, wher,
the light was better. and sat hersel
down upon a slab of rock to read tn,
printing.
What does it say?" asked the hen
curiously.
Dorothy read the card aloud, spell
ing out the big words with some diff
nculty; and this is what she read:
SMITH &c TINKERS
Patent Double-Action, Extra -Respon
sive, Thought-Creating
Perfect Talking
MECHANICAL MAN
Fitted with our Special Clock Worl
Attachment.
Thinks, Speaks, Acts. and Doe
Everything but Live.
Manufactured only at our works a