The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-05-21
CHILD'S PLAY
By Henry c. ROwland

I wonder? A piece Of mechanism ought not
70 vary. CHANGING at the clock, I could
dimly distinguish it's pedulum swinging
PACK and forth with the rhythm to account
lOF one TICK, the slower and more distinct.
But there was a finer tick that would have
been imperceBtible to ears less acute than
nine, running at mOments in between.
Wen, nothing extraordinary about that,
except that ] never happened to have no.
uced 1t in a clock before. After all, a time
piece must be full Of different sized cOgs,
some revOlvOing faster han others. If Doc
tor GOransko had come in just then, /
would have thought no more about it, but
ne still delayed, and perhaps I was ner-
vOus, a little i'll at ease, for that rhythmic
ticking began to irritate me.
/ got up, stepped to the mantel, and Op-
nothing TO be seen. Turning my head to
ened tn door Of the clock. There was
listen, 1t struck me that the sound seemed
TO come not from inside the works that
were higher up but almost from under the
clock. / examined it from one side, and
from this angle caught the reflection of
something on the mirror behind the clock.
Inen for a m my heart stood still.
In that space of about six inches there was
a metallic object that somewhat resembled
In shape and size the sort of hand grenade
we used in the trenches.
AS Jacques had remarked in his eXamina-
ton Of Captain GuardO, in the TineO case,
One-halt of a mans mind receives a COM
plete impression instantaneOusly, when il
may take a few seconds longer for the 9th
er half to interpret it. I knew Immediately
that here was an Internal machine placed
there to destroy GOranskO as he sat at the
desk which the BOtential assassin might ex-
pect him to do later in the evening. ]
realized that aside from the cOncuSSiOn OF
the explosion in that small room with its
heaYy walls, the fragments of the ligneOus
rock Of that pOrphyry clock would be fatal
to a man so placed. But even more pOig-
nantly l appreciated the fact that some
timing ought TO no nOnn qhOnf that hOmh
ard quickly.
We Americans, especially those Of us who
have caught and lObbed back hand gren.
AIDES into enemy trenches, have a prejudice
against Lrecipitately boiling from danger
1 reached for that devilish thing, took il
up carefully, and was staring wildly about
for some disposition that might be com.
parattvely safe to make of it when a sterT
but tranquil voice in the doorway said in
English, Better not throw it, my friend
You might kill me but 1 would surely xii
you first"
Holding the bonn at arms length,
looked up to. see a tall man in dinner cos
tune standing in the doorway covering N,
stress Of the moment, I was impressed by
a sort of majesty in his wide forehead
steady piercing eyes, and such deep line
as showed in his finely featured face allow
the Square grazing heard.
My answer was in its wording absurd
Its not mine. 1 just found it behind tn
clock. What shall do with it?'
Il think" said Doctor GOranskO calmly
that we had better 90 out and toss it il
the Seine"
1 did not wait to argue the matter-t,
suggest that we had better send for an of
ficer of the bureau Of explosives to tax
the thing in charge. ObliviOuS to his Dis
tOl, l started for the door. Doctor GOrans
kO, as if he had recommended the drown
ing of a sick pup, fell in beside me-. w
went out across the street, lodging a ca
or two, came to the stone parapet wher
i with an Dwa prayer that the accurse
thing might not go off, l hurled it far int
5 the river. 1t struck the water, and tina
was the end Of it so far as mischief wa
l concerned.
4 DR.. GOranskO turned and looked at m
I He had showed the pistol into his poke
I Il have the honor, Mr.. Clark" he said, It
s thank you for having saved my life"
He held out his hand, and 1 clasped
, with my clammy one.
z "Then you no longer think I came I
kill you, sir"
"Of course not. NV first impression Wa
from your attitude and the way in whic
you were holding that thing, but 1 reflecr
ed as we crossed the street that you'd hay
scarcely cared to hoist yourself on you
own petard. Also that if you had come /
destroy me, you had already ample time
do so. Besides, your statement was cor
vincing. Let us go back to the house. n
doubt you could do with a drink"
All of his statements were correct. I W.
= ~ HNJ1 as 4 NONAO y nave DNCn
the trenches.
As we entered the gate he asked: "Ha
you reason to suspect that I was there
moi in the least" answered. and e.
Elained how the ticking aroused my curio
ity sitting there in an oppressive silenc
n We went back into the study when ]
Y touched a bell and the butler served n
2 with some ripe old Peat Rick from s
Peters native heath. At least, it taste
u like that.
e I explained then my errand, saying th.
IS it was less in search Of journalistic new
"a than because a friend Of mine was by Wa
OF being lured into taking an interest
the KarOPOlOuS concessions that I had pr
sumed to call.
"Has BOgorOff been here?" / asked.
mot under that name, but there was
man here who protested to me to be a +
porter from a Paris PAPER. / didn't ca
to talk to him. It seemed unnecessary
say hat my mission has been successfJ
lThe k~arOpOlOus affair cannot be incOrpO
ated nor subscriptions for stock solicit
in France. MY host, Sir Peter MacIlvaiI
has returned to London 20 see that it W
be blocked there. So that for the time
least there is the end Of it. I do not b
erica"
"BogorOff told my friend that it hi
practically gone through" I said.
DR.. GOranskO smiled. Il encouraged the
to think that, Mr.. Clarke. Partly, III a
nit, to prevent some such an attempt
this until they would consider it too Ia
to make it worth their while. It was an /
geniOus idea to put it behind the clio
where nobody but so close an observer
yourself would have noticed the tickin
Evidently some study Of my habits he
ls has been made for the last several nigh
II A SLY lurking in the shrubbery Outsi
ID could look through a chink in the pc
siennes and see that 1 was in the habit
= sitting in that chair from nine o'clock u
Z til midnight reading"
T. Il should have thought they'd have spC
ted you through the window" I said.
mo, because these vOlets are iron a
bolted on the inside so hat while a M
d might peer up at me through a thin craC
D.