Christopher and the Clockmakers

e realized that to do so would be futile. There he was in his wig, whiskers, glasses, ulster, and slouch hat; and the next moment, pr

shade of hesitation singled him out from twelve oth

nly one fact regarding it did he appear to resent and that was that a person wary as himself should have been tracked down and trapped by a mere boy. Incontestably this wounded his pride. Nevertheless he tried valiantl

ounced he, as the lad approached. "They will be ann

he double-faced r?le he had played. "I'm not usually a squealer-honest,

e," the big fellow returned without a shadow of anger. "So you

eyes," was the response. "Besides, you looked so much lik

heless despite the glibness with which he uttered it, he cringed and a flood of tellta

ly Christop

nnaire manner, "so the next time look out and don't be taken in. There are gentlemen who

ay between two guards a momentary pang of regret passed over him. If Stuart had only happened to have turned

inspector, broke in on this reverie, a

diamonds we can't find out. He's mum as an oyster. I hoped we might tempt him into making a

Tony, may

f. "The two probably have a cac

we could

d in running down the other chap," Corrigan returned.

ess of tracking down criminals permanently

t," came tartly

ep his peepers op

s shaggy brows, and Christopher smiled back. Th

e boy. "Only of course you kn

evidently pleas

aid he. "You may make

lder encouragingly and i

a diamond rob

Burton, his son, a

s father, when the men had left them. "Where shall we go? W

rt!" murmu

are not regretting that

l, I'm sorr

But he has only himself to thank for his fate. He might have known at th

ppose

atever his name is. He wouldn't appreciate it. Why, he would rob us agai

bly he

now he

e was such a

o be gained by whining and m

grilled sweet potatoes, and salad which his father ordered for him wholly blot out a lurking depression or the haunting memory of the criminal's face

practically normal, and he ascended to the fourth floor to hunt up McP

t-fingered friend, did you, la

orriga

anks to yo

rtl

nt about it." The old man peered at

ade me sick-th

sons about," McPhearson said gently. "Of course y

nd so plucky," exclaimed Christophe

ended in a tr

leman-poor chap-and then got on the wrong trac

" was the d

more. Come, let's shift the

cloc

ou tired

Are

d McPhearson. "If I did, it would

r that matter," re

do not subsist wholly on clocks. Your bread

sed the boy, a

stible eating,

u look fit

ent's pause; th

o talk clocks, whe

turned the lad, with a

gether with the later ideas of anchor escapement evolved by Graham, put clocks, within the span of a few years, on an almost modern basis. Other improvements such as using steel springs in place of weights and the perfecting of movements have of course been made since; but this period covers the time of most vital impro

d he make?" inquired Ch

were of his making. There were few who could equal him. Possibly Daniel Quare and Joseph Knibb made clocks as good, but they certainly made no better. Were you to visit Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, you would find there wonderful chiming grandfather cl

r shall," Christop

merica. Nor, probably, did Stuart dream when he woke up to-day that his morning ride in a Fifth Avenue bus would land him in jail. So you must not despair of

kings, queens, poets, and great people had places

l that was good offered by the inventors preceding him, he carefully re-proportioned the various parts and produced English clocks and watches that were at once the pride and despair of his brother craftsmen. Watches were something of an avocation with him, for his primary trade was in clocks, to which for many years he devoted his entire labor. Probably, however, the problems a watch presented won his interest and led him to try his skill in this new field, with the result that he was soon making watches that as far surpassed his associates' as did his clocks. He made a watch

paused th

r example, a marvellous clock that would run a year without winding, which William III had in his bedroom at Kensington Palace, it having been left to him by the Earl of Leicester. This clock, although small, struck the hours and quarter-ho

t?" queried

Lord Mostyn and so famous has been its history that this nobleman has k

igs, I suppose," p

rated persons, y

?" Christopher chuc

ng striking and alarm watch with case beautifully chased. The Pump Room at Bath boasts a tall clock of his make-a present from him to the city in acknowledgment of the benefits he

tall clocks h

ht. The clock at Bath has a thirty-two-pound

y wound ea

y things this remarkable mechanic produced, for at Hampton Court is a barometer of his construction, proving him to be a master of more intricate scien

and what mean time is.

although he lived long ago, was well aware. You see, therefore, he was no ordinary uneducated clockmaker. What wonder th

old me anythin

onally I would rather have that handle before my name than to have Lord or Duke precede it and I fancy George Graham was of a type who felt that way too! So devoted were he and To

who departed this life the 20th of No

tions do honour to ye British genius whose accurate performances are ye standard o

a younger generation came along who knew very little of either Tompion or his pupil Graham, and seeing the

Tompi

Graha

t, perhaps they had forgotten all Tompion and Graham did for the rest of us. However that may be, in 1842 a Bond Street watchmaker had loyalty and courage enough to protest, and through the late Dean St

ted. "Who on earth would ever know from the skimpy marking

nt who perhaps never heard of Tompion or Graham, to hold their memory in grateful respect. Possibly, too, the inscription on the tab

stone if I ever go to Lon

n to his clockmaking. When you view either his handiwork or that of Tompion, you will see the product of master craftsmen. And in the meantime don