ed to see
him.

In a very little time that hero made his appearance; and as he was the
first Randlebury boy Charlie had set eyes on, he appeared for a moment a
very awful and a very sublime personage in that little new boy's eyes.
But Charlie was too intent on his mission to allow himself to be quite
overawed.

"Here's a new boy, Master Drift, wants to speak to you."

"What do you want, young un--eh?"

"Oh, it's all right, Tom Drift; only I saw your mother, you know, in the
train, and she said you were a nice boy, and she sent her love, and I
told her I'd let you know the time whenever you wanted, because you
ain't got a watch, you know, and I have. I say, would you like to know
the time now, Tom Drift?"

All this was rattled out with such eager volubility, that Tom Drift,
hero as he was, was fairly taken aback, and looked quite sheepish, as
the beaming boy proceeded to pull me out of his pocket.

"Well, it's just--hullo!"

He saw in an instant something was wrong.

"Why, it says only half-past six--that must be wrong!"

"It's eight o'clock by the hall clock," said Mrs Packer; "it's just now
struck."

Charlie looked at me, opened me, held me to his ear, and then
exclaimed,--

"Oh! my watch has stopped! My watch has stopped! What shall I do?" and
the poor boy, overwhelmed with his misfortune, held me out appealingly,
and scarcely restrained the tears which started to his eyes.

CHAPTER FOUR.

HOW I WAS CURED OF MY AILMENTS, AND HOW MY MASTER BEGAN LIFE AT
RANDLEBURY.

All this while Tom Drift had said nothing, but had stood regarding first
my master, and then me, with mingled amusement, pity, and astonishment.
At last, when poor Charlie fairly thrust me into his hands, that he
might see with his own eyes the calamity which had befallen the watch
that had been destined to minister such consolation to his time-
inquiring mind, he took me gingerly, and stared at me as if I had been a
toad or a dead rat.

"Can't you make it go, Tom Drift? Please do."

"How can I make him go? I don't know what's the row."

"Do you think it would be a good thing to wind it up?" asked Charlie.

"Don't know; you might try."

Charlie did wind me up; but that was not what I wanted. Already I had
had that done while waiting at Gunborough Junction.

"What do you say to shaking him?" asked Tom Drift presently. Most
people spoke of me as "it," but Tom Drift always called me "him."

"I hardly like," said Charlie;