chain wound to the groove and fastened at the big end of the
cone. It was a simple device but it did the work. The shaft of the fusee
was attached to the large wheel that moved the gears, and the other end
of the cord was fastened to the mainspring barrel. Therefore as the
mainspring slowly turned the barrel, it gradually uncoiled the cord from
the fusee, making it turn and as soon as it turned, the wheels had to
turn too, and the watch began to go. Since from the very start the cord
unwound from the small end of the cone where the leverage was least, and
as the force of the mainspring decreased it, the leverage of the cord
strengthened in the same proportion. So you see, the power which turned
the wheels was constantly the same. Do not dream, however, this result
was reached all in a minute. The crude fusee of Zech had to be perfected
by Gruet, another Swiss clockmaker, and by still others. Nevertheless
the scheme did work and caused a revolution in clock and watch making.
There was now some hope that ultimately timepieces would furnish correct
time, which after all is, I suppose, the only excuse a clock has for
being."

McPhearson brought from his bag a small copper oil can.

"Wants oilin', does she?" interpolated the butler, who had been standing
anxiously near by.

"A drop won't hurt her."

"Much wrong with her, sir?"

"Next to nothing, Ebenezer. She just needed a little readjusting and
tightening up."

"Praise de Lord! Then you're most through, sir."

"Pretty near."

"I'm clean afraid Mr. Hawley won't get back before you finish."

"I'm not gone yet."

"Oh, I ain't in any hurry to shoo you out, Mr. McPhearson," declared the
darky hurriedly. "No, indeed, sir. I could listen to you talk all day."

"I forgot you were listening, Ebenezer."

"Listening? 'Deed an' I was listenin'! My two ears was pricked up like a
rabbit's."

The clockmaker flushed and smiled.

"They's silver to clean; an' brasses to polish, an' I dunno what--"
continued the butler, "but I'm lettin' 'em all lie 'til by an' by--I's
improvin' my mind--I is!"

"So am I," rejoined Christopher, laughing.

"I seem to be furnishing a lecture free of charge to a very select
audience," the Scotchman returned drily; "and having once started, I
suppose I may as well finish it. You can testify that at least I have
not been idle while talking.

"Nor was the era, of which I have been speaking, an idle one. Like Rip
Van Winkle, it began slowly to