E-text prepared by La Monte H. P. Yarroll, Jacqueline Jeremy, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 26857-h.htm or 26857-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/8/5/26857/26857-h/26857-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/8/5/26857/26857-h.zip) CHRISTOPHER AND THE CLOCKMAKERS [Illustration: "Those men--one of them took a ring--I saw him." FRONTISPIECE. _See page_ 34.] CHRISTOPHER AND THE CLOCKMAKERS by SARA WARE BASSETT With Illustrations by William F. Stecher Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1925 Copyright, 1925, by Sara Ware Bassett. All rights reserved Published September, 1925 Printed in the United States of America TO THE MEMORY OF RICHARD PARSONS, SIMON WILLARD AND JOHN BAILEY, A TRIO OF CONSCIENTIOUS CRAFTSMEN, WHOSE HANDIWORK STILL SURVIVES THEM TO CHEER MY HOME AND TESTIFY DAILY TO THEIR FIDELITY AND SKILL. S. W. B. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I A CLOUD WITH A SILVER LINING 1 II CHRISTOPHER MAKES AN ACQUAINTANCE 12 III CHRISTOPHER ESCAPES BEING A HERO 31 IV AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE 39 V CHRISTOPHER ASTONISHES HIMSELF 49 VI CLOCKS THAT WERE GOOD AS PLAYS 64 VII AN EXCURSION 81 VIII AN ADVENTURE 101 IX CHRISTOPHER RECOGNIZES AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 112 X AN AMAZING ADVENTURE 125 XI THE SEQUEL TO THE LETTER 137 XII CLOCK GIANTS 147 XIII CLOCKS ON LAND AND CLOCKS AT SEA 162 XIV HOW RUBIES, SAPPHIRES, AND GARNETS HELPED TO TELL TIME 176 XV CLOCKS IN AMERICA 187 XVI WHAT MASSACHUSETTS CONTRIBUTED 202 XVII THE ROMANCE OF THE WATCH 217 XVIII CHRISTOPHER HAS A BIRTHDAY 236 ILLUSTRATIONS "THOSE MEN--ONE OF THEM TOOK A RING--I SAW HIM" _Frontispiece_ "SO YOU NEVER SAW AN OLD FELLOW LIKE THIS, EH?" _Page_ 24 WHAT WAS IT THAT RENDERED THE FIGURE SO FAMILIAR? " 103 AH, WHAT AN EVENING THE TWO CRONIES HAD TOGETHER THAT NIGHT " 164 CHRISTOPHER AND THE CLOCKMAKERS CHAPTER I A CLOUD WITH A SILVER LINING