The Clockwork Twin by Walter R. Brooks Read Free Book Online

row.”
    â€œWho’s upstairs?” asked Jinx, whose sharp ears had caught the sound of somebody moving about up in the loft.
    â€œThat?” said Hank. “Why, Uncle Ben, of course. Oh sure, I forgot. He came while you were away. He lives here now.” And Hank turned to pull down another bite of hay from the rack.
    â€œHey, wait a minute,” said Freddy. “If you begin chewing again we’ll never get a thing out of you. Who is he? Where’d he come from?”
    â€œMr. Bean’s uncle. He used to be a clockmaker, but he’s retired now. Same as you retired, I guess, Freddy, because he keeps right on pulling clocks to pieces just like you keep on detectin’.”
    â€œWhat’s he like?” asked Jinx.
    â€œLike Mr. Bean, only more so. More whiskers, more not sayin’ anything. Go on up. He likes animals, seems like. At least he never throws ’em out. They say he’s smart as all get-out about machinery, though. I wouldn’t know about that. Never had much use for machinery myself since I got my tail caught in that thrashin’ machine that time. You can’t trust it. Though I dunno—I guess it’s useful, at that.”
    The two animals climbed the steep stairs and came out in the dimly lit loft. At the far end, by the big door through which the hay was hoisted in, was a long work-bench on which stood several clocks with their insides strewn about them, and on shelves and on the wall above, fifty clocks were ticking busily away. A little man who looked like a smaller and older and hairier Mr. Bean was working away at the bench.
    He turned as the animals came in, nodded to them, and went back to his work. They sat and watched him for a minute, then got up and walked around, looking at the clocks. There were banjo clocks and cuckoo clocks and grandfather clocks and clocks that told the month and the year and when the sun rose and even the weather. Some had little figures that came out and danced when they struck the hour, and there was one that delighted Jinx, because it had three mice that came out and ran up over the top every quarter-hour and then back into a hole underneath as a cat’s head poked out in the middle of the dial and grinned at them.
    Uncle Ben didn’t say anything, but he watched them, and by and by he got up and started some of the clocks striking so they could see how they worked. And when the clocks chimed or cuckooed or the little figures popped out and in again, he would wink at Freddy and pull Jinx’s tail. So they knew he liked to have them there.
    But after he had gone back to his work and they had watched him awhile, he took the clock he had been working on and wound it up and set it in the middle of the floor. Then he said: “Clear out now, animals. Danger.”
    So they went downstairs again.
    â€œHe told us to beat it,” Jinx said to Hank. “I thought you said he never did that?”
    Hank had finished his hay and was taking a nap until Mr. Bean should come out to give him some more. His eyes were closed, but he opened them very quickly.
    â€œEh?” he said. “What? Ordered you out, did he? Thunder! I suppose he’s going to shoot that thing off again. I do wish he wouldn’t. Goodness knows I don’t think I’m asking too much—just a little peace and quiet to—”
    Bang! There was a loud explosion upstairs. Jinx gave a screech and leaped three feet in the air and Freddy tried to dive under the old phaeton that stood on the barn floor, but missed his aim and got his head stuck between two spokes of a front wheel. There was a patter and jingle of little pieces of metal falling to the floor upstairs, and a small brass clock-wheel bounced down the stairs.
    â€œThere, thank goodness,” said Hank, swishing his tail nervously, “it’s over for today. Until he gets a new one built tomorrow.”
    â€œHey, what is all this?” asked Freddy.