THE COMING OF THE CLOCKWORK MAN
I
It was just as Doctor Allingham had himself upon the that the was broken, and that he had only to now and save the trouble of running, just as he was the with one and with the other Tanner's short, arm high above the white at the of the opposite wicket, that he noticed the figure. Its appearance, at like a scare-crow on the horizon, him to his upon the in his hand. His mind for just that moment, and his of the on-coming was away and its place taken by that of a man over the path at the top of the hill, a man attitude, on closer examination, like another man in the act of bowling.
That was why its was so distracting. It to the doctor that the had up there on purpose to the2] action of a and so him. During the of a second in which the him, this secondary image had out else. But the of the was abnormal. Its movements were ataxic. Its arms like the of a windmill. Its out in all directions, in dust.
The doctor's was into by the of his wicket. A of out. The wicket-keeper to up the bails. The and on the grass. They to have that it was a afternoon, and that was, after all, a game. One of the umpires, a sly, fellow, up his and looked hard at the doctor as the passed him, walking with the slow, of the out, and his gloves. There was nothing to do but to back, and make the a worm. The doctor an eye-glass, and he succeeded admirably. His over and produced a of ungovernable, rage. Somehow, he had not been able to make any this season, and his was all to pieces. He to think he ought to give up cricket. He was getting3] past the age when a man can accept in the of the game, and he was and of his name every week in the Great Wymering Gazette as having been for a "mere handful."
He himself for such annoyance. It was how, as one older, it less possible to and impulses. When wrong, you wanted to do something and unforgivable, something that you would afterwards, but which you would be to do for the of satisfaction. As he approached the pavilion, he wanted to into the little group of players around the table—he wanted to at them and their with his bat. His mind was so full of the that his actually as though to it out, and he slightly. It was to like this, every little him to the point of exasperation, and into a against him. Someone was the metal plates on the black board. He saw a "1" up for the last player. Surely he had more than One! All that and thwacking, all that and suspense, and nothing to for it! But, he re4]membered, he had only scored once, and that had been a lucky scramble. The had been alert. They had always been just where he had they were not.
He passed into the of the pavilion. Someone said, "Hard luck, Allingham," and he his to the ground for of the that might shoot from them. He his in a and sat to his pads. Gregg, the captain, came in. He was a cool, man, fresh from Cambridge. He came in grinning, and only stopped when he saw the on Allingham's face.
"I you were well set," he remarked, casually.
"So I was," said Allingham, a at the opposite wall. "So I was. Never more like it in my life. And then some goes and himself right over the top of the sheet. An lunatic. A with a of arms and legs. You saw anything like it in your life!"
"Really," said Gregg, and again. "H'm," he remarked, presently, "six down, and all the best men out. We look like going to pieces. Especially as we're a man short."
"Well, I can't help it," said Allingham, "you don't a thing like that to happen. What's the white for? So that you can5] see the bowler's arm. But when something in the way, just over the sheet—just where you've got your fixed. It wouldn't once in a times."
"Never mind," said Gregg, cheerfully, "it's all in the game."
"It isn't in the game," Allingham began. But the other had gone out.
Allingham up and slowly rolled his and put on his blazer. Of course, Gregg was like that, a sportsman, taking the good with the bad. But then he was only twenty-four. You be like that then, so full of life and high that from you and without effort. At you to up. Atrophy of the feelings. You to be and and narrow. You took a in making other people pay for your disappointments.
He looked out of the window, and there was that still about. It had come nearer to the ground. It hovered, with a air of not being related to its that was more than puzzling. It did not to know what it was about, but along aimlessly, as though a track, stopped for a moment, again and a zig-zag the ground. The doctor it advancing6] through the that the pitch, its way the little groups of cows, that their with more than their ordinary, slow persistency, as though by some noise. The to be for the of that the pitch, but its was for or to some of goal, it or a pause from its convulsions, it was difficult to tell. Finally, it against the and there, two hands over the and its together at the knees. It very still—so still that it was hard to that it had moved.
It was very odd. The doctor was so by something about the figure, something so of a pathological phenomenon, that he almost his and it with an cigarette his lips.
II
There was another person present at the match to the of the upon the hill an circumstance, only in his case it provided an than an irritating7] disturbance. It had been something to look at, and much more than cricket. All the Arthur Withers had been in the long grass, of it at and against that something would to prevent his having to go out to the and make a of himself. He perfectly well that Tanner, the of the team, would him out ball. He might at the seat of operations one or two were run; but there were more and than that excursion, and gloved, to the of disaster. He the trouble he was to give, the waiting while he walked with to the wicket; the of the in centre for him; all the of for his special and benefit. And he would be put to where there was a of to do, and only to up. Of course, he wasn't funking; that wouldn't be cricket. But he had been very miserable. He sometimes why he paid a in order to take part in a game that cost him such of mind to play. But it was the that as much as anything. Just to be allowed to play.
Arthur was to be allowed to do things. He his with a and a to do was in life. Everybody in Great Wymering that he was a of a fool, and simple. They that his career at the bank had been one wild of mistakes and narrow from dismissal. But that didn't matter. Things to him just as much as to other and more individuals, little odd that the of life by comparison. Every day, for example, something in life, something that all the worries, something up in the middle of the night in order to laugh at it again. That was why the of the odd-looking had been so welcome to him. It was amusing. It him his fears. Like all or happenings, it you for the moment impersonal.
He was so that presently he got up and along the line of the spot where the had come to rest. It had not moved at all, and this added to curiosity. It to the barrier, as though to have got there. Its was in the extreme, up, ill-9]adjusted, but it no attempt to comfort. Further along, little groups of were against the in nearly positions, pipes, and the game intently. But the was not doing anything at all, and if he looked at the players it was with an of observation. Arthur walked slowly along, how close he to his without appearing rude. But, somehow, he did not think this would arise. There was something and about this individual, a of inconsequence. Arthur have that he was and had no purpose or occupation. He was not in the picture of life, but something on by accident. Other people gave some hint by their manner or that they to some class. You something about them. But this personage, who had so from the line of the sky and across the landscape, not the marks of origin. He had along the path, not with the of a man, but with a of decision, as though in his mind that the path he was was only a10] thin from to earth upon which he had been to himself. And now he was upon the hurdle, and it was just as though someone had a great piece of there, and with a it into the of a man.
III
As he nearer, Arthur's of an being was a little by the that the a wig. It was a very red wig, and over the top of it was a hat. The was and flabby. Arthur that it was not a very face. Its to melt into each other in an odd of way, so that you that you were looking at a and that was about all. He was about to turn his and pass on, when he was to the ground by the of a most circumstance.
The was his ears—flapping them and forwards, with an almost rapidity!
Arthur a in the region of his heart. Of course, he had11] of people being able to move their ears slightly. That was common knowledge. But the ears of this man positively vibrated. They were more like the of some than ears. It was a spectacle—unbelievable, yet obvious. Arthur to walk away; he looked this way and that, but it was to the of those ears. Besides, the had him. He was him with that did not move in their sockets, but ahead; and Arthur had himself in the direct line of their vision. The in the was compelling, almost hypnotic.
"Excuse me," Arthur ventured, huskily, "did you wish to speak to me?"
The stopped his ears and opened his mouth. He opened it wide, as though trying to yawn. Then he it with a snap, and without yawning. After that he his whole very slowly, as though to himself from an apathy. And then he appeared to be waiting for something to happen.
Arthur fidgeted, and looked around him. It was an situation, but, after all, he had it on himself. He did not like to move away. Besides,12] having started the conversation, it was only common to wait until the offered a remark. And presently, the opened his mouth again. This time he actually spoke.
"Wallabaloo—Wallabaloo—Bompadi—Bompadi—Wum. Wum—Wum—Nine and ninepence—" he announced.
"I your pardon," said Arthur, hastily.
"Wallabaloo," the other, eagerly. "Walla—Oh, it—Hulloa, now we've got it—Wallabaloo—No, we haven't—Bang Wallop—nine and ninepence—"
Arthur times in succession. His mind into a of blankness. For some minutes he was not aware of any at all. He to and faint, from bewilderment. And then the idea of into his consciousness. He moved one foot, to walk away. But the up a hand, with an abrupt, movement, like a jumping up. He said "nine and ninepence" three times very slowly and solemnly, and his right ear twice. In of his confusion, Arthur not help noticing the and of these movements. At any rate, they to help this out of his diffi13]culties. Still a hand upright, he his complete sentence.
"Not an lunatic," he protested, and to shake his head. But the attempt to do so started his ears again.
And then, as though by these efforts, he into a of and to nothing on earth. The hand heavily. The ears spasmodically, the right one the action of the left. He to down, like a balloon, and a his lips. His an that was in the extreme, as though he were of to the air for the of him alive.
Arthur stared, every moment to see the him to the ground or through the earth. But just when his and to the a would shake the from to foot; that were from him, puffings and blowings, a of and grating. He would up for a moment, appear and lively, his whole and smartly, only to again, slowly and sadly, his to one side,14] his arms like the of a bird.
Arthur's now was one of for a in such a state. He almost his in his for the of the figure. That to alive, to produce the of existence, him think of his own moods of failure, his own helplessness. He took a step nearer to the hurdle.
"Can I do anything for you?" he enquired, almost in a whisper. Suddenly, the to a of of himself. He opening and his mouth very rapidly, to the of noises.
"Its hard," he announced, presently, "this feeling, you know—Click—All up and to go—Click—Click—"
"Is that how you feel?" Arthur enquired. He came nearer still, as though to better. But the other got into a with his affirmative. He an ear in fashion, and Arthur withdrew.
Now, the was very warm and very still. Where they the only that them were the of the ball, and the soft of the fielders.15] That was why the thing that next be mistaken. It by the hands upon the top of the and himself up about an off the ground. He looked all at once alive and vital. Light in his eyes.
"Eureka!" he clicked, "I'm working!"
"What's that?" Arthur, away. "What's that you said?"
"L-L-L-L-L-L-Listen," the other.
Still pressing his hands on the hurdle, he upon them until the top part of his over. His an of relief.
"Can't you hear," he squeaked, red in the face.
And then Arthur was sure about something that he had been for some moments. It like about a hundred all going off at once, somehow, but concentrated. It was a of whirring, low and at first, but out into something more regular, less frantic.
"What's that noise?" he by now.
"It's only my clock," said the other. He over the hurdle, a little stiffly, as though not sure of his limbs. Except16] for a awkwardness, an now and again, he to have and ordinary. Arthur the remark, and it did not the of that noise. He at the figure—less now, although still puzzling—and noticed for the time his snuff-coloured of odd pattern, his of a hue, his with a nose in the middle of it, his by the of the wig. His voice, as he on speaking, in until it an tenor.
"Perhaps I ought to explain," he continued. "You see, I'm a man."
"Oh," said Arthur, his mouth opening wide. And then he quickly, "that noise, you know."
The Clockwork man quickly, as though something. Then he moved his right hand and it the of his jacket, in the region of his waistcoat. He appeared to be trying to something. Presently he what it was he looked for, and his hand moved again with a sharp, action. The noise stopped at once. "The silencer," he explained, "I to put it on. It was such a to be working17] again. I must have nearly stopped altogether. Very awkward. Very awkward, indeed."
He appeared to be the air generally.
"The is, I need a overhauling. I'm all to pieces. Nothing right. I oughtn't to like this. I'm sure there's a somewhere."
He moved his arm slowly in a circle, as though to himself. The arm in a lop-sided fashion, like a wheel, and then the curve. Then the Clockwork man a leg and it and forwards. At the leg out sharply, and there to be some about its withdrawal; but after a little it moved smoothly. He these for a moments, in complete and with a upon his face, as though he were were not as they should be.
Arthur in silence. He did not know what to make of these antics. The Clockwork man looked at him, and to be trying hard to his into a new expression, benevolent. Apparently, however, it was a for him to move any part of18] his face; and any that took place him look like a of himself.
"Of course," he said, slowly, "you don't understand. It isn't to be that you would understand. Why, you haven't got a clock! That was the thing I noticed about you."
He came a little nearer to Arthur, walking with a hop, and jump, like a man with his together.
"And yet, you look an of being," he continued, "even though you are an anachronism."
"Arthur was not sure what this term implied. In of his he couldn't help a little amused. The by his was so like a wax-work come to life, and his talk was of a record.
"What year is it?" the other suddenly, and without a of his face.
"Nineteen hundred and twenty-three," said Arthur, faintly.
The Clockwork man a hand to his face, and with great a against his nose. "Nineteen hundred and twenty-three," he repeated, "that's interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Not that I have any use for time, you know."
He appeared to ruminate, still a against his nose. Then he his left arm out with a swift, action and the of his hand upon Arthur's shoulder.
"Did you see me over the hill?" he enquired.
Arthur nodded.
"Where did you think I came from?"
"To tell the truth," said Arthur, after a moment's consideration, "I you came out of the sky."
The Clockwork man looked as though he wanted to and didn't know how. His faintly, but the of his immobile, formal. "Very nearly right," he said, in quick, accents, "but not quite."
He offered no information. For a long while Arthur was puzzled by the movements that this last remark. Apparently the Clockwork man to his tactics; he did not wish to the conversation. But, in his to move away, he was by the that his hand still rested upon Arthur's shoulder. He did not to be able to his arm in a natural fashion. Instead, he on making a half-right movement of his body, with the result that every time he so moved he was20] stopped by the of his hand against Arthur's neck. At last he solved the problem. He took a quick step backwards, nearly his in the process, and his arm, which he then in the fashion. Then he to the left, for a moment, and away. There was no other term, in Arthur's estimation, to his gait. He took no stride; he one up and then the other, and then them again ahead of their positions. His from to in with his walk. After he had a yards he to the right, with a movement, and looked in Arthur's direction. His mouth opened and very rapidly, and there across the space some and very noise, as an of leave-taking. Then he to the left again, with the same drill-like action, and along.
IV
Arthur him, diffident, to him in case he over. For there was not much about the Clockwork man. It was clear that the slightest21] would have him upon his nose. He his erect, and looked neither or to right and left. He in his mode of locomotion, as though he it just to be moving along. Arthur his upon that stiff, back, by the and hat, and he what would when the Clockwork man to the end of the line of hurdles, where another started at right across the end of the ground.
It was a to attention, but fortunately, as Arthur thought, too in the game to notice what was happening. The of saved him from some misgivings. There was something about the experience. Somehow, it didn't natural, but it was funny. It was grotesque. You had to laugh at that odd-looking figure, or else cold all over with another of sensation. Of course, the man was mad. He was, in of his denial, an lunatic. But the noise? That was difficult to explain. Perhaps he had some of machine in his pocket, in which case he would be a of lunatic.
What was he going to do next? He had22] to the end of the and stopped abruptly. Apparently, the presence of another as a complete check to movement. For he perfectly still. He was now about a hundred yards from Arthur, but the had good eyesight, and he was to miss nothing.
Then the Clockwork man a hand slowly to his face, and Arthur that he was his action, to nose. He in that position for another minute, as though the problem of which way to turn was almost too much for him. Finally, he to the right and to walk again.
Arthur aware of two other the one he was so intently. They were Gregg, the captain of the team, and Doctor Allingham. The yellow on their in the sunlight, and Arthur see the on Gregg's pocket. There would have to be a meeting. The two were along in a direct line that other form. Arthur his breath. Somehow he that encounter. When he looked again there was some of going on. Curiously enough, it was Doctor Allingham and Gregg who seemed23] of movement now. They there, with their hands in their pockets, staring, listening. But the Clockwork man was making the use of his limited range of action. His arms were busy. Sometimes he a leg up, as though to some point. And now and again he a out-wards in the direction of the of play. Arthur the of a high, voice upon the light breeze.
Whatever the was about, the Clockwork man to his point, for presently the three together and in a bee-line the pavilion, Doctor Allingham and Gregg about in their to themselves to the of their companion.
