property of his landlord. The clock he needed as the instrument of his
vengeance therefore he would not have sold it at any price to the
sheepeyed old lunatic of the pushcart, who now, on the eve of his
eviction, stood gazing in with wistful contemplation. Presently he
passed on and mr. Lukisch resumed his tinkering with the clocks
insides. He was very delicate and careful about it, for these were the
final touches, preparatory to his leaving the timepiece as a memento
when he should quietly depart that evening, shortly before nine. What
might happen after nine, or, rather, on the stroke of nine, was no worry