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Four! Five! Six!

He staggered, clapping his hands over his ears to keep the

Again, again – Seven! Eight! – the teainst the wall, eyes shut, his heart stopped with each storm of sound

‘Quick!’ Douglas shouted ‘The crackers!’

‘Kill the darn thing!’ shouted Tom

‘I’ ‘Kill it!’

There was a striking ofof fuses and the crackers were thrown into the maw of the vast machine

Then there was a wild sto and commotion as the boys fled

They bolted through the third–floorand almost fell down the fire escape and as they reached the bottoreat or The clock struck a

gain and again, over and over as it fought for its life Pigeons blew like torn papers tossed fro! The clock voice chopped concussions to split the heavens Ricochets, grindings, a last desperate twitch of hands Then …

Silence

At the bottoazed up at the dead ing of birds, no purr ofhouses

At anyup, expected the slain tower face, hands, nu avalanche of brass intestines and iron , burying them in minutes, hours, years, and eternities

But there was only silence and the clock, ain the sky with li Silence and yet another long silence, while all about lights blinked on in houses, bright winks stretching out into the country, and people began to co sky

Douglas stared up, all drenched with sweat, and was about to speak when: