I give the privilege to your good father's son--you shall be one of
the favoured few who enter the room with me. See! here it is, on the
right-hand wall at the side of the door."
"An ordinary clock," exclaimed Obenreizer. "No! Not an ordinary clock.
It has only one hand."
"Aha!" said Maitre Voigt. "Not an ordinary clock, my friend. No, no.
That one hand goes round the dial. As I put it, so it regulates the hour
at which the door shall open. See! The hand points to eight. At eight
the door opened, as you saw for yourself."
"Does it open more than once in the four-and-twenty hours?" asked
Obenreizer.
"More than once?" repeated the notary, with great scorn. "You don't know
my good friend, Tick-Tick! He will open the door as often as I ask him.
All he wants is his directions, and he gets them here. Look below the
dial. Here is a half-circle of steel let into the wall, and here is a
hand (called the regulator) that travels round it, just as _my_ hand
chooses. Notice, if you please, that there are figures to guide me on
the half-circle of steel. Figure I. means: Open once in the four-and-
twenty hours. Figure II. means: Open twice; and so on to the end. I set
the regulator every morning, after I have read my letters, and when I
know what my day's work is to be. Would you like to see me set it now?
What is to-day? Wednesday. Good! This is the day of our rifle-club;
there is little business to do; I grant a half-holiday.
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