Old Joe
By tony middleton
- 218 reads
OLD JOE
(A Tale for a Cold Winter's Night)
By
Tony Middleton
"Have you done with your bidding Ladies and Gentlemen? Then may I
remind you that this fine example of a Joseph Knibb eight-day 'night'
clock is being withdrawn due to it not reaching its reserve
price..."
"...Time folks!" The clock had just struck the half-hour. "Come on
drink up please. Those who've a bed to go to, ought to be there by now;
I'm going to mine."
"See you've still got it then?" A traveller observed, pointing in the
direction of the mantelpiece.
"Got what? Oh, 'Old Joe' you mean; yup," sighed the landlord. "Well I
had nothing to fill its place with anyway, even if it had been sold,"
he added, running his towel the length of the bar counter.
"Bit long in the tooth now isn't it Jack; 1750 or thereabouts?"
"Earlier than that, I believe. According to the valuer it was one of
the first to be made by Joseph Knibb, so I reckon it's got to be three
hundred and twenty years old."
"I'm surprised it wasn't sold though."
"Are you really? I doubt that sir."
The traveller at first seemed puzzled, then smiling said:
"Well you're right I suppose, I for one certainly wouldn't give it
house room. Anyway I'm off Jack, goodnight."
As the man reached the door however, it suddenly swung open under the
might of the blizzard raging in the bitter December night; first
crashing against the mantelpiece, then slipping back home as the storm
died down.
He turned his head towards the light; his eyes were filled with terror
as he fell to the ground writhing in agony.
The landlord ran over to where he lay; before he was able to render
assistance however, the stricken traveller was already back on his
feet.
"Are you all right?" He inquired anxiously.
"Yes thanks, I'm fine now, but that sure gave me a scare."
"You and me both," agreed Jack. "Come and sit over here, I'll get you a
drink."
"Thanks, make it a double will you, I never want to experience anything
like that again, it was frightening.
You saw what happened Jack; all I did was grab hold of the door
handle, then I felt this electrical surge coursing through my body, but
the pain, and the cold! Whew...where's that drink? I can't stop this
shivering."
"Come nearer the fire and get warm, you'll be all right in a
minute."
"I tell you Jack, it was the strangest thing, and that handle; like
grasping dry ice!"
"You certainly gave us all a bit of a scare, I can tell you. I
literally felt the air freeze as the wind tore through the bar,"
recounted the landlord. "Just shows what a pig of a night it is, and
it's going to get worse."
"Someone, or something was making a grab for my arm." The traveller
shuddered. I'll have another one Jack if I may." He held out his
glass.
"Do you think it's wise sir, you're driving home remember?"
"Heck, I'll be fine."
"OK if you insist."
After a while, the man had sufficiently recovered to take his
leave.
"That's interesting Jack I've not noticed that before." He said.
"Noticed what before?"
"The clock dial; it seems different somehow."
"Really sir, hang on, I'll get it down. Here we are; careful it's
pretty heavy."
"Well, I really am surprised, it looked so ordinary up there on the
shelf, but It certainly is a beautiful piece of work the closer one
gets to it," remarked the traveller admiringly.
"Shame you want to part with it; will you look at that detail! I hadn't
taken much notice of it before; it just seemed 'old' to me. See the
dial's painted with a hunting scene; fascinating, and I like that
rotating aperture."
"Yes, the hours are shown by a light shining through the aperture from
within the clock; there, look..."
Then to the landlord's surprise, his companion gently set the clock
down on the table in front of him, rose from his chair, and as if in a
trance, moved across to the bar then closed his eyes."
"You all right sir? Look stay here the night, you're not fit to travel,
you'll feel better in the morning."
The traveller wasn't listening; instead he raised his head:
"Jack," he spoke fearfully. "Put the clock away, please."
"What is it sir?"
"Just put it away that's all."
"I don't understand, what's the matter?"
"It's the clock face." He cried abjectly.
"It's just a clock face, what's wrong with it."
"Just get it out of my sight; now!"
"Calm yourself sir, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the
face-see."
"But...I don't understand; I could've sworn..."
"Yes?"
"I could have sworn I was among the group in that painting!"
"Surely not," teased Jack. "Well you're certainly not there now," he
laughed, inspecting the treasure closely.
"I must be losing my mind. I'll have that drink you promised, then I'd
best be going."
"Look sir, don't venture out in this weather; I insist you stay the
night."
"No, if it's all the same to you; I've to make an early start tomorrow,
and there's still some work that needs finishing before I get to bed,
but thanks for the offer anyway."
"Suit yourself, I'll just bank up this fire, then I'll be off
too."
"That clock intrigues me Jack. What is the story behind it?"
"How do you mean sir?"
"Well, an artifact as interesting as that must have a history attached
to it, albeit a checkered one. How long have you had it?"
"Hmm let me see; I've been landlord here six years, and my predecessor
for fifteen. It was during his time-just before I took over-that it
came to light; but you're right about it having a checkered
history.
I believe it was found in the attic. Strangely, it wasn't included in
the inventory when the previous occupant took over, that's nothing new
of course, one can come across all sorts of weird and wonderful
articles in a pub's attic from time to time that seem to appear
'unheralded' as it were. However, I digress:
As far as I'm aware, this particular clock was made by Knibb for the
Earl of Clarendon, in whose home it went on display, and where it was
admired by visiting dignitaries for the next fifty years or so, until
it went into obscurity.
In fact, nothing was heard of it for a further hundred years, when it
turned up again in a junk shop in London's east end, and was bought for
a Spanish nobleman's daughter, the 'infanta' Maria Theresa. So there
you have it sir."
"Come on Jack, surely that's not it."
"It's getting late sir, and as you said, you've got some travelling
ahead of you."
"You can't possibly leave it there...Hang on, you know something don't
you?"
"What do you mean 'know something'." He laughed, making light of the
situation.
"Well, you've got to have some juicy tale to tell. Come on out with
it."
After much deliberation, Jack unwillingly relented:
"If you insist, but I warn you, what I'm about to tell you is not very
pleasant."
"I think I can cope." Replied the traveller.
"The reason I wanted to sell 'Old Joe' was because of its intermittent
chime. Apart from that, it looked in pretty good shape; so I sent it
away to be regulated, but it was quickly returned to me with a note
advising me to leave well alone. You can imagine then, that my
curiosity-as yours is now-was immediately aroused, so I wrote again
requesting the reason for their reluctance to attend to the
fault.
After much persuasion, I eventually convinced them that I was
genuinely interested in the clock's past; hang on a sec. I have their
reply somewhere...ah here it is. I'll read you an extract from it, some
of the information contained in it you already know:"
'Following the death of the original owner, namely the Earl of
Clarendon, the clock was passed on to his nephew John for safekeeping.
He however, died in mysterious circumstances. The time of his death was
reported as being shortly after 2 a.m. Since when, the clock has not
chimed at this hour.
One hundred years later, a representative of Archduke Philip of Castile
purchased the clock while on a visit to England. Shortly after his
return, the Archduke's daughter was found dead in bed, It was rumoured
that she too had heard the clock strike 2 a.m. Her father was later
admitted to an asylum after confessing to her murder...It was made
apparent at his trial, that he had killed the girl in a fit of jealousy
when he learned that the daughter he had cherished was not his.'
"Well there we are, except to say that the Archduke took his own life
shortly after..." Jack realized he had said too much, when he saw the
look of consternation on the other man's face.
"Shortly after what?" The traveller cried. Shortly after what damn'
you! You were about to say that he died shortly after seeing the girl,
and, no doubt, he himself portrayed in the clock. Don't deny it
Jack."
"Take it easy sir, it's all hearsay." Jack then noticed the clock's
painted dial, there was another figure etched on its face...! Oh my
God, he gasped, and I thought it was all bunkum.
By this time the other man was in torment.
Terrified, he ran out into the bitterly cold air and jumped into his
car. It was almost two o'clock...He looked at his watch as he drove
away, and sighed with relief...Two minutes past, and he was
alive!
Where's my briefcase? Damn! It's back at the pub, he remembered putting
it behind the bar.
He drove feverishly through the storm, raced up to the inn gates and
pounded on the door.
The clock chimed twice as Jack slid the bolts home, then turned the
key.
The traveller looked again at his watch, it was fast...!
Despairingly, he fell to his knees.
"Tell me you heard it too Jack?" He screamed.
He saw the lights go out.
"Jack...Tell me you heard it...Answer me....Please tell me you heard
it...!"
END
Copyright ? 1995 Tony Middleton
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