it back in his vest pocket when he put on his Sunday
clothes. And somebody says, 'Maybe the clock struck and we didn't hear
it.' And Abram says: 'I'm pretty certain the strikin' part o' that
clock is out o' fix. Probably it got jarred bringin' it over here.'

"Jest then the old clock struck one, as loud and clear as you please.
And Parson Page says: 'Do you hear that? There's nothing wrong with
the clock; it must be our ears that are out of fix.' And Silas Petty
says: 'There's nothin' the matter with my ears. It's my opinion some
o' those rascally boys have been foolin' with the clock jest to play a
trick on us. They've had a mighty good chance at it, sprawlin' around
here on the floor and the clock out o' sight behind the pulpit.'
Little Sam Amos and the Crawford boys they spoke up and says they, 'We
never touched the clock,' and Milly says: 'You can't lay it on little
Sam. He's been fast asleep for the last two hours.' And somebody says,
'Where's Martin Luther?' and we all looked around, and Parson Page
says, 'Why, he must be here; he was sound asleep on the floor when I
stepped up here to examine the clock.' And Sam Amos says, 'Look
a-yonder, will you?' and he p'inted toward the winder, and there was
Martin Luther up on the winder-sill outside, with his face right up
against the glass and his nose all flattened out, and grinnin' like a
Cheshire cat. And as soon as he saw us lookin' at him, he dropped down
to the ground and give a whoop like a wild Indian and went tearin'
down the road as hard as he could foot it in the direction of Schuyler
Hall.

"Well, honey, it was right aggravatin'. You know country folks have to
work hard and git up early, and there we'd lost a good hour o' sleep
all for nothin', and a madder set o' folks you never saw, all but the
young folks. They laughed and laughed, and of course that made us all
still madder. Silas Petty and Dave Crawford begun blessin' Martin
Luther and sayin' what ought to be done to him and how they was goin'
to let Brother Wilson know about this as soon as day broke, and Sam
Amos he listened to 'em a while and then says he: 'Now here it is, the
new year jest an hour old, and you church-members are breakin' every
one o' your good resolutions about keepin' your temper and bein'
charitable to your neighbors. Can't you make allowances for a boy?'
And Uncle Jerry says: 'That's right, Sam. What's the use in takin'
notice of a boy's pranks? We've all been boys once--all excep