Read Online The Clock by James Lincoln Collier - Free Book Online

that were dropped, and the dogs snoozing by the table.
    I couldn’t talk to Robert until we were done eating. Then we went outside and sat on a stone wall, the way we usually did. Robert looked tired and pale. Mr. Hoggart was wearing him out.
    â€œRobert, I know how Mr. Hoggart is stealing the wool. He does it on Sunday, when everybody’s at church service.”
    He looked at me. “How do you know that?”
    â€œHe doesn’t always stay at service. Tom Thrush told me. He herds the boys over to our church, and then he slips off like he’s going to the Episcopal Church. I’m sure he goes back to the mill and takes some wool then.”
    He shook his head. “You can’t be sure of that.”
    â€œI aim to find out,” I said.
    He frowned down at the dead grass. “You’re going to get yourself in a peck of trouble.”
    â€œI’ll be careful. Anyway, I’m not going to do it myself. I talked Tom Thrush into doing it. Maybe.”
    â€œI wish you’d drop it, Annie.”
    â€œI can’t. We have to get rid of him.”
    ******
    On Monday, just after breakfast, Tom Thrush came idling by, pushing the broom with his bad hand. He began to sweep around my machine. “I done it, Miss Annie,” he said. “I done it just like you said. I seen him do it.”
    I was excited. I wished I could run out of there; sit down with Tom and hear all about it. “What did he do? How did he do it?”
    â€œShush,” he said.
    I lowered my voice. “Tell me.”
    â€œWell, I slipped behind a tree, the way I always done, and as soon as they was safe inside the church I ran on back to the mill, and hid out in the slubbing room in the shadows behind the machines.”
    â€œWere you scared?”
    â€œNot a bit of it. He don’t scare me.”
    â€œIt would have scared me,” I said. “Then what?”
    â€œWell, I waited, and by and by I heard footsteps on the stairs a-headin’ for the carding room. Oh, that was mighty scary.”
    â€œI thought you said you weren’t afraid of Mr. Hoggart.”
    â€œOh, what I meant to say was, it just gave me a start when he come along sudden like that. I wasn’t what you would call scairt. It just gave me a start.”
    â€œOh,” I said.
    â€œSo I set there, a-waitin’, and after a bit I heard him shufflin’ and bumpin’ around in that there carding room, like he was loadin’ up a bag of wool.”
    â€œAnd you crept over to the door and peeked, through the crack,” I said.
    Tom blinked. “What kind of a blame fool do you think I am? I was shakin’ enough just crouched down by the machines.”
    That worried me. It wasn’t going to be much use if he didn’t see who was in that carding room. “I thought you said you weren’t scared, only got a little start.”
    â€œOh, yes, that’s about the size of it. I wasn’t scairt, that wasn’t it at all. Just nerved up a little.”
    â€œI suppose so,” I said. “Then what?”
    â€œWell, he went on bangin’ and bumpin’ around in there for a while, and then I heard his footsteps goin’ on down the stairs.”
    â€œAnd you jumped out and followed him to see where he went.”
    Tom blinked again. “Why, Miss Annie, what on earth are you thinkin’ of? I could hardly stand up, my legs was so trembly, to say nothin’ of followin’ him anywheres.”
    It had all been a waste.
    â€œSo you don’t know for sure that it was him?”
    He blinked one more time. “Why, Miss Annie, who do you suppose it was?”
    That was true enough—it had to be him. Nobody else would have dared to steal anything from there. But it wasn’t any use—I had to know for sure, and I had to know where he was hiding the wool once he took it out of the mill. “Well, Tom, that’s a mighty big help anyway. I expect we’ll