Escapement

Escapement

It was too late in the day to be dismissed. A man striking nine on the dial with his weight alone, hanging slapstickly from the clock tower. Ushering a vivid remoteness about him and a growing number of spectators below, suddenly happy to be the possessors of an excuse for their obligations. "A wrench in the works, don't you think", one of them echoed. "Yes, quite so", another picked up obliquely. "I have seen it somewhere, can't remember". "Looks familiar, doesn't it". A lady within earshot was a projectionist and knew what was going to happen but kept silent. "Such interference is beyond me", chimed a third. "We're zealots when something is gone", a fourth added. "When was the last time you bothered to look up and check?", asked the fifth. "I have it when I need it", affirmed the sixth. "Have it when it needs having", corrected the seventh. "Aren't you the expert of the hour", muttered the eighth. "See for yourselves", said the ninth.