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A mile west of Dunraven was Peach Creek, spanned by a wooden pile and stringer bridge. Ordinarily, you could step across Peach Creek, but sometimes, after a heavy rain it would be a raging torrent of dirty muddy water, and it seemed as if the underpinning must surely be washed out by the flood. One day after I had been at X a couple of months, we had a stem-winder of a storm.
"What is it?" asked Prince Duncan, with a frown. "I wish you would buy me a gold watch." "Oh, you do!" sneered his father. "I was under the impression that you had two watches already." "So I have, but one is a Waterbury, and the other a cheap silver one." "Well, they keep time, don't they?" "Yes." "Then what more do you want?" "Luke Larkin has a silver watch better than mine a stem-winder."
It is a gold hunting-case watch with a Swiss movement; loses five minutes a day; stem-winder; and the back cover, which does not bear any inscription, has upon it the indentations made by the molars of your son Willie when that interesting youth was cutting his teeth upon it." "Wonderful!" cried Johnson. "May I ask how you knew all that?" asked Solomon, deeply impressed.
With a groan, Colonel Braddon handed over a gold stem-winder, of Waltham make. "Couldn't you leave me the watch, gentlemen?" he said, imploringly. "It was a present to me last Christmas." "Can't spare it. Make your friends give you another." Next came the turn of Mortimer Sprague, the young dude. "Hand over your spondulics, young feller," said the second gentleman of the road.
Randolph emphasized the word "chain" satirically, being under the impression that no watch was attached. "Yes; you may like to see my new watch." And Luke, with pardonable triumph, produced his new watch, which was a stem-winder, whereas Randolph's was only a key-winder. Randolph condescended to take the watch in his hands and examine it. "Where was this bought?" he asked. "At Benedict's."
I designated a list of quotations from the bill of fare that made the waiter look out toward the wagon to see how many more might be coming. "There we were, and there was the order being served. 'Twas a banquet for a dozen, but we felt like a dozen. I looked across the table at Mame and smiled, for I had recollections. Mame was looking at the table like a boy looks at his first stem-winder.
Cousin Elizabeth's watch lay on her dressing-table, and as it was a little stem-winder just like Patty's own, it was easy to turn the tiny hands two hours ahead.
But do you think he ever lets that watch out'n his own hands? Not much. Let's anybody look at it, and keeps a holt o' the stem-winder. Well, sir, we was all in a saloon up at Circle, and that feller over there Butts he bet me fifty dollars that he'd git McQuestion's watch away from him before he left the saloon. An' it was late.
"Say, you people!" cried Roy, with the familiarity of youth and long acquaintance, "you want to get a move on you. There's a new bank examiner over at the First, and he's a stem-winder. He's counting nickles on Perry, and he's got the whole outfit bluffed. Mr. Edlinger gave me the tip to let you know." Mr.
Sit right still, and I'll read you one of these yarns before you're another minute older. Any one of them open the book at random. Here we are 'The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes'; and it's a stem-winder, too."
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