NCE III 2

Our vicar is always raising money for onecause or another, but he has nevermanaged to get enough money to havethe church clock repaired. The big clockwhich used to strike the hours day andnight was damaged during the war andhas been silent ever since.' One night, however, our vicar woke upwith a start: the clock was striking thehours! Looking at his watch, he saw thatit was one o'clock, but the bell struckthirteen times before it stopped. Armedwith a torch, the vicar went up into theclock tower to see what was going on. Inthe torchlight, he caught sight of a figurewhom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer.'Whatever are you doing up here Bill ?' asked the vicar in surprise.' I'm trying to repair the bell,' answered Bill.' I've been coming up here nightafter night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.''You certainly did give me a surprise!'said the vicar. 'You've probablywoken up everyone in the village as well. Still, I'm glad the bell is workingagain.''That's the trouble, vicar,' answered Bill. 'It's working all right, but I'mafraid that at one o'clock it will strike thirteen times and there's nothing 1 cando about it.''we'll get used to that Bill,' said the vicar. 'Thirteen is not as good as onebut it's better than nothing. Now let's go downstairs and have a cup of tea