GUARDS AND THEIR FEES. 391 



kept time by it ; and that, if the mail was late, it 

 was due to the timepiece having gone wrong, and 

 misled him. He tried by inserting the point of his 

 knife-blade in the opening of the box to pick the 

 lock, or push it back in some way; but, unfortu- 

 nately for him, before he accomplished this feat of 

 manual dexterity the point of his knife broke off in 

 the opening, and, being unable to get it out again, 

 he was obliged to deliver up the timepiece with the 

 point of the knife in it. What the result was I 

 don't know ; but I should imagine suspension for a 

 considerable time, if not dismissal. 



The other case was that of a man who had also lost 

 time, and having to account for it resorted to a 

 totally different plan. To bring the timepiece into 

 pretty strong contact with the hindwheel and thus 

 prevent its continuing to go correctly, was not a 

 very difficult matter ; nor, when delivering it up at 

 the Post Office, to explain that, while getting up, his 

 foot had slipped off the step, so that, falling violently 

 against the wheel while in motion, the timepiece had 

 got injured ; but providentially the guard had just 

 managed, by great effort, to save himself from 

 falling under the wheel, when he must inevitably 

 have been killed. This account I believe passed 

 muster, but probably with a slight suspicion as to 

 the thorough genuineness of the serious accident, 



