A Slender Balance

The brass pendulum swung past my shoulder with rhythmic percussion. Resting on the narrow mahogany ledge beneath the dial housing, I discovered an antique iron winding key, its ornate clover-shaped bow caked in faint dry oil. I braced my boots against the polished wooden molding and took hold of the heavy stem. Levering it upright along the inner wall of the case, I wedged the fluted tip firmly into an empty mortise joint. The key settled upright without a shudder, its dark filigree aligned precisely with the swinging arc of brass. The mechanism now shares its chamber with a second sentinel.