Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was readymade. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.
Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likeluy Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Some time in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.
He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoons, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.
“ What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.
For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “ Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right”.

比尔·贾维斯在我们大多数人只考虑着放松的年龄，接管了我们村的通讯社。他只是觉得他应给做些什么但是又不要做得太多，通讯社就是个现成的。这个活儿给他了一小种满足，但是比尔只想拥有简单的秩序和有规律的工作，他的一生都是在看着表做事。
每天比尔在早上6点营业他的商店来赶上早一点的交易；报纸比那早一点被送到他的门前。比尔的许多客户都是城市里的工人，这个商店正好适合这种情况。10点以后生意见少，所以一到11点比尔就关门去吃午饭。人们在下午想看看报纸或者杂志会变得不容易，因为这时的比尔很有可能在河岸边上钓鱼，并且离他最近的对手会在5公里之外。下午的一些时候，晚报送到了，于是4点钟他又重来一边。晚上一直持续到7点，但这值得。
他自己一个人住在商店上面的公寓里。除了极其恶劣的天气外，在下午就像我所说过的，你总会知道在哪里能找到他。有一次，在一个阳光明媚的下午，我沿着河岸从商场走回村庄，我的表是4点过3分，我看到比尔坐在他的小椅子上，一条线伸到水里，我觉得很惊讶。我看出来，他不是太走运，但是他一点想走的意思也没有。
“怎么了，比尔？”我在路上叫道。
为了回答我，他用一只手摸索进夹克衫掏出一个又大又金的东西。我一时没想明白那是什么，但是突然那个东西叫了起来，叫得像个消防车。当它停止响叫了以后，比尔举起那个东西向我喊道：“你看，还差10分钟4点。这个东西准确得要命！”