Mr. Quarles offered to give me his watch when he got up to leave. I told him that I could not keep anything so valuable. He said I could keep it until he returned. And to wind it daily to make it run. He told me to think about how it related to the positions of the planets in the solar system and the stars beyond it. He never did come back. I was saddened when I learned later that he died at sea. I wanted to open the watch to see how it worked. But I was afraid that something might happen to it. But the temptation was just too great. I finally just had to open it. When I saw all those little wheels, gears and their ratios, I was filled with wonder. It was made out of such tiny parts.