The restarted clock

For three weeks, the town clock had been silent while its mechanism was repaired. On the final evening, I was allowed into the chamber beneath the clock face. I had imagined a formal countdown, and I kept checking my watch as midnight approached. Instead, the technician switched off his torch and told me to listen. The darkness made the wait feel less like a celebration and more like an examination for which nobody had explained the rules.

When midnight passed without a sound, I began preparing a tactful question about what had gone wrong. Then a tremor travelled through the floor and one gear moved with a click so slight that I doubted I had heard it. A second click followed, then a steady turning above us. Relief came quickly. Yet, as the turning settled into a rhythm, I forgot the people waiting in the square and leaned towards the machinery, disappointed only when the technician said it was time to leave.

In your own words, explain how the writer's thoughts and feelings develop during the wait, including which feeling appears strongest by the end and why.