John Bartine's Watch

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842-circa 1914) was an American author, journalist, short story writer and satirist who disappeared in 1913 under mysterious circumstances and was never seen again."John Bartine's Watch" is the strange and terrifying tale of an evening guest who reacts with horror when his host asks him what is the time. But why is John Bartine so reluctant to look at his own watch?