a quarter to three
There was a brass plate on the door that said MRS. D. KNOCK AND RING , and a white label that said CALL ME AT THREE . Edmund had a watch : It had been given to him on his birthday two days before , and he had not yet had time to take it to pieces and see what made it go , so it was still going . He looked at it now . It said a quarter to three . Did I tell you before what a kindhearted boy Edmund was ? He sat down on the brass doorstep and waited till three o'clock . Then he knocked and rang , and there was a rattling and puffing inside .