six o'clock
Street corner alarmists talked to such as would listen . Thousands upon thousands left the city . Hundreds of thousands more , tied hard and fast by the strings of necessity , waited in an hourly growing dread . The `` sign '' had been sent promptly at six o'clock , as promised . It proved Darrow 's prediction by turning out to be a stoppage of the electrical systems . This time it lasted only half an hour-long enough to throw the traffic and transportation into confusion . It was followed at short intervals by demonstrations in light and sound ; none was of long duration .