a quarter to ten
I said I was bound to tell you what I had seen . Then he flew into a rage , and told me he 'd serve me out . I told him that would n't prevent me doing what was right . Then he left the office , and did n't come back till a quarter to ten . '' All this Hawkesbury repeated glibly and hurriedly in a low voice . To me , who stood by and heard it , it was a cowardly lie from beginning to end . But to my employers , I felt , it must sound both businesslike and straightforward ; quite as straightforward , I feared , as my own equally exact but tremblingly-spoken story .