ten minutes before five in the evening
At ten minutes before five in the evening the office doors of the Florida and Key West Railway Company flew open , and a young man emerged in a hurry . Suit-case in one hand , umbrella in the other , he sped along the corridor to the elevator-shaft , arriving in time to catch a glimpse of the lighted roof of the cage sliding into depths below . `` Down ! '' he shouted ; but the glimmering cage disappeared , descending until darkness enveloped it .