twenty minutes before twelve on the 21st
of December
Both were anxious to see Mr. Fogg again . That gentleman was really ruined , and that at the moment when he was about to attain his end . This arrest was fatal . Having arrived at Liverpool at twenty minutes before twelve on the 21st of December , he had till a quarter before nine that evening to reach the Reform Club , that is , nine hours and a quarter . The journey from Liverpool to London was six hours . If anyone , at this moment , had entered the Custom House , he would have found Mr. Fogg seated , motionless , calm and without apparent anger , upon a wooden bench . He was not , it is true , resigned , but this last blow failed to force him into an outward betrayal of any emotion .