a quarter to eleven
He stood up again and spoke to himself , aloud and distinctly : `` I am not ill ; I have no time to be ill . I have those bars to file , and I am not going to be ill . '' Then he began to file . A quarter-past ten -- half-past ten -- a quarter to eleven -- He filed and filed , and every grating scrape of the iron was as though someone were filing on his body and brain . `` I wonder which will be filed through first , '' he said to himself with a little laugh ; `` I or the bars ? '' And he set his teeth and went on filing . Half-past eleven .