a quarter to nine
The professional cracksman had done his work more neatly than the amateur . ` Poor chap , ' thought Jim , with a chuckle , as he effected a retreat , ` I must have given him a bit of a start with my half-brick . ' After bolting the window behind him , he climbed down . As he reached earth again the clock struck a quarter to nine . In another quarter of an hour prep , would be over and the House door unlocked , and he would be able to get in again . Nor would the fact of his being out excite remark , for it was the custom of the House-Prefects to take the air for the few minutes which elapsed between the opening of the door and the final locking-up for the night . The rest of his adventures ran too smoothly to require a detailed description .