a quarter to
five
Or would he leave him that , so that he might further torture him by burning him out of Calford . He pondered fearfully , and hard , practical as was his nature , the money-lender allowed his imagination to run riot over possibilities which surely his cooler judgment would have scoffed at . Lablache rose hurriedly from his chair . It only wanted a quarter to five . Putting his head through the partition doorway he ordered his astonished clerks to close up . He felt that he could not -- dare not keep the store open longer . Then he inspected the private door of his office .