five minutes to twelve
For one thing he pretended not to see me , and , arter I ` ad told him wot I 'd do to him if ' e ran into me agin , he said ' e thought I was a sack o ' potatoes taking a airing on a pair of legs wot somebody ` ad throwed away . Nasty tongue ` e 's got ; not clever , but nasty . `` Arter that I took no notice of ` im , and , o ' course , that annoyed ` im more than anything . All I could do I done , and ' e was ringing the gate-bell that night from five minutes to twelve till ha ' - past afore I heard it . Many a night-watchman gets a name for going to sleep when ` e 's only getting a bit of ` is own back . `` We stood there talking for over ` arf-an-hour arter I ` ad let ` im in . Leastways , he did .