two o'clock
It was approached through an antechamber , furnished with four old chairs . In the office , properly so-called , surrounded by rows of shelves , ornamented with pasteboard boxes , containing the papers of the clients of M. Ferrand , five young men , stooping over black wooden desks , were laughing , gossiping , or scribbling perpetually . A waiting-room , also filled with pasteboard boxes , and in which the chief clerk was constantly stationed , and another room , which , for greater secrecy , was kept unoccupied , between the notary 's private room and the waiting-room , completed the total of this laboratory of deeds of every description . An old cuckoo-clock , placed between the two windows of the office , had just struck two o'clock , and a certain bustle prevailed amongst the clerks ; a part of their conversation will inform the reader as to the cause of this excitement . `` Well , if any one had told me that François Germain was a thief , '' said one of the young men , `` I should have said , ` That 's a lie ! ' '' `` So should I. '' `` And I. '' `` And I . It really quite affected me to see him arrested and led away by the police .