five o'clock
It was five o'clock on a raw , gusty February afternoon . All that day and all the night before it had been snowing hard . New York lay buried beneath over two feet of its cold white mantle , and with the gathering dusk a fierce hurricane set in , proclaiming the approach of the terrible blizzard which had been predicted . On this afternoon , which was destined to be so memorable , two young men were breasting the sleet and hail , which tore down Broadway with demoniac glee , as though amused that the cable cars were stalled fully a mile along the line , and the people were obliged to get out and walk , facing the full fury of the elements , if they hoped to arrive at their destinations that night .