seventeen minutes to nine
Then he went into the Criterion bar and sat down . The clock showed seventeen minutes to nine . His piece was advertised to start at eight-thirty precisely . The Criterion Bar is never empty , but it has its moments of lassitude , and seventeen minutes to nine is one of them . After an interval a waiter slackly approached him . ` Brandy-and-soda ! ' Henry ordered , well knowing that brandy-and-soda never suited him .