five
minutes to ten
`` He 's got hold of what Barung 's envoys told us , '' said Oliver , indifferently , `` and no wonder , this place is enough to make anybody see ghosts . I 'll repeat it to Maqueda ; it will amuse her . '' `` I would n't if I were you , '' I answered , `` for it is n't exactly a cheerful yarn , and perhaps she 's afraid of ghosts too . Also , '' and I pointed to the watch that lay on the table beside the batteries , `` it is five minutes to ten . '' Oh ! that last five minutes ! It seemed as many centuries .