ten minutes to three
Omnibuses from Batignolles and Menilmontant got in his way , fiacres tried to run him down , and a motor-car in a hurry pulled up just in time to save his life , but Ste. Marie ran on and caught the tram before it had completed the negotiation of the long curve and gathered speed for its dash down the boulevard . He sprang upon the step , and the conductor reluctantly unfastened the chain to admit him . So he climbed up to the top and seated himself , panting . The dial high on the façade of the Gare Montparnasse said ten minutes to three . He had no definite plan of action . He had started off in this headlong fashion upon the spur of a moment 's impulse , and because he knew where the tram was going . Now , embarked , he began to wonder if he was not a fool .