ten minutes to seven
And a pair of pincers seemed to clutch his heart , and an anvil to drop on his stomach and rest heavily there , producing an awful nausea . Why had he not looked at the clock before ? Was it possible that he had been awake even five seconds without looking at the clock -- the clock upon which it seemed that his very life , more than his life , depended ? The clock showed ten minutes to seven , and the train went at ten minutes past . And it was quite ten minutes ' walk to the station , and he had to dress , and button those new boots , and finish packing -- and the porter from the station was late in coming for the trunk ! But perhaps the porter had already been ; perhaps he had rung and rung , and gone away in despair of making himself heard -LRB- for Mrs Hopkins slept at the back of the house -RRB- . Something had to be done .