ten minutes after seven
When he had finished the letter , he carefully read it , and made a few corrections . Then he folded it up , put it in an envelope , and placed it unsealed in his inside coat pocket . He arose with an expression of resolution about his eyes that was quite new there . Ascertaining by the clock in the thronged main corridor that the time was ten minutes after seven , the old man rushed into the café , where he devoured hastily a chicken croquette , and swallowed a cup of coffee and a glass of whiskey before starting to the theatre . He was in his dressing-room and in his shirt-sleeves , touching up his eyebrows , when Bridges arrived . A cool greeting passed between the two . `` You sent the note ? ''