Three minutes to eight
HUBERT GRANICE , pacing the length of his pleasant lamp-lit library , paused to compare his watch with the clock on the chimney-piece . Three minutes to eight . In exactly three minutes Mr. Peter Ascham , of the eminent legal firm of Ascham and Pettilow , would have his punctual hand on the door-bell of the flat . It was a comfort to reflect that Ascham was so punctual -- the suspense was beginning to make his host nervous . And the sound of the door-bell would be the beginning of the end -- after that there 'd be no going back , by God -- no going back !