two o'clock
In vain -- and as he started in the downward rush , the hurrying wind carried the frenzied whisper : `` The cross , dear God , the cross ! '' Not far as the crow flies from the scene of the German airman 's catastrophe , but with its presence hidden from general knowledge , was the Grosses Hauptquartier , the pulsing heart and brain of the Imperial fighting forces . Vigilant sentries patrolled the park leading from the chateau commandeered for the use of the War Lord and his entourage , to the quarters of the Great General Staff . In a secluded room of the latter building a dozen men sat in conference about a table littered with papers ; they had been there since early evening , but no man permitted his glance to stray to the dial of a library clock whose hands were gradually approaching two o'clock . Truly , the chiefs of the divisions were tireless toilers . The Herr Chief of the Great General Staff was emphasizing his remarks with vigor unusual even for him , when the telephone , no respecter of persons , sent out its tinkling call . Hitching his chair closer to the table , the Herr Chief of the Aviation Corps removed the receiver from the instrument .