three minutes to twelve
After all , I had suggested the `` whole bally business , '' and was entitled to know the means selected for its conduct . So round went my inquisitive head . Then I shook in my glee . Someone had pushed on the hands of the clock , and it was three minutes to twelve . There was a rustle of excitement in the room . The silence of expectancy followed . `` Two-minutes-to '' narrowed into `` One-minute-to '' ; and after a premonitory click , which produced sufficient excitement to interfere with our breath , the clock struck twelve .