fifteen minutes after nine
Directly opposite the visitors ' gallery , high upon the south wall a great dial was affixed , and on the dial a marking hand that indicated the current price of wheat , fluctuating with the changes made in the Pit . Just now it stood at ninety-three and three-eighths , the closing quotation of the preceding day . As yet all the pits were empty . It was some fifteen minutes after nine . Landry checked his hat and coat at the coat room near the north entrance , and slipped into an old tennis jacket of striped blue flannel . Then , hatless , his hands in his pockets , he leisurely crossed the floor , and sat down in one of the chairs that were ranged in files upon the floor in front of the telegraph enclosure . He scrutinised again the despatches and orders that he held in his hands ; then , having fixed them in his memory , tore them into very small bits , looking vaguely about the room , developing his plan of campaign for the morning .