twenty minutes to four
The foreman , or Juror No. 1 , was an insurance agent . He was a man of fifty and he knew how to talk . His voice was loud , firm , overriding and unconquerable ; his manner suave , tolerant , persuasive . The bailiff , after obtaining each man 's telephone number and the message he wished to have sent to his home -LRB- if any -RRB- , informed the jurors that he would be waiting just outside if they wanted him and then departed , locking the door behind him ; whereupon the foreman looked at his watch and announced that it was twenty minutes to four . This statement resulted in the first disagreement . No two watches were alike . Some little time was consumed in proving that all twelve of them were right and at the same time wrong , paradoxical as it may sound .