a quarter to twelve
He left the notebook with the commissioner . It was snowing heavily , and an icy north wind was howling through the streets . Muller turned up the collar of his coat and walked on quickly . It was just striking a quarter to twelve when he reached Cathedral Lane . As he walked slowly along the moonlit side of the pavement , a man stepped out of the shadow to meet him . It was the policeman who had been sent to watch the house . Like Muller , he wore plain clothes .