six minutes past ten
In spite of his care and the easiness of the test , he had just missed three times when he saw Otto coming at his easy , deliberate pace ; for Otto was above all things correct , even when he was most moved . Jean-Christophe ran to him , and with his throat dry wished him `` Good-day ! '' Otto replied , `` Good-day ! '' and they found that they had nothing more to say to each other , except that the weather was fine and that it was five or six minutes past ten , or it might be ten past , because the castle clock was always slow . They went to the station , and went by rail to a neighboring place which was a favorite excursion from the town . On the way they exchanged not more than ten words . They tried to make up for it by eloquent looks , but they were no more successful .