ten o'clock
There is very little traffic across the frontier , so that Bridgetown station is a sort of dead-end . Only three passenger trains a day go direct to Mecco , and these are by no means crowded . I have since learnt that the restrictions on travelling in all parts of Meccania are part of the general policy designed to keep down unnecessary forms of expenditure to a minimum . The train was due to leave at ten o'clock . At a quarter before ten exactly , as I looked through the window screen I saw it gliding along the platform into the bay . A bell rang , and my porter came to take me to my place . As I stepped across the platform I saw about a hundred people preparing to get into the train .