one minute past two
You 'll be sure that he 's there ? '' `` Fear not , but lean on Dollinger And he will fetch you through '' -- quoted the other in oratorical assurance , and turned to Mrs. Willard 's greeting . At one-thirty on the following day , Mr. McGuire Ellis was where he should n't have been , asleep in a curtained alcove window-seat of the big Willard library . At one minute past two he was where he should have been still less ; that is , in the same place and condition . Now Mr. Ellis is not only the readiest hair-trigger sleeper known to history , but he is also one of the most profound and persistent . Entrances and exits disturb him not , nor does the human voice penetrate to the region of his dreams . To everything short of earthquake , explosion , or physical contact , his slumber is immune .