twenty minutes past eight
The police had great difficulty in keeping back the crowd , and as the hour when Phileas Fogg was due approached , the excitement rose to its highest pitch . The five antagonists of Phileas Fogg had met in the great saloon of the club . John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin , the bankers , Andrew Stuart , the engineer , Gauthier Ralph , the director of the Bank of England , and Thomas Flanagan , the brewer , one and all waited anxiously . When the clock indicated twenty minutes past eight , Andrew Stuart got up , saying , `` Gentlemen , in twenty minutes the time agreed upon between Mr. Fogg and ourselves will have expired . '' `` What time did the last train arrive from Liverpool ? '' asked Thomas Flanagan . `` At twenty-three minutes past seven , '' replied Gauthier Ralph ; `` and the next does not arrive till ten minutes after twelve . ''