Six o’clock
He was pacing his study with long steps , murmuring now and then some incoherent words , and then uneasily stepping to the window in order to survey the street cautiously from behind the curtain , and to observe the surging crowd below . Just then the large clock on the marble mantelpiece commenced striking . Thugut hastily turned toward it . `` Six o'clock , and nothing yet , '' he murmured . `` I shall put that fellow Wenzel into a subterranean dungeon for life , and dismiss every agent of mine , if nothing -- '' He paused and listened . It had seemed to him as though he had heard a soft rap at the hidden door leading to the secret staircase . Yes , it was no mistake ; somebody was rapping at it , and seemed to be in great haste .