ten minutes to twelve
`` And please do not keep me waiting , for at a quarter past twelve I will cut off your ears if you run . '' `` Good ! '' cried D'Artagnan . `` I will be there at ten minutes to twelve . '' At the street gate Porthos was talking with the soldiers on guard . Between the two there was just room for a man to pass , and D'Artagnan hurried on , only to find himself enveloped in the long velvet cloak of Porthos , which the wind had blown out . `` The fellow must be mad , '' said Porthos , `` to run against people in this manner !