Three o'clock
Peter obeyed the ominous sound and closed his Teller 's window with a gentle bang . Patrick took notice and swung to the iron grating of the outer door . You might peer in and beg ever so hard -- unless , of course , you were a visitor like myself , and even then Peter would have to give his consent -- you might peer through , I say , or tap on the glass , or you might plead that you were late and very sorry , but the ostrich egg never turned in its nest nor did the eyebrows vibrate . Three o'clock was three o'clock at the Exeter , and everybody might go to the devil -- financially , of course -- before the rule would be broken . Other banks in panicky times might keep a side door open until four , five or six -- that is , the bronze-rail , marble-top , glass-front , certify-your-checks-as-early-as - ten-in-the-morning-without-a-penny-on-deposit kind of banks -- but not the Exeter -- that is , not with Peter 's consent -- and Peter was the Exeter so far as his department was concerned -- and had been for nearly thirty years -- twenty as bookkeeper , five as paying teller and five as receiving teller . And the regularity and persistency of this clock ! Not only did it announce the hours , but it sounded the halves and quarters , clearing its throat with a whirr like an admonitory cough before each utterance .