nine
o’clock
This slight delay was destined to affect Rabourdin 's whole career . Sebastien opened his box eagerly , found the memorandum and his own unfinished copy all in order , and locked them at once into the desk as Rabourdin had directed . The mornings are dark in these offices towards the end of December , sometimes indeed the lamps are lit till after ten o'clock ; consequently Sebastien did not happen to notice the pressure of the copying-machine upon the paper . But when , about half-past nine o'clock , Rabourdin looked at his memorandum he saw at once the effects of the copying process , and all the more readily because he was then considering whether these autographic presses could not be made to do the work of copying clerks . `` Did any one get to the office before you ? '' he asked . `` Yes , '' replied Sebastien , -- `` Monsieur Dutocq . ''