quarter to five
A thin figure was leaning against the steps , and bowed low to the baron as he hurried past . His strength was exhausted ; he sat on the sofa as he had done the day before , and blindly stared before him . He knew there was no rescue but that which waited on the steps below . Prostrate , powerless , he heard the clock strike the quarter to five ; his pulses beat like hammers , and each throb brought the moment nearer that was to decide his fate . The last stroke of the hour was over . The ante-room bell rang ; the baron rose . Itzig opened the door , holding the two papers in his hand .