ten
o'clock
Somehow or other four hundred dollars must be raised , or you will be dangling at a rope 's end in less than six months . '' `` I suppose it will have to go then , '' said McCloskey , reluctantly . `` Then give me authority , '' continued Mr. Stevens , `` to arrange for the disposal of the property , and I will have your affairs all set straight in less than no time . '' The constable here cut short any further colloquy by rapping impatiently on the door , then opening it , and exclaiming , `` Come , now it is ten o'clock -- time that you were in court ; '' and the two started out , followed by Mr. Stevens . After having , by some of those mysterious plans with which lawyers are familiar , been enabled to put off the examination for a few days , Mr. Stephens returned to his office , and found lying upon his table the packet of letters he was expecting from New York . Upon breaking the seal , and tearing off the outer covering , he discovered a number of letters , time-worn and yellow with age ; they were tied tightly together with a piece of cord ; cutting this , they fell scattered over the desk . Taking one of them up , he examined it attentively , turning it from side to side to endeavour to decipher the half-effaced post-mark .