ten o'clock
My word 's my bond . '' The sexton walked by , looked at us in amazement , and began pulling the rope . The bell , abruptly breaking upon the stillness of the evening , struck ten with a slow and prolonged note . `` It 's ten o'clock , though , '' said Dmitri Petrovitch . `` It 's time we were going . Yes , my dear fellow , '' he sighed , `` if only you knew how afraid I am of my ordinary everyday thoughts , in which one would have thought there should be nothing dreadful . To prevent myself thinking I distract my mind with work and try to tire myself out that I may sleep sound at night .