a quarter to two
He went to an A. B. C. shop and ordered a roll and butter , a cup of chocolate and a scone . He divided his pat of butter into two , one half being for the roll and the other for the scone ; he drank one moiety of the cup of chocolate after eating the roll , and the other after eating the scone . Meanwhile he read pages three and four of the _ Daily Telegraph _ . At a quarter to two he folded the paper , put down sixpence in payment , and slowly walked back to the office . He returned to his desk and there spent the afternoon solemnly poring over figures , casting accounts , comparing balance-sheets , writing letters , occasionally going for some purpose or another into the clerks ' office or into the room of one of the partners . At ten minutes to six he wiped his pens and put them back in the tray , tidied his desk and locked his drawer . He took off his paper cuffs , washed his hands , wiped his face , brushed his hair , arranging the long whisps over the occipital baldness , and combed his whiskers .