ten minutes to eleven
M. Dubosc did not speak a word . The servants were livid and trembling . Simon retained in the depths of his horrified mind an uncanny impression of a shuddering world . At ten minutes to eleven there was another vibration , of no great violence , but prolonged , with beats that followed one another very closely , like a peal of bells . The china plates fell from the walls ; the clock stopped . All the inmates of the house went out of doors again and crowded into a little thatched summer-house lashed by slanting rain . Half-an-hour later , the tremors recommenced and from this time onwards , were so to speak , incessant .