Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-24
sTAvE TWO.


When Scrooge awoke it was SO dark,
that looking out of bed, he could
scarcely distinguish the transparent
window from the Opaque walls Of his
chamber. He was endeavoring to pierce
the darkness with his ferret eyes,
when the chimes of a neighboring
church struck the four quarters. So
he listened for the hour.
To his great establishment the heavy
bell went on from six to seven. and
from seven to eight, and regularly ur
to twelve; then stopped. Twelve! 1t
was past two when he went to bed.
The clock was wrong. An icicle must
have got into the works. Twelve!
He touched the spring of his repeater,
to correct this most preposterous clock.
Its rapid little pulse beat twelve; and
stopped.
Why, it isn't possible said Scrooge.
that / can have slept thru whole
day and far into another night It
isn't possible that anything has hap
pened to the sun, and this is twelve
at noon!"
The idea being an alarming one, he
scrambled out of bed, and CROPPED his
way to the window. He was obliged
to rub the frost off with the sleeve
of his dressing gown before he could
see anything; and could see very little
then. All he could make out was,
that it was still very foggy and ex-
tremely cold, and that there was no
noise of people running to and fro, and
making great stir, as there unquestion-
ably would have been il night had
beaten off bright day, and taken pos
session Of the world This was
great relief. because Three days after
sight Of this First of Exchange pay
to Mr.. Ebenezer Scrooge or his order,
and so forth, would have become mere
United States seeurity* IL there were
no days to count by.
Scrooge went to bed again. and
thought. and thought, and thought ii 3
over and over, and could make notl1-
ipg Of it. The more he thought, the
more perplexed he was; and the more
he endeavored not to think, the more
he thought.
Marley's ghost bothered him exceed
ingly. Every time he resolved Within
himself, after mature inquiry, that It
was all dream, his mind flew back
again, and presented the same prob
lem to be worked all thru, WAS ii 1
dream or not?"
Scroesea lay in this state until the
chime had gone three quarters more.
when he remembered, on a sudden. that
the ghost had warned him sof a vista
ton when the bell tolled one. He re-
solved to lie awake until the hour was
passed; and, considering that he could
no more go to sleep than go to Heaven.
IA nc
in his power.
The quarter was so long, that he was
more than oi.ce convinced he must
have sunk into doze uhconsciousiy,
and missed the clock. At length it
broke upon his listening ear.
Ding, dong!'
"A quarter past" said Scrooge.
counting. :.
ding, dongl"
Half past" said Scrooge.
Ding, dong!"
"A quarter to it." said Scrooge.
Ding, dong!"
The hour itself" said Scrooge tri-
umphantly, "and nothing else,"
He spoke before the hour bell sound
ed, which it now did with deep, dull.
hollow, melancholy one Light flashed
up in the room upon the instant. ana
the curtains of his bed were drawn
aside, tell you, by a hand. Not the
curtains at his feet, nor the curtafns
at his back, but those to which HE
face was addressed. The curtains 81
his bed We're drawn aside; and Scroore.
starting up into half-recumbent At
titude, found himself face to face with
the unearthly visitor who drew them:
as close to it as am now to YOU. and
am staining in the spirit at your
elbow.
1t was strange figure,-like child:
yet not so like a child as like an old
man, viewed thru some supernatural
medium, which gave him the appear
ance of having receded from the view
and being diminished to a chiId's pros
portions. Its hair, which hung about
it's neck and down its back, was white.
as if with age; and vet the face had
not wrinkle in it, and the tenderest
bloom was on the skin. The arms were
very long and muscular; the hands
the same, as if its hold were of UNI
strength. It's legs and feet.
most delicately formed, were, like those
upper members, bare. 1t wore tunic
Of the purest white; and round its
waist was bound a lustrous belt, the
sheen of which was beautiful 1t held
q branch of fresh, green holly in Its
hand; and, in singular contradictions OF
that wintry emblem, had its dress
with summer flowers But the
strangest thing about 1T was, that from
the crown of it's head there sprung
bright, clear jet of light, by which
Ill this was visible; and which was
doubtless the occasion Of its using, ii,
is duller moments, a great extfn-
suisher for a cap. which it now held
1nder its arm.
Even this, tho, when Scrooge looked
1t it with increasing steadiness, was
lot it's strangest quality. For as its
oelt sparkled and glittered now In one
part and now in another, and what was
light one instant at another time was
lark, SO the figure itself fiuctuated In
is distinctness: being now thing with
me arm, now with one leg. now with
wenty legs, now a pair of legs without
head, now a head without body;
# which dissolving parts no outline
would be visible in the dense gloom
United States security. This was
written In 1913 when Republication OF