The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1909-12-15

HOW OLD SCROOCE MET
CHRISTMAS GHOSTS

IHNlolMAo OHOolO
of a terrible sensation to which 1t
had been a stanger from infancy,
would be untrue. But he put his
hand upon the key he had relin-
pushed, turned it sturdy, walked
in and lighted his candle.
He di dpause, with moments
irresolution, before he shut the
door; and he did look cautiously
behind 1t first, as If he half-expect-
ed to be terrified with the sight Of
Marley's pigtail sticking out into
the hall. But there was nothing
on the back of the door, except the
screws and nuts that held the
knocker on. SO he said, Pooh,
pooh!" and closed it with a bang.
The sound resounded through the
house like thunder. Every room
above and every cask in the wine
merchants cellars below, appeared
to have a separate peal of echoes
of its own. Scrooge was not
man to be frightened by echoes. He
fastened the door and walked
across the hall, and up the stairs;'
slowly, too, trimming his candle
as he went.
You may talk vaguely about driv-
ing a coach-and-six up a good old
flight of stairs, or through bad
young act of parliament; but
mean to say you might have got a
hearse up that staircase, and taken
1t broadwise, with the splinter-bar
toward the wall and the door to-
ward the balustrades; and done 1t
easy. There was plenty of width
for that, and room to spare; which
is perhaps the reason why Scrooge
thought he saw locomotive hearse
going on before him in the gloom.
Half dozen gas lamps out of the
street wouldn't have lighted the en-
try too well, SO you may suppose
that it was pretty dark with
Scrooge's dip.
Up Scrooge went, not caring a
button for that. Darkness is cheap,
and Scrooge liked it. But, before
he shut his heavy dor, he walked
through his rooms to see that all
was right. He had just. enough
recollection Of the face to desire to
do that
Sitting-room, bedroom, lumber
room. All as they should be. No
body under the table, nobody under
the sofa: small fire in the CRATE;
spoon and basin ready and the lit
tie saucepan of cruel (Scrooge had
cold in his head upon the hob.
Nobody under the bed; nobody in
the closet; nobody in his dressing
gown, which was hanging up in a
suspicious attitude against the
wall. Lumber room as usual. Old
fire guard, old shoes, two fish bas-
kets, washing stand on three legs
and poker.
Quite satisfied. he closed his
door, and locked himself in; double
locked himself in, which was not
his custom. Thus secured against
surprise, he took off his cravat;
put ON his dressing gown and slip
pers and his nightcap; and sat
down before the fire to take his
Cruel.
1t was a very low fire; nothing
on such a bitter night. He was
obliged to sit close to it, and brood
over it, before he could extract the
least sensation of warmth from
such handful of fuel. The fire
place was an old one, built by some
Dutch merchant long ago, and
raved all around with quaint
Dutch tiles, designed to illustrate
the scriptures. There were Gains
and Abels, Pharoah's daughters,
queens Of Sheba, angelic messen-
gers descending through the air on
clouds like feather beds, Abrahams,
Belshazzars, apostles putting off to
sea In butter boats, hundreds of fig
ures to attract his thoughts; and
yet the face of Marley, seven years
dead, came like the ancient pro-
phet's rod, and swallowed up the
whole. If each smooth tile had been
blank at first, with power to
shape some picture on it's surface
from the disjointed fragments of
his thoughts, there would have
been copy Of old Marley's head
on every one.
"Humbug!" said Serooge, and
walked across the room.
After several turns, he sat down
again. AS he threw his head back
in the chair, his glance happened to
rest upon bell, disused bell, that
hung in the room, and communi-
Gated for some purpose now forgot
ten with a chamber in the highest
story Of the building. 1t was with
great establishment, and with a
strange, inexplicable dread, that as
he looked, he say this bell begin
to swing. 1t swung so softly in the
outset that it scarcely made
sound; but soon 1t rang out loudly,
and so did every bell in the house.
This might have lasted half
minute. or minute. but It seemed
an hour. The bells ceased as they
had begun, together. They were
succeeded by a clanking noise, deep
down below, as IL some persons
were dragging a heavy chain over
the casks in the wine merchants
cellar. Scrooge then remembered
to have, heard that ghosts in
haunted houses were described as
dragging chains.
The cellar door flew open with a
booming sound. and then he heard
the noise much louder, on the
floors below; then coming up the
stairs; then coming straight toward
his door.
Its humbug still" said Scrooge.
q won't believe it."
His color changed though. when,
without APP ause. 1t came on
through the heavy door, and passed
into the room before his eyes. Upon
its coming in, the dying flame
leaped up. as though 1t cried, II
know him! Marley's ghost!" and
then fell again. ax.s 4
The same face; the very same.
Marley in his pig tail. usual waist.
coat, tights and boots: and tassels