Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1910-12-08

sturdily, walked in and lighted his can
die
He did pause, with a moments ir-
resolution, before he shut the door,
and he did look cautiously behind it
first as if he half expected to be terri
fed 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,
poohr and closed it with a bang.
The sound resounded through the
house like thunder. Every room above
and every cask in the wine merchants
cellar below appeared to have sep
arate peal of echoes Of its own.
ScrOOge was not a man to be frighten-
ed by echoes. He fastened the door
and walked across the hall and up the
stairs, slowly, too, trimming his can
die as he went.
But before he shut his heavy door
he walked through his rooms to see
that all was right. He had just
enough recollection of the face to de-
sire to do that
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 slippers and his nightcap
fro 70 fal a
his cruel.
1t was a very low fire indeed moth
ing 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 a
handful Of fuel. The fireplace was an
old one built by some Dutch mer-
chant long ago and paved all round
with quaint Dutch tiles, designed to
illustrate the Scriptures There were
Gains and Abels, Pharaoh's daughters,
queens Of Sheba, angelic messengers
descending through the air on clouds
like feather beds, Abrahams, Belshaz-
Ears, apostles putting off to sea in
butter boats, hundreds Of figures to
attract his thoughts, and yet that face
OF Marley, seven years dead, came like
the ancient prophets rod and swal-
lowed up the whole.
'Humbugw said Scrooge 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 q bell, a disused bell, that hung
in the room and communicated for
some purpose now forgotten with a
chamber in the highest story of the
building It was with great astonish-
ment and with strange, ineXplicable
dread that as he looked he saw this
bell begin to swing. 1t swung so soft
ly in the outset that it scarcely made
a sound, but soon it rang out loudly,
and so did every bell in the house.
This might have lasted half a min
ute or a minute, but it seemed an
hour. The bells ceased as they had
begun-together. They were succeed
ed by a clanking noise deep down
below, as if some person were drag
ging a heavy chain over the casks IN
the wine merchants cellar.
The cellar door flew open with
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. Il
won't believe it."
His color changed, though, when
without a pause it came on through
the heavy door and passed into tie
room before his eyes.
The same face, the very same-Mar-
ley in his pigtail, usual waistcoat,
tights and boots, the tassels on the
latter bristling like his pigtal and his
coat skirts and the hair upon his head.
The chain he drew was clasped about
his middle. 1t was long and wound
about him like tail, and it was made
for Scrooge observed it closely of
cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers,
deeds and heavy purses wrought in
steel. His body was transparent, so