ABSTRACT
AWAKING in the middle of a troubled sleep, and sitting up in bed to get his thoughts together, Scrooge noted that the bell was again upon the stroke of one. He felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right nick of time, for the especial purpose of holding a conference with the second messenger dispatched to him through Dewey's intervention. He wished to challenge the Spirit on the moment of its appearance, and did not wish to be taken by surprise, and made nervous.
