The sound resounded through the house like thunder . Every room above , and every cask in the wine merchant 's cellars below , appeared to have a separate peal of echoes of its own . Scrooge was not a 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 driving a coach and six up a good old flight of stairs , or through a bad young Act of Parliament ; but I mean to say you might have got a hearse up that staircase , and taken it broadwise , with the splinter-bar towards the wall , and the door towards the balustrades : and done it easy . There was plenty of width for that , and room to spare ; which is perhaps the reason why Scrooge thought he saw a locomotive hearse going on before him in the gloom . Half-a-dozen gas-lamps out of the street would n't have lighted the entry 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 door , 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 . Nobody under the table , nobody under the sofa ; a small fire in the grate ; spoon and basin ready ; and the little saucepan of gruel -LRB- Scrooge had a cold in his head -RRB- 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 baskets , washing-stand on three legs , and a 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 slippers , and his nightcap ; and sat down before the fire to take his gruel . It was a very low fire indeed ; nothing on such a bitter night .
He was obliged to sit close XXXXX it , and brood over it , before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel .
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