Scrooge awakes and finds his room as dark as when he fell asleep at two o’clock. He listens for the church bell but when it comes, it strikes twelve. He must have slept through a whole day and half a night. He doesn’t believe it, but when he goes to the window, the street is deserted and dark as nighttime. He is glad of this, because it means that night and day have not entirely merged – he fears the disruption to trade.