CHEISTMAS IN ALASKA. 
279 
printed page, he heard a dull roar, like surf beating upon 
a rocky coast. He advanced farther, picking his way 
around the pile of poultry and vegetables and glistening 
holly upon which the Ghost sat enthroned. A moment 
more and the room vanished in utter blackness of night ; 
the roar grew grander and deeper, until it throbbed in 
his ears like the diapason of a mighty organ ; a fierce 
blast of snow-laden wind struck his bewildered face ; the 
street-lamp upon the corner flickered feebly in a mist of 
flakes — he was standing before his own door, knee-deep 
in a snow-drift, and bufeted above, below, and on every 
side by the storm that was abroad that Christmas Eve. 
At this point in the lieutenant's story, Mr. Button 
suddenly raised his hand and turned his head slightly 
towards the door. 
His face wore an expression of keen anxiety. 
Everybody was silent, listening intently. 
