noon
He touched the spring of his repeater , to correct this most preposterous clock . Its rapid little pulse beat twelve : and stopped . `` Why , it is n't possible , '' said Scrooge , `` that I can have slept through a whole day and far into another night . It is n't possible that anything has happened to the sun , and this is twelve at noon ! '' The idea being an alarming one , he scrambled out of bed , and groped his way to the window . He was obliged to rub the frost off with the sleeve of his dressing-gown before he could see anything ; and could see very little then . All he could make out was , that it was still very foggy and extremely cold , and that there was no noise of people running to and fro , and making a great stir , as there unquestionably would have been if night had beaten off bright day , and taken possession of the world .