Dracula

CHAPTER XXI

DR. SEWARD'S DIARY

_3 October._--Let me put down with exactness all that happened, as wellas I can remember it, since last I made an entry. Not a detail that Ican recall must be forgotten; in all calmness I must proceed.

When I came to Renfield's room I found him lying on the floor on hisleft side in a glittering pool of blood. When I went to move him, itbecame at once apparent that he had received some terrible injuries;there seemed none of that unity of purpose between the parts of the bodywhich marks even lethargic sanity. As the face was exposed I could seethat it was horribly bruised, as though it had been beaten against thefloor--indeed it was from the face wounds that the pool of bloodoriginated. The attendant who was kneeling beside the body said to me aswe turned him over:--

”I think, sir, his back is broken. See, both his right arm and leg andthe whole side of his face are paralysed.” How such a thing could havehappened puzzled the attendant beyond measure. He seemed quitebewildered, and his brows were gathered in as he said:--

”I can't understand the two things. He could mark his face like that bybeating his own head on the floor. I saw a young woman do it once at theEversfield Asylum before anyone could lay hands on her. And I suppose hemight have broke his neck by falling out of bed, if he got in an awkwardkink. But for the life of me I can't imagine how the two thingsoccurred. If his back was broke, he couldn't beat his head; and if hisface was like that before the fall out of bed, there would be marks ofit.” I said to him:--

”Go to Dr. Van Helsing, and ask him to kindly come here at once. I wanthim without an instant's delay.” The man ran off, and within a fewminutes the Professor, in his dressing gown and slippers, appeared. Whenhe saw Renfield on the ground, he looked keenly at him a moment, andthen turned to me. I think he recognised my thought in my eyes, for hesaid very quietly, manifestly for the ears of the attendant:--

”Ah, a sad accident! He will need very careful watching, and muchattention. I shall stay with you myself; but I shall first dress myself.If you will remain I shall in a few minutes join you.”

The patient was now breathing stertorously and it was easy to see thathe had suffered some terrible injury. Van Helsing returned withextraordinary celerity, bearing with him a surgical case. He hadevidently been thinking and had his mind made up; for, almost before helooked at the patient, he whispered to me:--

”Send the attendant away. We must be alone with him when he becomesconscious, after the operation.” So I said:--

”I think that will do now, Simmons. We have done all that we can atpresent. You had better go your round, and Dr. Van Helsing will operate.Let me know instantly if there be anything unusual anywhere.”

The man withdrew, and we went into a strict examination of the patient.The wounds of the face was superficial; the real injury was a depressedfracture of the skull, extending right up through the motor area. TheProfessor thought a moment and said:--

”We must reduce the pressure and get back to normal conditions, as faras can be; the rapidity of the suffusion shows the terrible nature ofhis injury. The whole motor area seems affected. The suffusion of thebrain will increase quickly, so we must trephine at once or it may betoo late.” As he was speaking there was a soft tapping at the door. Iwent over and opened it and found in the corridor without, Arthur andQuincey in pajamas and slippers: the former spoke:--

”I heard your man call up Dr. Van Helsing and tell him of an accident.So I woke Quincey or rather called for him as he was not asleep. Thingsare moving too quickly and too strangely for sound sleep for any of usthese times. I've been thinking that to-morrow night will not see thingsas they have been. We'll have to look back--and forward a little morethan we have done. May we come in?” I nodded, and held the door opentill they had entered; then I closed it again. When Quincey saw theattitude and state of the patient, and noted the horrible pool on thefloor, he said softly:--

”My God! what has happened to him? Poor, poor devil!” I told himbriefly, and added that we expected he would recover consciousness afterthe operation--for a short time, at all events. He went at once and satdown on the edge of the bed, with Godalming beside him; we all watchedin patience.

”We shall wait,” said Van Helsing, ”just long enough to fix the bestspot for trephining, so that we may most quickly and perfectly removethe blood clot; for it is evident that the haemorrhage is increasing.”

The minutes during which we waited passed with fearful slowness. I had ahorrible sinking in my heart, and from Van Helsing's face I gatheredthat he felt some fear or apprehension as to what was to come. I dreadedthe words that Renfield might speak. I was positively afraid to think;but the conviction of what was coming was on me, as I have read of menwho have heard the death-watch. The poor man's breathing came inuncertain gasps. Each instant he seemed as though he would open his eyesand speak; but then would follow a prolonged stertorous breath, and hewould relapse into a more fixed insensibility. Inured as I was to sickbeds and death, this suspense grew, and grew upon me. I could almosthear the beating of my own heart; and the blood surging through mytemples sounded like blows from a hammer. The silence finally becameagonising. I looked at my companions, one after another, and saw fromtheir flushed faces and damp brows that they were enduring equaltorture. There was a nervous suspense over us all, as though overheadsome dread bell would peal out powerfully when we should least expectit.

At last there came a time when it was evident that the patient wassinking fast; he might die at any moment. I looked up at the Professorand caught his eyes fixed on mine. His face was sternly set as hespoke:--

”There is no time to lose. His words may be worth many lives; I havebeen thinking so, as I stood here. It may be there is a soul at stake!We shall operate just above the ear.”

Without another word he made the operation. For a few moments thebreathing continued to be stertorous. Then there came a breath soprolonged that it seemed as though it would tear open his chest.Suddenly his eyes opened, and became fixed in a wild, helpless stare.This was continued for a few moments; then it softened into a gladsurprise, and from the lips came a sigh of relief. He movedconvulsively, and as he did so, said:--

”I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait-waistcoat. Ihave had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannotmove. What's wrong with my face? it feels all swollen, and it smartsdreadfully.” He tried to turn his head; but even with the effort hiseyes seemed to grow glassy again so I gently put it back. Then VanHelsing said in a quiet grave tone:--

”Tell us your dream, Mr. Renfield.” As he heard the voice his facebrightened, through its mutilation, and he said:--

”That is Dr. Van Helsing. How good it is of you to be here. Give me somewater, my lips are dry; and I shall try to tell you. I dreamed”--hestopped and seemed fainting, I called quietly to Quincey--”Thebrandy--it is in my study--quick!” He flew and returned with a glass,the decanter of brandy and a carafe of water. We moistened the parchedlips, and the patient quickly revived. It seemed, however, that his poorinjured brain had been working in the interval, for, when he was quiteconscious, he looked at me piercingly with an agonised confusion which Ishall never forget, and said:--

”I must not deceive myself; it was no dream, but all a grim reality.”Then his eyes roved round the room; as they caught sight of the twofigures sitting patiently on the edge of the bed he went on:--

”If I were not sure already, I would know from them.” For an instant hiseyes closed--not with pain or sleep but voluntarily, as though he werebringing all his faculties to bear; when he opened them he said,hurriedly, and with more energy than he had yet displayed:--

”Quick, Doctor, quick. I am dying! I feel that I have but a few minutes;and then I must go back to death--or worse! Wet my lips with brandyagain. I have something that I must say before I die; or before my poorcrushed brain dies anyhow. Thank you! It was that night after you leftme, when I implored you to let me go away. I couldn't speak then, for Ifelt my tongue was tied; but I was as sane then, except in that way, asI am now. I was in an agony of despair for a long time after you leftme; it seemed hours. Then there came a sudden peace to me. My brainseemed to become cool again, and I realised where I was. I heard thedogs bark behind our house, but not where He was!” As he spoke, VanHelsing's eyes never blinked, but his hand came out and met mine andgripped it hard. He did not, however, betray himself; he nodded slightlyand said: ”Go on,” in a low voice. Renfield proceeded:--

”He came up to the window in the mist, as I had seen him often before;but he was solid then--not a ghost, and his eyes were fierce like aman's when angry. He was laughing with his red mouth; the sharp whiteteeth glinted in the moonlight when he turned to look back over the beltof trees, to where the dogs were barking. I wouldn't ask him to come inat first, though I knew he wanted to--just as he had wanted all along.Then he began promising me things--not in words but by doing them.” Hewas interrupted by a word from the Professor:--

”How?”

”By making them happen; just as he used to send in the flies when thesun was shining. Great big fat ones with steel and sapphire on theirwings; and big moths, in the night, with skull and cross-bones on theirbacks.” Van Helsing nodded to him as he whispered to me unconsciously:--

”The _Acherontia Aitetropos of the Sphinges_--what you call the'Death's-head Moth'?” The patient went on without stopping.

”Then he began to whisper: 'Rats, rats, rats! Hundreds, thousands,millions of them, and every one a life; and dogs to eat them, and catstoo. All lives! all red blood, with years of life in it; and not merelybuzzing flies!' I laughed at him, for I wanted to see what he could do.Then the dogs howled, away beyond the dark trees in His house. Hebeckoned me to the window. I got up and looked out, and He raised hishands, and seemed to call out without using any words. A dark massspread over the grass, coming on like the shape of a flame of fire; andthen He moved the mist to the right and left, and I could see that therewere thousands of rats with their eyes blazing red--like His, onlysmaller. He held up his hand, and they all stopped; and I thought heseemed to be saying: 'All these lives will I give you, ay, and many moreand greater, through countless ages, if you will fall down and worshipme!' And then a red cloud, like the colour of blood, seemed to closeover my eyes; and before I knew what I was doing, I found myself openingthe sash and saying to Him: 'Come in, Lord and Master!' The rats wereall gone, but He slid into the room through the sash, though it was onlyopen an inch wide--just as the Moon herself has often come in throughthe tiniest crack and has stood before me in all her size andsplendour.”

His voice was weaker, so I moistened his lips with the brandy again, andhe continued; but it seemed as though his memory had gone on working inthe interval for his story was further advanced. I was about to call himback to the point, but Van Helsing whispered to me: ”Let him go on. Donot interrupt him; he cannot go back, and maybe could not proceed at allif once he lost the thread of his thought.” He proceeded:--

”All day I waited to hear from him, but he did not send me anything, noteven a blow-fly, and when the moon got up I was pretty angry with him.When he slid in through the window, though it was shut, and did not evenknock, I got mad with him. He sneered at me, and his white face lookedout of the mist with his red eyes gleaming, and he went on as though heowned the whole place, and I was no one. He didn't even smell the sameas he went by me. I couldn't hold him. I thought that, somehow, Mrs.Harker had come into the room.”

The two men sitting on the bed stood up and came over, standing behindhim so that he could not see them, but where they could hear better.They were both silent, but the Professor started and quivered; his face,however, grew grimmer and sterner still. Renfield went on withoutnoticing:--

”When Mrs. Harker came in to see me this afternoon she wasn't the same;it was like tea after the teapot had been watered.” Here we all moved,but no one said a word; he went on:--

”I didn't know that she was here till she spoke; and she didn't look thesame. I don't care for the pale people; I like them with lots of bloodin them, and hers had all seemed to have run out. I didn't think of itat the time; but when she went away I began to think, and it made me madto know that He had been taking the life out of her.” I could feel thatthe rest quivered, as I did, but we remained otherwise still. ”So whenHe came to-night I was ready for Him. I saw the mist stealing in, and Igrabbed it tight. I had heard that madmen have unnatural strength; andas I knew I was a madman--at times anyhow--I resolved to use my power.Ay, and He felt it too, for He had to come out of the mist to strugglewith me. I held tight; and I thought I was going to win, for I didn'tmean Him to take any more of her life, till I saw His eyes. They burnedinto me, and my strength became like water. He slipped through it, andwhen I tried to cling to Him, He raised me up and flung me down. Therewas a red cloud before me, and a noise like thunder, and the mist seemedto steal away under the door.” His voice was becoming fainter and hisbreath more stertorous. Van Helsing stood up instinctively.

”We know the worst now,” he said. ”He is here, and we know his purpose.It may not be too late. Let us be armed--the same as we were the othernight, but lose no time; there is not an instant to spare.” There was noneed to put our fear, nay our conviction, into words--we shared them incommon. We all hurried and took from our rooms the same things that wehad when we entered the Count's house. The Professor had his ready, andas we met in the corridor he pointed to them significantly as he said:--

”They never leave me; and they shall not till this unhappy business isover. Be wise also, my friends. It is no common enemy that we deal with.Alas! alas! that that dear Madam Mina should suffer!” He stopped; hisvoice was breaking, and I do not know if rage or terror predominated inmy own heart.

Outside the Harkers' door we paused. Art and Quincey held back, and thelatter said:--

”Should we disturb her?”

”We must,” said Van Helsing grimly. ”If the door be locked, I shallbreak it in.”

”May it not frighten her terribly? It is unusual to break into a lady'sroom!”

Van Helsing said solemnly, ”You are always right; but this is life anddeath. All chambers are alike to the doctor; and even were they not theyare all as one to me to-night. Friend John, when I turn the handle, ifthe door does not open, do you put your shoulder down and shove; and youtoo, my friends. Now!”

He turned the handle as he spoke, but the door did not yield. We threwourselves against it; with a crash it burst open, and we almost fellheadlong into the room. The Professor did actually fall, and I sawacross him as he gathered himself up from hands and knees. What I sawappalled me. I felt my hair rise like bristles on the back of my neck,and my heart seemed to stand still.

The moonlight was so bright that through the thick yellow blind the roomwas light enough to see. On the bed beside the window lay JonathanHarker, his face flushed and breathing heavily as though in a stupor.Kneeling on the near edge of the bed facing outwards was the white-cladfigure of his wife. By her side stood a tall, thin man, clad in black.His face was turned from us, but the instant we saw we all recognisedthe Count--in every way, even to the scar on his forehead. With his lefthand he held both Mrs. Harker's hands, keeping them away with her armsat full tension; his right hand gripped her by the back of the neck,forcing her face down on his bosom. Her white nightdress was smearedwith blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare breast whichwas shown by his torn-open dress. The attitude of the two had a terribleresemblance to a child forcing a kitten's nose into a saucer of milk tocompel it to drink. As we burst into the room, the Count turned hisface, and the hellish look that I had heard described seemed to leapinto it. His eyes flamed red with devilish passion; the great nostrilsof the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge; and thewhite sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood-dripping mouth,champed together like those of a wild beast. With a wrench, which threwhis victim back upon the bed as though hurled from a height, he turnedand sprang at us. But by this time the Professor had gained his feet,and was holding towards him the envelope which contained the SacredWafer. The Count suddenly stopped, just as poor Lucy had done outsidethe tomb, and cowered back. Further and further back he cowered, as we,lifting our crucifixes, advanced. The moonlight suddenly failed, as agreat black cloud sailed across the sky; and when the gaslight sprang upunder Quincey's match, we saw nothing but a faint vapour. This, as welooked, trailed under the door, which with the recoil from its burstingopen, had swung back to its old position. Van Helsing, Art, and I movedforward to Mrs. Harker, who by this time had drawn her breath and withit had given a scream so wild, so ear-piercing, so despairing that itseems to me now that it will ring in my ears till my dying day. For afew seconds she lay in her helpless attitude and disarray. Her face wasghastly, with a pallor which was accentuated by the blood which smearedher lips and cheeks and chin; from her throat trickled a thin stream ofblood; her eyes were mad with terror. Then she put before her face herpoor crushed hands, which bore on their whiteness the red mark of theCount's terrible grip, and from behind them came a low desolate wailwhich made the terrible scream seem only the quick expression of anendless grief. Van Helsing stepped forward and drew the coverlet gentlyover her body, whilst Art, after looking at her face for an instantdespairingly, ran out of the room. Van Helsing whispered to me:--

”Jonathan is in a stupor such as we know the Vampire can produce. We cando nothing with poor Madam Mina for a few moments till she recoversherself; I must wake him!” He dipped the end of a towel in cold waterand with it began to flick him on the face, his wife all the whileholding her face between her hands and sobbing in a way that washeart-breaking to hear. I raised the blind, and looked out of thewindow. There was much moonshine; and as I looked I could see QuinceyMorris run across the lawn and hide himself in the shadow of a greatyew-tree. It puzzled me to think why he was doing this; but at theinstant I heard Harker's quick exclamation as he woke to partialconsciousness, and turned to the bed. On his face, as there might wellbe, was a look of wild amazement. He seemed dazed for a few seconds, andthen full consciousness seemed to burst upon him all at once, and hestarted up. His wife was aroused by the quick movement, and turned tohim with her arms stretched out, as though to embrace him; instantly,however, she drew them in again, and putting her elbows together, heldher hands before her face, and shuddered till the bed beneath her shook.

”In God's name what does this mean?” Harker cried out. ”Dr. Seward, Dr.Van Helsing, what is it? What has happened? What is wrong? Mina, dear,what is it? What does that blood mean? My God, my God! has it come tothis!” and, raising himself to his knees, he beat his hands wildlytogether. ”Good God help us! help her! oh, help her!” With a quickmovement he jumped from bed, and began to pull on his clothes,--all theman in him awake at the need for instant exertion. ”What has happened?Tell me all about it!” he cried without pausing. ”Dr. Van Helsing, youlove Mina, I know. Oh, do something to save her. It cannot have gone toofar yet. Guard her while I look for _him_!” His wife, through her terrorand horror and distress, saw some sure danger to him: instantlyforgetting her own grief, she seized hold of him and cried out:--

”No! no! Jonathan, you must not leave me. I have suffered enoughto-night, God knows, without the dread of his harming you. You must staywith me. Stay with these friends who will watch over you!” Herexpression became frantic as she spoke; and, he yielding to her, shepulled him down sitting on the bed side, and clung to him fiercely.

Van Helsing and I tried to calm them both. The Professor held up hislittle golden crucifix, and said with wonderful calmness:--

”Do not fear, my dear. We are here; and whilst this is close to you nofoul thing can approach. You are safe for to-night; and we must be calmand take counsel together.” She shuddered and was silent, holding downher head on her husband's breast. When she raised it, his whitenight-robe was stained with blood where her lips had touched, and wherethe thin open wound in her neck had sent forth drops. The instant shesaw it she drew back, with a low wail, and whispered, amidst chokingsobs:--

”Unclean, unclean! I must touch him or kiss him no more. Oh, that itshould be that it is I who am now his worst enemy, and whom he may havemost cause to fear.” To this he spoke out resolutely:--

”Nonsense, Mina. It is a shame to me to hear such a word. I would nothear it of you; and I shall not hear it from you. May God judge me by mydeserts, and punish me with more bitter suffering than even this hour,if by any act or will of mine anything ever come between us!” He put outhis arms and folded her to his breast; and for a while she lay theresobbing. He looked at us over her bowed head, with eyes that blinkeddamply above his quivering nostrils; his mouth was set as steel. After awhile her sobs became less frequent and more faint, and then he said tome, speaking with a studied calmness which I felt tried his nervouspower to the utmost:--

”And now, Dr. Seward, tell me all about it. Too well I know the broadfact; tell me all that has been.” I told him exactly what had happened,and he listened with seeming impassiveness; but his nostrils twitchedand his eyes blazed as I told how the ruthless hands of the Count hadheld his wife in that terrible and horrid position, with her mouth tothe open wound in his breast. It interested me, even at that moment, tosee, that, whilst the face of white set passion worked convulsively overthe bowed head, the hands tenderly and lovingly stroked the ruffledhair. Just as I had finished, Quincey and Godalming knocked at the door.They entered in obedience to our summons. Van Helsing looked at mequestioningly. I understood him to mean if we were to take advantage oftheir coming to divert if possible the thoughts of the unhappy husbandand wife from each other and from themselves; so on nodding acquiescenceto him he asked them what they had seen or done. To which Lord Godalminganswered:--

”I could not see him anywhere in the passage, or in any of our rooms. Ilooked in the study but, though he had been there, he had gone. He had,however----” He stopped suddenly, looking at the poor drooping figure onthe bed. Van Helsing said gravely:--

”Go on, friend Arthur. We want here no more concealments. Our hope nowis in knowing all. Tell freely!” So Art went on:--

”He had been there, and though it could only have been for a fewseconds, he made rare hay of the place. All the manuscript had beenburned, and the blue flames were flickering amongst the white ashes; thecylinders of your phonograph too were thrown on the fire, and the waxhad helped the flames.” Here I interrupted. ”Thank God there is theother copy in the safe!” His face lit for a moment, but fell again as hewent on: ”I ran downstairs then, but could see no sign of him. I lookedinto Renfield's room; but there was no trace there except----!” Again hepaused. ”Go on,” said Harker hoarsely; so he bowed his head andmoistening his lips with his tongue, added: ”except that the poor fellowis dead.” Mrs. Harker raised her head, looking from one to the other ofus she said solemnly:--

”God's will be done!” I could not but feel that Art was keeping backsomething; but, as I took it that it was with a purpose, I said nothing.Van Helsing turned to Morris and asked:--

”And you, friend Quincey, have you any to tell?”

”A little,” he answered. ”It may be much eventually, but at present Ican't say. I thought it well to know if possible where the Count wouldgo when he left the house. I did not see him; but I saw a bat rise fromRenfield's window, and flap westward. I expected to see him in someshape go back to Carfax; but he evidently sought some other lair. Hewill not be back to-night; for the sky is reddening in the east, and thedawn is close. We must work to-morrow!”

He said the latter words through his shut teeth. For a space of perhapsa couple of minutes there was silence, and I could fancy that I couldhear the sound of our hearts beating; then Van Helsing said, placing hishand very tenderly on Mrs. Harker's head:--

”And now, Madam Mina--poor, dear, dear Madam Mina--tell us exactly whathappened. God knows that I do not want that you be pained; but it isneed that we know all. For now more than ever has all work to be donequick and sharp, and in deadly earnest. The day is close to us that mustend all, if it may be so; and now is the chance that we may live andlearn.”

The poor, dear lady shivered, and I could see the tension of her nervesas she clasped her husband closer to her and bent her head lower andlower still on his breast. Then she raised her head proudly, and heldout one hand to Van Helsing who took it in his, and, after stooping andkissing it reverently, held it fast. The other hand was locked in thatof her husband, who held his other arm thrown round her protectingly.After a pause in which she was evidently ordering her thoughts, shebegan:--

”I took the sleeping draught which you had so kindly given me, but for along time it did not act. I seemed to become more wakeful, and myriadsof horrible fancies began to crowd in upon my mind--all of themconnected with death, and vampires; with blood, and pain, and trouble.”Her husband involuntarily groaned as she turned to him and saidlovingly: ”Do not fret, dear. You must be brave and strong, and help methrough the horrible task. If you only knew what an effort it is to meto tell of this fearful thing at all, you would understand how much Ineed your help. Well, I saw I must try to help the medicine to its workwith my will, if it was to do me any good, so I resolutely set myself tosleep. Sure enough sleep must soon have come to me, for I remember nomore. Jonathan coming in had not waked me, for he lay by my side whennext I remember. There was in the room the same thin white mist that Ihad before noticed. But I forget now if you know of this; you will findit in my diary which I shall show you later. I felt the same vagueterror which had come to me before and the same sense of some presence.I turned to wake Jonathan, but found that he slept so soundly that itseemed as if it was he who had taken the sleeping draught, and not I. Itried, but I could not wake him. This caused me a great fear, and Ilooked around terrified. Then indeed, my heart sank within me: besidethe bed, as if he had stepped out of the mist--or rather as if the misthad turned into his figure, for it had entirely disappeared--stood atall, thin man, all in black. I knew him at once from the description ofthe others. The waxen face; the high aquiline nose, on which the lightfell in a thin white line; the parted red lips, with the sharp whiteteeth showing between; and the red eyes that I had seemed to see in thesunset on the windows of St. Mary's Church at Whitby. I knew, too, thered scar on his forehead where Jonathan had struck him. For an instantmy heart stood still, and I would have screamed out, only that I wasparalysed. In the pause he spoke in a sort of keen, cutting whisper,pointing as he spoke to Jonathan:--

”'Silence! If you make a sound I shall take him and dash his brains outbefore your very eyes.' I was appalled and was too bewildered to do orsay anything. With a mocking smile, he placed one hand upon my shoulderand, holding me tight, bared my throat with the other, saying as he didso, 'First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions. You may as wellbe quiet; it is not the first time, or the second, that your veins haveappeased my thirst!' I was bewildered, and, strangely enough, I did notwant to hinder him. I suppose it is a part of the horrible curse thatsuch is, when his touch is on his victim. And oh, my God, my God, pityme! He placed his reeking lips upon my throat!” Her husband groanedagain. She clasped his hand harder, and looked at him pityingly, as ifhe were the injured one, and went on:--

”I felt my strength fading away, and I was in a half swoon. How longthis horrible thing lasted I know not; but it seemed that a long timemust have passed before he took his foul, awful, sneering mouth away. Isaw it drip with the fresh blood!” The remembrance seemed for a while tooverpower her, and she drooped and would have sunk down but for herhusband's sustaining arm. With a great effort she recovered herself andwent on:--

”Then he spoke to me mockingly, 'And so you, like the others, would playyour brains against mine. You would help these men to hunt me andfrustrate me in my designs! You know now, and they know in part already,and will know in full before long, what it is to cross my path. Theyshould have kept their energies for use closer to home. Whilst theyplayed wits against me--against me who commanded nations, and intriguedfor them, and fought for them, hundreds of years before they wereborn--I was countermining them. And you, their best beloved one, are nowto me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountifulwine-press for a while; and shall be later on my companion and myhelper. You shall be avenged in turn; for not one of them but shallminister to your needs. But as yet you are to be punished for what youhave done. You have aided in thwarting me; now you shall come to mycall. When my brain says ”Come!” to you, you shall cross land or sea todo my bidding; and to that end this!' With that he pulled open hisshirt, and with his long sharp nails opened a vein in his breast. Whenthe blood began to spurt out, he took my hands in one of his, holdingthem tight, and with the other seized my neck and pressed my mouth tothe wound, so that I must either suffocate or swallow some of the---- Ohmy God! my God! what have I done? What have I done to deserve such afate, I who have tried to walk in meekness and righteousness all mydays. God pity me! Look down on a poor soul in worse than mortal peril;and in mercy pity those to whom she is dear!” Then she began to rub herlips as though to cleanse them from pollution.

As she was telling her terrible story, the eastern sky began to quicken,and everything became more and more clear. Harker was still and quiet;but over his face, as the awful narrative went on, came a grey lookwhich deepened and deepened in the morning light, till when the firstred streak of the coming dawn shot up, the flesh stood darkly outagainst the whitening hair.

We have arranged that one of us is to stay within call of the unhappypair till we can meet together and arrange about taking action.

Of this I am sure: the sun rises to-day on no more miserable house inall the great round of its daily course.