Dracula

CHAPTER XXIII

DR. SEWARD'S DIARY

_3 October._--The time seemed terrible long whilst we were waiting forthe coming of Godalming and Quincey Morris. The Professor tried to keepour minds active by using them all the time. I could see his beneficentpurpose, by the side glances which he threw from time to time at Harker.The poor fellow is overwhelmed in a misery that is appalling to see.Last night he was a frank, happy-looking man, with strong, youthfulface, full of energy, and with dark brown hair. To-day he is a drawn,haggard old man, whose white hair matches well with the hollow burningeyes and grief-written lines of his face. His energy is still intact; infact, he is like a living flame. This may yet be his salvation, for, ifall go well, it will tide him over the despairing period; he will then,in a kind of way, wake again to the realities of life. Poor fellow, Ithought my own trouble was bad enough, but his----! The Professor knowsthis well enough, and is doing his best to keep his mind active. What hehas been saying was, under the circumstances, of absorbing interest. Sowell as I can remember, here it is:--

”I have studied, over and over again since they came into my hands, allthe papers relating to this monster; and the more I have studied, thegreater seems the necessity to utterly stamp him out. All through thereare signs of his advance; not only of his power, but of his knowledge ofit. As I learned from the researches of my friend Arminus of Buda-Pesth,he was in life a most wonderful man. Soldier, statesman, andalchemist--which latter was the highest development of thescience-knowledge of his time. He had a mighty brain, a learning beyondcompare, and a heart that knew no fear and no remorse. He dared even toattend the Scholomance, and there was no branch of knowledge of his timethat he did not essay. Well, in him the brain powers survived thephysical death; though it would seem that memory was not all complete.In some faculties of mind he has been, and is, only a child; but he isgrowing, and some things that were childish at the first are now ofman's stature. He is experimenting, and doing it well; and if it had notbeen that we have crossed his path he would be yet--he may be yet if wefail--the father or furtherer of a new order of beings, whose road mustlead through Death, not Life.”

Harker groaned and said, ”And this is all arrayed against my darling!But how is he experimenting? The knowledge may help us to defeat him!”

”He has all along, since his coming, been trying his power, slowly butsurely; that big child-brain of his is working. Well for us, it is, asyet, a child-brain; for had he dared, at the first, to attempt certainthings he would long ago have been beyond our power. However, he meansto succeed, and a man who has centuries before him can afford to waitand to go slow. _Festina lente_ may well be his motto.”

”I fail to understand,” said Harker wearily. ”Oh, do be more plain tome! Perhaps grief and trouble are dulling my brain.”

The Professor laid his hand tenderly on his shoulder as he spoke:--

”Ah, my child, I will be plain. Do you not see how, of late, thismonster has been creeping into knowledge experimentally. How he has beenmaking use of the zooephagous patient to effect his entry into friendJohn's home; for your Vampire, though in all afterwards he can come whenand how he will, must at the first make entry only when asked thereto byan inmate. But these are not his most important experiments. Do we notsee how at the first all these so great boxes were moved by others. Heknew not then but that must be so. But all the time that so greatchild-brain of his was growing, and he began to consider whether hemight not himself move the box. So he began to help; and then, when hefound that this be all-right, he try to move them all alone. And so heprogress, and he scatter these graves of him; and none but he know wherethey are hidden. He may have intend to bury them deep in the ground. Sothat he only use them in the night, or at such time as he can change hisform, they do him equal well; and none may know these are hishiding-place! But, my child, do not despair; this knowledge come to himjust too late! Already all of his lairs but one be sterilise as for him;and before the sunset this shall be so. Then he have no place where hecan move and hide. I delayed this morning that so we might be sure. Isthere not more at stake for us than for him? Then why we not be evenmore careful than him? By my clock it is one hour and already, if all bewell, friend Arthur and Quincey are on their way to us. To-day is ourday, and we must go sure, if slow, and lose no chance. See! there arefive of us when those absent ones return.”

Whilst he was speaking we were startled by a knock at the hall door, thedouble postman's knock of the telegraph boy. We all moved out to thehall with one impulse, and Van Helsing, holding up his hand to us tokeep silence, stepped to the door and opened it. The boy handed in adespatch. The Professor closed the door again, and, after looking at thedirection, opened it and read aloud.

”Look out for D. He has just now, 12:45, come from Carfax hurriedly andhastened towards the South. He seems to be going the round and may wantto see you: Mina.”

There was a pause, broken by Jonathan Harker's voice:--

”Now, God be thanked, we shall soon meet!” Van Helsing turned to himquickly and said:--

”God will act in His own way and time. Do not fear, and do not rejoiceas yet; for what we wish for at the moment may be our undoings.”

”I care for nothing now,” he answered hotly, ”except to wipe out thisbrute from the face of creation. I would sell my soul to do it!”

”Oh, hush, hush, my child!” said Van Helsing. ”God does not purchasesouls in this wise; and the Devil, though he may purchase, does not keepfaith. But God is merciful and just, and knows your pain and yourdevotion to that dear Madam Mina. Think you, how her pain would bedoubled, did she but hear your wild words. Do not fear any of us, we areall devoted to this cause, and to-day shall see the end. The time iscoming for action; to-day this Vampire is limit to the powers of man,and till sunset he may not change. It will take him time to arrivehere--see, it is twenty minutes past one--and there are yet some timesbefore he can hither come, be he never so quick. What we must hope foris that my Lord Arthur and Quincey arrive first.”

About half an hour after we had received Mrs. Harker's telegram, therecame a quiet, resolute knock at the hall door. It was just an ordinaryknock, such as is given hourly by thousands of gentlemen, but it madethe Professor's heart and mine beat loudly. We looked at each other, andtogether moved out into the hall; we each held ready to use our variousarmaments--the spiritual in the left hand, the mortal in the right. VanHelsing pulled back the latch, and, holding the door half open, stoodback, having both hands ready for action. The gladness of our heartsmust have shown upon our faces when on the step, close to the door, wesaw Lord Godalming and Quincey Morris. They came quickly in and closedthe door behind them, the former saying, as they moved along thehall:--

”It is all right. We found both places; six boxes in each and wedestroyed them all!”

”Destroyed?” asked the Professor.

”For him!” We were silent for a minute, and then Quincey said:--

”There's nothing to do but to wait here. If, however, he doesn't turn upby five o'clock, we must start off; for it won't do to leave Mrs. Harkeralone after sunset.”

”He will be here before long now,” said Van Helsing, who had beenconsulting his pocket-book. ”_Nota bene_, in Madam's telegram he wentsouth from Carfax, that means he went to cross the river, and he couldonly do so at slack of tide, which should be something before oneo'clock. That he went south has a meaning for us. He is as yet onlysuspicious; and he went from Carfax first to the place where he wouldsuspect interference least. You must have been at Bermondsey only ashort time before him. That he is not here already shows that he went toMile End next. This took him some time; for he would then have to becarried over the river in some way. Believe me, my friends, we shall nothave long to wait now. We should have ready some plan of attack, so thatwe may throw away no chance. Hush, there is no time now. Have all yourarms! Be ready!” He held up a warning hand as he spoke, for we all couldhear a key softly inserted in the lock of the hall door.

I could not but admire, even at such a moment, the way in which adominant spirit asserted itself. In all our hunting parties andadventures in different parts of the world, Quincey Morris had alwaysbeen the one to arrange the plan of action, and Arthur and I had beenaccustomed to obey him implicitly. Now, the old habit seemed to berenewed instinctively. With a swift glance around the room, he at oncelaid out our plan of attack, and, without speaking a word, with agesture, placed us each in position. Van Helsing, Harker, and I werejust behind the door, so that when it was opened the Professor couldguard it whilst we two stepped between the incomer and the door.Godalming behind and Quincey in front stood just out of sight ready tomove in front of the window. We waited in a suspense that made theseconds pass with nightmare slowness. The slow, careful steps came alongthe hall; the Count was evidently prepared for some surprise--at leasthe feared it.

Suddenly with a single bound he leaped into the room, winning a way pastus before any of us could raise a hand to stay him. There was somethingso panther-like in the movement--something so unhuman, that it seemedto sober us all from the shock of his coming. The first to act wasHarker, who, with a quick movement, threw himself before the doorleading into the room in the front of the house. As the Count saw us, ahorrible sort of snarl passed over his face, showing the eye-teeth longand pointed; but the evil smile as quickly passed into a cold stare oflion-like disdain. His expression again changed as, with a singleimpulse, we all advanced upon him. It was a pity that we had not somebetter organised plan of attack, for even at the moment I wondered whatwe were to do. I did not myself know whether our lethal weapons wouldavail us anything. Harker evidently meant to try the matter, for he hadready his great Kukri knife and made a fierce and sudden cut at him. Theblow was a powerful one; only the diabolical quickness of the Count'sleap back saved him. A second less and the trenchant blade had shornethrough his heart. As it was, the point just cut the cloth of his coat,making a wide gap whence a bundle of bank-notes and a stream of goldfell out. The expression of the Count's face was so hellish, that for amoment I feared for Harker, though I saw him throw the terrible knifealoft again for another stroke. Instinctively I moved forward with aprotective impulse, holding the Crucifix and Wafer in my left hand. Ifelt a mighty power fly along my arm; and it was without surprise that Isaw the monster cower back before a similar movement made spontaneouslyby each one of us. It would be impossible to describe the expression ofhate and baffled malignity--of anger and hellish rage--which came overthe Count's face. His waxen hue became greenish-yellow by the contrastof his burning eyes, and the red scar on the forehead showed on thepallid skin like a palpitating wound. The next instant, with a sinuousdive he swept under Harker's arm, ere his blow could fall, and, graspinga handful of the money from the floor, dashed across the room, threwhimself at the window. Amid the crash and glitter of the falling glass,he tumbled into the flagged area below. Through the sound of theshivering glass I could hear the ”ting” of the gold, as some of thesovereigns fell on the flagging.

We ran over and saw him spring unhurt from the ground. He, rushing upthe steps, crossed the flagged yard, and pushed open the stable door.There he turned and spoke to us:--

”You think to baffle me, you--with your pale faces all in a row, likesheep in a butcher's. You shall be sorry yet, each one of you! You thinkyou have left me without a place to rest; but I have more. My revenge isjust begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Yourgirls that you all love are mine already; and through them you andothers shall yet be mine--my creatures, to do my bidding and to be myjackals when I want to feed. Bah!” With a contemptuous sneer, he passedquickly through the door, and we heard the rusty bolt creak as hefastened it behind him. A door beyond opened and shut. The first of usto speak was the Professor, as, realising the difficulty of followinghim through the stable, we moved toward the hall.

”We have learnt something--much! Notwithstanding his brave words, hefears us; he fear time, he fear want! For if not, why he hurry so? Hisvery tone betray him, or my ears deceive. Why take that money? Youfollow quick. You are hunters of wild beast, and understand it so. Forme, I make sure that nothing here may be of use to him, if so that hereturn.” As he spoke he put the money remaining into his pocket; tookthe title-deeds in the bundle as Harker had left them, and swept theremaining things into the open fireplace, where he set fire to them witha match.

Godalming and Morris had rushed out into the yard, and Harker hadlowered himself from the window to follow the Count. He had, however,bolted the stable door; and by the time they had forced it open therewas no sign of him. Van Helsing and I tried to make inquiry at the backof the house; but the mews was deserted and no one had seen him depart.

It was now late in the afternoon, and sunset was not far off. We had torecognise that our game was up; with heavy hearts we agreed with theProfessor when he said:--

”Let us go back to Madam Mina--poor, poor dear Madam Mina. All we can dojust now is done; and we can there, at least, protect her. But we neednot despair. There is but one more earth-box, and we must try to findit; when that is done all may yet be well.” I could see that he spoke asbravely as he could to comfort Harker. The poor fellow was quite brokendown; now and again he gave a low groan which he could not suppress--hewas thinking of his wife.

With sad hearts we came back to my house, where we found Mrs. Harkerwaiting us, with an appearance of cheerfulness which did honour to herbravery and unselfishness. When she saw our faces, her own became aspale as death: for a second or two her eyes were closed as if she werein secret prayer; and then she said cheerfully:--

”I can never thank you all enough. Oh, my poor darling!” As she spoke,she took her husband's grey head in her hands and kissed it--”Lay yourpoor head here and rest it. All will yet be well, dear! God will protectus if He so will it in His good intent.” The poor fellow groaned. Therewas no place for words in his sublime misery.

We had a sort of perfunctory supper together, and I think it cheered usall up somewhat. It was, perhaps, the mere animal heat of food to hungrypeople--for none of us had eaten anything since breakfast--or the senseof companionship may have helped us; but anyhow we were all lessmiserable, and saw the morrow as not altogether without hope. True toour promise, we told Mrs. Harker everything which had passed; andalthough she grew snowy white at times when danger had seemed tothreaten her husband, and red at others when his devotion to her wasmanifested, she listened bravely and with calmness. When we came to thepart where Harker had rushed at the Count so recklessly, she clung toher husband's arm, and held it tight as though her clinging couldprotect him from any harm that might come. She said nothing, however,till the narration was all done, and matters had been brought right upto the present time. Then without letting go her husband's hand shestood up amongst us and spoke. Oh, that I could give any idea of thescene; of that sweet, sweet, good, good woman in all the radiant beautyof her youth and animation, with the red scar on her forehead, of whichshe was conscious, and which we saw with grinding of ourteeth--remembering whence and how it came; her loving kindness againstour grim hate; her tender faith against all our fears and doubting; andwe, knowing that so far as symbols went, she with all her goodness andpurity and faith, was outcast from God.

”Jonathan,” she said, and the word sounded like music on her lips it wasso full of love and tenderness, ”Jonathan dear, and you all my true,true friends, I want you to bear something in mind through all thisdreadful time. I know that you must fight--that you must destroy even asyou destroyed the false Lucy so that the true Lucy might live hereafter;but it is not a work of hate. That poor soul who has wrought all thismisery is the saddest case of all. Just think what will be his joy whenhe, too, is destroyed in his worser part that his better part may havespiritual immortality. You must be pitiful to him, too, though it maynot hold your hands from his destruction.”

As she spoke I could see her husband's face darken and draw together, asthough the passion in him were shrivelling his being to its core.Instinctively the clasp on his wife's hand grew closer, till hisknuckles looked white. She did not flinch from the pain which I knew shemust have suffered, but looked at him with eyes that were more appealingthan ever. As she stopped speaking he leaped to his feet, almost tearinghis hand from hers as he spoke:--

”May God give him into my hand just for long enough to destroy thatearthly life of him which we are aiming at. If beyond it I could sendhis soul for ever and ever to burning hell I would do it!”

”Oh, hush! oh, hush! in the name of the good God. Don't say such things,Jonathan, my husband; or you will crush me with fear and horror. Justthink, my dear--I have been thinking all this long, long day of it--that... perhaps ... some day ... I, too, may need such pity; and that someother like you--and with equal cause for anger--may deny it to me! Oh,my husband! my husband, indeed I would have spared you such a thoughthad there been another way; but I pray that God may not have treasuredyour wild words, except as the heart-broken wail of a very loving andsorely stricken man. Oh, God, let these poor white hairs go in evidenceof what he has suffered, who all his life has done no wrong, and on whomso many sorrows have come.”

We men were all in tears now. There was no resisting them, and we weptopenly. She wept, too, to see that her sweeter counsels had prevailed.Her husband flung himself on his knees beside her, and putting his armsround her, hid his face in the folds of her dress. Van Helsing beckonedto us and we stole out of the room, leaving the two loving hearts alonewith their God.

Before they retired the Professor fixed up the room against any comingof the Vampire, and assured Mrs. Harker that she might rest in peace.She tried to school herself to the belief, and, manifestly for herhusband's sake, tried to seem content. It was a brave struggle; and was,I think and believe, not without its reward. Van Helsing had placed athand a bell which either of them was to sound in case of any emergency.When they had retired, Quincey, Godalming, and I arranged that we shouldsit up, dividing the night between us, and watch over the safety of thepoor stricken lady. The first watch falls to Quincey, so the rest of usshall be off to bed as soon as we can. Godalming has already turned in,for his is the second watch. Now that my work is done I, too, shall goto bed.

_Jonathan Harker's Journal._

_3-4 October, close to midnight._--I thought yesterday would never end.There was over me a yearning for sleep, in some sort of blind beliefthat to wake would be to find things changed, and that any change mustnow be for the better. Before we parted, we discussed what our next stepwas to be, but we could arrive at no result. All we knew was that oneearth-box remained, and that the Count alone knew where it was. If hechooses to lie hidden, he may baffle us for years; and in themeantime!--the thought is too horrible, I dare not think of it even now.This I know: that if ever there was a woman who was all perfection, thatone is my poor wronged darling. I love her a thousand times more for hersweet pity of last night, a pity that made my own hate of the monsterseem despicable. Surely God will not permit the world to be the poorerby the loss of such a creature. This is hope to me. We are all driftingreefwards now, and faith is our only anchor. Thank God! Mina issleeping, and sleeping without dreams. I fear what her dreams might belike, with such terrible memories to ground them in. She has not been socalm, within my seeing, since the sunset. Then, for a while, there cameover her face a repose which was like spring after the blasts of March.I thought at the time that it was the softness of the red sunset on herface, but somehow now I think it has a deeper meaning. I am not sleepymyself, though I am weary--weary to death. However, I must try to sleep;for there is to-morrow to think of, and there is no rest for meuntil....

* * * * *

_Later._--I must have fallen asleep, for I was awaked by Mina, who wassitting up in bed, with a startled look on her face. I could see easily,for we did not leave the room in darkness; she had placed a warning handover my mouth, and now she whispered in my ear:--

”Hush! there is someone in the corridor!” I got up softly, and crossingthe room, gently opened the door.

Just outside, stretched on a mattress, lay Mr. Morris, wide awake. Heraised a warning hand for silence as he whispered to me:--

”Hush! go back to bed; it is all right. One of us will be here allnight. We don't mean to take any chances!”

His look and gesture forbade discussion, so I came back and told Mina.She sighed and positively a shadow of a smile stole over her poor, paleface as she put her arms round me and said softly:--

”Oh, thank God for good brave men!” With a sigh she sank back again tosleep. I write this now as I am not sleepy, though I must try again.

* * * * *

_4 October, morning._--Once again during the night I was wakened byMina. This time we had all had a good sleep, for the grey of the comingdawn was making the windows into sharp oblongs, and the gas flame waslike a speck rather than a disc of light. She said to me hurriedly:--

”Go, call the Professor. I want to see him at once.”

”Why?” I asked.

”I have an idea. I suppose it must have come in the night, and maturedwithout my knowing it. He must hypnotise me before the dawn, and then Ishall be able to speak. Go quick, dearest; the time is getting close.” Iwent to the door. Dr. Seward was resting on the mattress, and, seeingme, he sprang to his feet.

”Is anything wrong?” he asked, in alarm.

”No,” I replied; ”but Mina wants to see Dr. Van Helsing at once.”

”I will go,” he said, and hurried into the Professor's room.

In two or three minutes later Van Helsing was in the room in hisdressing-gown, and Mr. Morris and Lord Godalming were with Dr. Seward atthe door asking questions. When the Professor saw Mina a smile--apositive smile ousted the anxiety of his face; he rubbed his hands as hesaid:--

”Oh, my dear Madam Mina, this is indeed a change. See! friend Jonathan,we have got our dear Madam Mina, as of old, back to us to-day!” Thenturning to her, he said, cheerfully: ”And what am I do for you? For atthis hour you do not want me for nothings.”

”I want you to hypnotise me!” she said. ”Do it before the dawn, for Ifeel that then I can speak, and speak freely. Be quick, for the time isshort!” Without a word he motioned her to sit up in bed.

Looking fixedly at her, he commenced to make passes in front of her,from over the top of her head downward, with each hand in turn. Minagazed at him fixedly for a few minutes, during which my own heart beatlike a trip hammer, for I felt that some crisis was at hand. Graduallyher eyes closed, and she sat, stock still; only by the gentle heaving ofher bosom could one know that she was alive. The Professor made a fewmore passes and then stopped, and I could see that his forehead wascovered with great beads of perspiration. Mina opened her eyes; but shedid not seem the same woman. There was a far-away look in her eyes, andher voice had a sad dreaminess which was new to me. Raising his hand toimpose silence, the Professor motioned to me to bring the others in.They came on tip-toe, closing the door behind them, and stood at thefoot of the bed, looking on. Mina appeared not to see them. Thestillness was broken by Van Helsing's voice speaking in a low level tonewhich would not break the current of her thoughts:--

”Where are you?” The answer came in a neutral way:--

”I do not know. Sleep has no place it can call its own.” For severalminutes there was silence. Mina sat rigid, and the Professor stoodstaring at her fixedly; the rest of us hardly dared to breathe. The roomwas growing lighter; without taking his eyes from Mina's face, Dr. VanHelsing motioned me to pull up the blind. I did so, and the day seemedjust upon us. A red streak shot up, and a rosy light seemed to diffuseitself through the room. On the instant the Professor spoke again:--

”Where are you now?” The answer came dreamily, but with intention; itwere as though she were interpreting something. I have heard her use thesame tone when reading her shorthand notes.

”I do not know. It is all strange to me!”

”What do you see?”

”I can see nothing; it is all dark.”

”What do you hear?” I could detect the strain in the Professor's patientvoice.

”The lapping of water. It is gurgling by, and little waves leap. I canhear them on the outside.”

”Then you are on a ship?” We all looked at each other, trying to gleansomething each from the other. We were afraid to think. The answer camequick:--

”Oh, yes!”

”What else do you hear?”

”The sound of men stamping overhead as they run about. There is thecreaking of a chain, and the loud tinkle as the check of the capstanfalls into the rachet.”

”What are you doing?”

”I am still--oh, so still. It is like death!” The voice faded away intoa deep breath as of one sleeping, and the open eyes closed again.

By this time the sun had risen, and we were all in the full light ofday. Dr. Van Helsing placed his hands on Mina's shoulders, and laid herhead down softly on her pillow. She lay like a sleeping child for a fewmoments, and then, with a long sigh, awoke and stared in wonder to seeus all around her. ”Have I been talking in my sleep?” was all she said.She seemed, however, to know the situation without telling, though shewas eager to know what she had told. The Professor repeated theconversation, and she said:--

”Then there is not a moment to lose: it may not be yet too late!” Mr.Morris and Lord Godalming started for the door but the Professor's calmvoice called them back:--

”Stay, my friends. That ship, wherever it was, was weighing anchorwhilst she spoke. There are many ships weighing anchor at the moment inyour so great Port of London. Which of them is it that you seek? God bethanked that we have once again a clue, though whither it may lead us weknow not. We have been blind somewhat; blind after the manner of men,since when we can look back we see what we might have seen lookingforward if we had been able to see what we might have seen! Alas, butthat sentence is a puddle; is it not? We can know now what was in theCount's mind, when he seize that money, though Jonathan's so fierceknife put him in the danger that even he dread. He meant escape. Hearme, ESCAPE! He saw that with but one earth-box left, and a pack of menfollowing like dogs after a fox, this London was no place for him. Hehave take his last earth-box on board a ship, and he leave the land. Hethink to escape, but no! we follow him. Tally Ho! as friend Arthur wouldsay when he put on his red frock! Our old fox is wily; oh! so wily, andwe must follow with wile. I, too, am wily and I think his mind in alittle while. In meantime we may rest and in peace, for there are watersbetween us which he do not want to pass, and which he could not if hewould--unless the ship were to touch the land, and then only at full orslack tide. See, and the sun is just rose, and all day to sunset is tous. Let us take bath, and dress, and have breakfast which we all need,and which we can eat comfortably since he be not in the same land withus.” Mina looked at him appealingly as she asked:--

”But why need we seek him further, when he is gone away from us?” Hetook her hand and patted it as he replied:--

”Ask me nothings as yet. When we have breakfast, then I answer allquestions.” He would say no more, and we separated to dress.

After breakfast Mina repeated her question. He looked at her gravely fora minute and then said sorrowfully:--

”Because my dear, dear Madam Mina, now more than ever must we find himeven if we have to follow him to the jaws of Hell!” She grew paler asshe asked faintly:--

”Why?”

”Because,” he answered solemnly, ”he can live for centuries, and you arebut mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded--since once he put that markupon your throat.”

I was just in time to catch her as she fell forward in a faint.