{"id":47,"date":"2019-02-25T20:46:59","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T20:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/dracula\/chapter\/dracula-23\/"},"modified":"2019-02-26T01:32:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T01:32:09","slug":"23","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/dracula\/chapter\/23\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 23 - Dr. Seward's Diary","rendered":"Chapter 23 – Dr. Seward’s Diary"},"content":{"raw":"\r\n
\r\n\r\n3 October.\u2014The time seemed teribly long whilst we were waiting\r\nfor the coming of Godalming and Quincey Morris. The Professor tried\r\nto keep our minds active by using them all the time. I could see\r\nhis beneficent purpose, by the side glances which he threw from\r\ntime to time at Harker. The poor fellow is overwhelmed in a misery\r\nthat is appalling to see. Last night he was a frank, happy-looking\r\nman, with strong, youthful face, full of energy, and with dark\r\nbrown hair. Today he is a drawn, haggard old man, whose white hair\r\nmatches well with the hollow burning eyes and griefwritten lines of\r\nhis face. His energy is still intact. In fact, he is like a living\r\nflame. This may yet be his salvation, for if all go well, it will\r\ntide him over the despairing period. He will then, in a kind of\r\nway, wake again to the realities of life. Poor fellow, I thought my\r\nown trouble was bad enough, but his\u00a0\u2026 !\r\n\r\nThe Professor knows this well enough, and is doing his best to\r\nkeep his mind active. What he has been saying was, under the\r\ncircumstances, of absorbing interest. So well as I can remember,\r\nhere it is:\r\n\r\n\"I have studied, over and over again since they came into my\r\nhands, all the papers relating to this monster, and the more I have\r\nstudied, the greater seems the necessity to utterly stamp him out.\r\nAll through there are signs of his advance. Not only of his power,\r\nbut of his knowledge of it. As I learned from the researches of my\r\nfriend Arminius of Buda-Pesth, he was in life a most wonderful man.\r\nSoldier, statesman, and alchemist. Which latter was the highest\r\ndevelopment of the science knowledge of his time. He had a mighty\r\nbrain, a learning beyond compare, and a heart that knew no fear and\r\nno remorse. He dared even to attend the Scholomance, and there was\r\nno branch of knowledge of his time that he did not essay.\r\n\r\n\"Well, in him the brain powers survived the physical death.\r\nThough it would seem that memory was not all complete. In some\r\nfaculties of mind he has been, and is, only a child. But he is\r\ngrowing, and some things that were childish at the first are now of\r\nman's stature. He is experimenting, and doing it well. And if it\r\nhad not been that we have crossed his path he would be yet, he may\r\nbe yet if we fail, the father or furtherer of a new order of\r\nbeings, whose road must lead through Death, not Life.\"\r\n\r\nHarker groaned and said, \"And this is all arrayed against my\r\ndarling! But how is he experimenting? The knowledge may help us to\r\ndefeat him!\"\r\n\r\n\"He has all along, since his coming, been trying his power,\r\nslowly but surely. That big child-brain of his is working. Well for\r\nus, it is as yet, a child-brain. For had he dared, at the first, to\r\nattempt certain things he would long ago have been beyond our\r\npower. However, he means to succeed, and a man who has centuries\r\nbefore him can afford to wait and to go slow. Festina lente may\r\nwell be his motto.\"\r\n\r\n\"I fail to understand,\" said Harker wearily. \"Oh, do be more\r\nplain to me! Perhaps grief and trouble are dulling my brain.\"\r\n\r\nThe Professor laid his hand tenderly on his shoulder as he\r\nspoke, \"Ah, my child, I will be plain. Do you not see how, of late,\r\nthis monster has been creeping into knowledge experimentally. How\r\nhe has been making use of the zoophagous patient to effect his\r\nentry into friend John's home. For your Vampire, though in all\r\nafterwards he can come when and how he will, must at the first make\r\nentry only when asked thereto by an inmate. But these are not his\r\nmost important experiments. Do we not see how at the first all\r\nthese so great boxes were moved by others. He knew not then but\r\nthat must be so. But all the time that so great child-brain of his\r\nwas growing, and he began to consider whether he might not himself\r\nmove the box. So he began to help. And then, when he found that\r\nthis be all right, he try to move them all alone. And so he\r\nprogress, and he scatter these graves of him. And none but he know\r\nwhere they are hidden.\r\n\r\n\"He may have intend to bury them deep in the ground. So that\r\nonly he use them in the night, or at such time as he can change his\r\nform, they do him equal well, and none may know these are his\r\nhiding place! But, my child, do not despair, this knowledge came to\r\nhim just too late! Already all of his lairs but one be sterilize as\r\nfor him. And before the sunset this shall be so. Then he have no\r\nplace where he can move and hide. I delayed this morning that so we\r\nmight be sure. Is there not more at stake for us than for him? Then\r\nwhy not be more careful than him? By my clock it is one hour and\r\nalready, if all be well, friend Arthur and Quincey are on their way\r\nto us. Today is our day, and we must go sure, if slow, and lose no\r\nchance. See! There are five of us when those absent ones\r\nreturn.\"\r\n\r\nWhilst we were speaking we were startled by a knock at the hall\r\ndoor, the double postman's knock of the telegraph boy. We all moved\r\nout to the hall with one impulse, and Van Helsing, holding up his\r\nhand to us to keep silence, stepped to the door and opened it. The\r\nboy handed in a dispatch. The Professor closed the door again, and\r\nafter looking at the direction, opened it and read aloud.\r\n\r\n\"Look out for D. He has just now, 12:45, come from Carfax\r\nhurriedly and hastened towards the South. He seems to be going the\r\nround and may want to see you: Mina.\"\r\n\r\nThere was a pause, broken by Jonathan Harker's voice, \"Now, God\r\nbe thanked, we shall soon meet!\"\r\n\r\nVan Helsing turned to him quickly and said, \"God will act in His\r\nown way and time. Do not fear, and do not rejoice as yet. For what\r\nwe wish for at the moment may be our own undoings.\"\r\n\r\n\"I care for nothing now,\" he answered hotly, \"except to wipe out\r\nthis brute from the face of creation. I would sell my soul to do\r\nit!\"\r\n\r\n\"Oh, hush, hush, my child!\" said Van Helsing. \"God does not\r\npurchase souls in this wise, and the Devil, though he may purchase,\r\ndoes not keep faith. But God is merciful and just, and knows your\r\npain and your devotion to that dear Madam Mina. Think you, how her\r\npain would be doubled, did she but hear your wild words. Do not\r\nfear any of us, we are all devoted to this cause, and today shall\r\nsee the end. The time is coming for action. Today this Vampire is\r\nlimit to the powers of man, and till sunset he may not change. It\r\nwill take him time to arrive here, see it is twenty minutes past\r\none, and there are yet some times before he can hither come, be he\r\nnever so quick. What we must hope for is that my Lord Arthur and\r\nQuincey arrive first.\"\r\n\r\nAbout half an hour after we had received Mrs. Harker's telegram,\r\nthere came a quiet, resolute knock at the hall door. It was just an\r\nordinary knock, such as is given hourly by thousands of gentlemen,\r\nbut it made the Professor's heart and mine beat loudly. We looked\r\nat each other, and together moved out into the hall. We each held\r\nready to use our various armaments, the spiritual in the left hand,\r\nthe mortal in the right. Van Helsing pulled back the latch, and\r\nholding the door half open, stood back, having both hands ready for\r\naction. The gladness of our hearts must have shown upon our faces\r\nwhen on the step, close to the door, we saw Lord Godalming and\r\nQuincey Morris. They came quickly in and closed the door behind\r\nthem, the former saying, as they moved along the hall.\r\n\r\n\"It is all right. We found both places. Six boxes in each and we\r\ndestroyed them all.\"\r\n\r\n\"Destroyed?\" asked the Professor.\r\n\r\n\"For him!\" We were silent for a minute, and then Quincey said,\r\n\"There's nothing to do but to wait here. If, however, he doesn't\r\nturn up by five o'clock, we must start off. For it won't do to\r\nleave Mrs. Harker alone after sunset.\"\r\n\r\n\"He will be here before long now,' said Van Helsing, who had\r\nbeen consulting his pocketbook. \"Nota bene, in Madam's telegram he\r\nwent south from Carfax. That means he went to cross the river, and\r\nhe could only do so at slack of tide, which should be something\r\nbefore one o'clock. That he went south has a meaning for us. He is\r\nas yet only suspicious, and he went from Carfax first to the place\r\nwhere he would suspect interference least. You must have been at\r\nBermondsey only a short time before him. That he is not here\r\nalready shows that he went to Mile End next. This took him some\r\ntime, for he would then have to be carried over the river in some\r\nway. Believe me, my friends, we shall not have long to wait now. We\r\nshould have ready some plan of attack, so that we may throw away no\r\nchance. Hush, there is no time now. Have all your arms! Be ready!\"\r\nHe held up a warning hand as he spoke, for we all could hear a key\r\nsoftly inserted in the lock of the hall door.\r\n\r\nI could not but admire, even at such a moment, the way in which\r\na dominant spirit asserted itself. In all our hunting parties and\r\nadventures in different parts of the world, Quincey Morris had\r\nalways been the one to arrange the plan of action, and Arthur and I\r\nhad been accustomed to obey him implicitly. Now, the old habit\r\nseemed to be renewed instinctively. With a swift glance around the\r\nroom, he at once laid out our plan of attack, and without speaking\r\na word, with a gesture, placed us each in position. Van Helsing,\r\nHarker, and I were just behind the door, so that when it was opened\r\nthe Professor could guard it whilst we two stepped between the\r\nincomer and the door. Godalming behind and Quincey in front stood\r\njust out of sight ready to move in front of the window. We waited\r\nin a suspense that made the seconds pass with nightmare slowness.\r\nThe slow, careful steps came along the hall. The Count was\r\nevidently prepared for some surprise, at least he feared it.\r\n\r\nSuddenly with a single bound he leaped into the room. Winning a\r\nway past us before any of us could raise a hand to stay him. There\r\nwas something so pantherlike in the movement, something so unhuman,\r\nthat it seemed to sober us all from the shock of his coming. The\r\nfirst to act was Harker, who with a quick movement, threw himself\r\nbefore the door leading into the room in the front of the house. As\r\nthe Count saw us, a horrible sort of snarl passed over his face,\r\nshowing the eyeteeth long and pointed. But the evil smile as\r\nquickly passed into a cold stare of lion-like disdain. His\r\nexpression again changed as, with a single impulse, we all advanced\r\nupon him. It was a pity that we had not some better organized plan\r\nof attack, for even at the moment I wondered what we were to do. I\r\ndid not myself know whether our lethal weapons would avail us\r\nanything.\r\n\r\nHarker evidently meant to try the matter, for he had ready his\r\ngreat Kukri knife and made a fierce and sudden cut at him. The blow\r\nwas a powerful one. Only the diabolical quickness of the Count's\r\nleap back saved him. A second less and the trenchant blade had\r\nshorn through his coat, making a wide gap whence a bundle of bank\r\nnotes and a stream of gold fell out. The expression of the Count's\r\nface was so hellish, that for a moment I feared for Harker, though\r\nI saw him throw the terrible knife aloft again for another stroke.\r\nInstinctively I moved forward with a protective impulse, holding\r\nthe Crucifix and Wafer in my left hand. I felt a mighty power fly\r\nalong my arm, and it was without surprise that I saw the monster\r\ncower back before a similar movement made spontaneously by each one\r\nof us. It would be impossible to describe the expression of hate\r\nand baffled malignity, of anger and hellish rage, which came over\r\nthe Count's face. His waxen hue became greenish-yellow by the\r\ncontrast of his burning eyes, and the red scar on the forehead\r\nshowed on the pallid skin like a palpitating wound. The next\r\ninstant, with a sinuous dive he swept under Harker's arm, ere his\r\nblow could fall, and grasping a handful of the money from the\r\nfloor, dashed across the room, threw himself at the window. Amid\r\nthe crash and glitter of the falling glass, he tumbled into the\r\nflagged area below. Through the sound of the shivering glass I\r\ncould hear the \"ting\" of the gold, as some of the sovereigns fell\r\non the flagging.\r\n\r\nWe ran over and saw him spring unhurt from the ground. He,\r\nrushing up the steps, crossed the flagged yard, and pushed open the\r\nstable door. There he turned and spoke to us.\r\n\r\n\"You think to baffle me, you with your pale faces all in a row,\r\nlike sheep in a butcher's. You shall be sorry yet, each one of you!\r\nYou think you have left me without a place to rest, but I have\r\nmore. My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and\r\ntime is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already.\r\nAnd through them you and others shall yet be mine, my creatures, to\r\ndo my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed. Bah!\"\r\n\r\nWith a contemptuous sneer, he passed quickly through the door,\r\nand we heard the rusty bolt creak as he fastened it behind him. A\r\ndoor beyond opened and shut. The first of us to speak was the\r\nProfessor. Realizing the difficulty of following him through the\r\nstable, we moved toward the hall.\r\n\r\n\"We have learnt something\u00a0\u2026 much! Notwithstanding his brave\r\nwords, he fears us. He fears time, he fears want! For if not, why\r\nhe hurry so? His very tone betray him, or my ears deceive. Why take\r\nthat money? You follow quick. You are hunters of the wild beast,\r\nand understand it so. For me, I make sure that nothing here may be\r\nof use to him, if so that he returns.\"\r\n\r\nAs he spoke he put the money remaining in his pocket, took the\r\ntitle deeds in the bundle as Harker had left them, and swept the\r\nremaining things into the open fireplace, where he set fire to them\r\nwith a match.\r\n\r\nGodalming and Morris had rushed out into the yard, and Harker\r\nhad lowered himself from the window to follow the Count. He had,\r\nhowever, bolted the stable door, and by the time they had forced it\r\nopen there was no sign of him. Van Helsing and I tried to make\r\ninquiry at the back of the house. But the mews was deserted and no\r\none had seen him depart.\r\n\r\nIt was now late in the afternoon, and sunset was not far off. We\r\nhad to recognize that our game was up. With heavy hearts we agreed\r\nwith the Professor when he said, \"Let us go back to Madam Mina.\r\nPoor, poor dear Madam Mina. All we can do just now is done, and we\r\ncan there, at least, protect her. But we need not despair. There is\r\nbut one more earth box, and we must try to find it. When that is\r\ndone all may yet be well.\"\r\n\r\nI could see that he spoke as bravely as he could to comfort\r\nHarker. The poor fellow was quite broken down, now and again he\r\ngave a low groan which he could not suppress. He was thinking of\r\nhis wife.\r\n\r\nWith sad hearts we came back to my house, where we found Mrs.\r\nHarker waiting us, with an appearance of cheerfulness which did\r\nhonor to her bravery and unselfishness. When she saw our faces, her\r\nown became as pale as death. For a second or two her eyes were\r\nclosed as if she were in secret prayer.\r\n\r\nAnd then she said cheerfully, \"I can never thank you all enough.\r\nOh, my poor darling!\"\r\n\r\nAs she spoke, she took her husband's grey head in her hands and\r\nkissed it.\r\n\r\n\"Lay your poor head here and rest it. All will yet be well,\r\ndear! God will protect us if He so will it in His good intent.\" The\r\npoor fellow groaned. There was no place for words in his sublime\r\nmisery.\r\n\r\nWe had a sort of perfunctory supper together, and I think it\r\ncheered us all up somewhat. It was, perhaps, the mere animal heat\r\nof food to hungry people, for none of us had eaten anything since\r\nbreakfast, or the sense of companionship may have helped us, but\r\nanyhow we were all less miserable, and saw the morrow as not\r\naltogether without hope.\r\n\r\nTrue to our promise, we told Mrs. Harker everything which had\r\npassed. And although she grew snowy white at times when danger had\r\nseemed to threaten her husband, and red at others when his devotion\r\nto her was manifested she listened bravely and with calmness. When\r\nwe came to the part where Harker had rushed at the Count so\r\nrecklessly, she clung to her husband's arm, and held it tight as\r\nthough her clinging could protect him from any harm that might\r\ncome. She said nothing, however, till the narration was all\r\ndone,and matters had been brought up to the present time.\r\n\r\nThen without letting go her husband's hand she stood up amongst\r\nus and spoke. Oh, that I could give any idea of the scene. Of that\r\nsweet, sweet, good, good woman in all the radiant beauty of her\r\nyouth and animation, with the red scar on her forehead, of which\r\nshe was conscious, and which we saw with grinding of our teeth,\r\nremembering whence and how it came. Her loving kindness against our\r\ngrim hate. Her tender faith against all our fears and doubting. And\r\nwe, knowing that so far as symbols went, she with all her goodness\r\nand purity and faith, was outcast from God.\r\n\r\n\"Jonathan,\" she said, and the word sounded like music on her\r\nlips it was so full of love and tenderness, \"Jonathan dear, and you\r\nall my true, true friends, I want you to bear something in mind\r\nthrough all this dreadful time. I know that you must fight. That\r\nyou must destroy even as you destroyed the false Lucy so that the\r\ntrue Lucy might live hereafter. But it is not a work of hate. That\r\npoor soul who has wrought all this misery is the saddest case of\r\nall. Just think what will be his joy when he, too, is destroyed in\r\nhis worser part that his better part may have spiritual\r\nimmortality. You must be pitiful to him, too,though it may not hold\r\nyour hands from his destruction.\"\r\n\r\nAs she spoke I could see her husband's face darken and draw\r\ntogether, as though the passion in him were shriveling his being to\r\nits core. Instinctively the clasp on his wife's hand grew closer,\r\ntill his knuckles looked white. She did not flinch from the pain\r\nwhich I knew she must have suffered, but looked at him with eyes\r\nthat were more appealing than ever.\r\n\r\nAs she stopped speaking he leaped to his feet, almost tearing\r\nhis hand from hers as he spoke.\r\n\r\n\"May God give him into my hand just for long enough to destroy\r\nthat earthly life of him which we are aiming at. If beyond it I\r\ncould send his soul forever and ever to burning hell I would do\r\nit!\"\r\n\r\n\"Oh, hush! Oh, hush in the name of the good God. Don't say such\r\nthings, Jonathan, my husband, or you will crush me with fear and\r\nhorror. Just think, my dear\u00a0\u2026 I have been thinking all this\r\nlong, long day of it\u00a0\u2026 that\u00a0\u2026 perhaps\u00a0\u2026 some\r\nday\u00a0\u2026 I, too, may need such pity, and that some other like\r\nyou, and with equal cause for anger, may deny it to me! Oh, my\r\nhusband! My husband, indeed I would have spared you such a thought\r\nhad there been another way. But I pray that God may not have\r\ntreasured your wild words, except as the heart-broken wail of a\r\nvery loving and sorely stricken man. Oh, God, let these poor white\r\nhairs go in evidence of what he has suffered, who all his life has\r\ndone no wrong, and on whom so many sorrows have come.\"\r\n\r\nWe men were all in tears now. There was no resisting them, and\r\nwe wept openly. She wept, too, to see that her sweeter counsels had\r\nprevailed. Her husband flung himself on his knees beside her, and\r\nputting his arms round her, hid his face in the folds of her dress.\r\nVan Helsing beckoned to us and we stole out of the room, leaving\r\nthe two loving hearts alone with their God.\r\n\r\nBefore they retired the Professor fixed up the room against any\r\ncoming of the Vampire, and assured Mrs. Harker that she might rest\r\nin peace. She tried to school herself to the belief, and manifestly\r\nfor her husband's sake, tried to seem content. It was a brave\r\nstruggle, and was, I think and believe, not without its reward. Van\r\nHelsing had placed at hand a bell which either of them was to sound\r\nin case of any emergency. When they had retired, Quincey,\r\nGodalming, and I arranged that we should sit up, dividing the night\r\nbetween us, and watch over the safety of the poor stricken lady.\r\nThe first watch falls to Quincey, so the rest of us shall be off to\r\nbed as soon as we can.\r\n\r\nGodalming has already turned in, for his is the second watch.\r\nNow that my work is done I, too, shall go to bed.\r\n\r\nJONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL\r\n\r\n3-4 October, close to midnight.\u2014I thought yesterday would never\r\nend. There was over me a yearning for sleep, in some sort of blind\r\nbelief that to wake would be to find things changed, and that any\r\nchange must now be for the better. Before we parted, we discussed\r\nwhat our next step was to be, but we could arrive at no result. All\r\nwe knew was that one earth box remained, and that the Count alone\r\nknew where it was. If he chooses to lie hidden, he may baffle us\r\nfor years. And in the meantime, the thought is too horrible, I dare\r\nnot think of it even now. This I know, that if ever there was a\r\nwoman who was all perfection, that one is my poor wronged darling.\r\nI loved her a thousand times more for her sweet pity of last night,\r\na pity that made my own hate of the monster seem despicable. Surely\r\nGod will not permit the world to be the poorer by the loss of such\r\na creature. This is hope to me. We are all drifting reefwards now,\r\nand faith is our only anchor. Thank God! Mina is sleeping, and\r\nsleeping without dreams. I fear what her dreams might be like, with\r\nsuch terrible memories to ground them in. She has not been so calm,\r\nwithin my seeing, since the sunset. Then, for a while, there came\r\nover her face a repose which was like spring after the blasts of\r\nMarch. I thought at the time that it was the softness of the red\r\nsunset on her face, but somehow now I think it has a deeper\r\nmeaning. I am not sleepy myself, though I am weary\u00a0\u2026 weary to\r\ndeath. However, I must try to sleep. For there is tomorrow to think\r\nof, and there is no rest for me until\u00a0\u2026\r\n\r\nLater\u2014I must have fallen asleep, for I was awakened by Mina, who\r\nwas sitting up in bed, with a startled look on her face. I could\r\nsee easily, for we did not leave the room in darkness. She had\r\nplaced a warning hand over my mouth, and now she whispered in my\r\near, \"Hush! There is someone in the corridor!\" I got up softly, and\r\ncrossing the room, gently opened the door.\r\n\r\nJust outside, stretched on a mattress, lay Mr. Morris, wide\r\nawake. He raised a warning hand for silence as he whispered to me,\r\n\"Hush! Go back to bed. It is all right. One of us will be here all\r\nnight. We don't mean to take any chances!\"\r\n\r\nHis look and gesture forbade discussion, so I came back and told\r\nMina. She sighed and positively a shadow of a smile stole over her\r\npoor, pale face as she put her arms round me and said softly, \"Oh,\r\nthank God for good brave men!\" With a sigh she sank back again to\r\nsleep. I write this now as I am not sleepy, though I must try\r\nagain.\r\n\r\n4 October, morning.\u2014Once again during the night I was wakened by\r\nMina. This time we had all had a good sleep, for the grey of the\r\ncoming dawn was making the windows into sharp oblongs, and the gas\r\nflame was like a speck rather than a disc of light.\r\n\r\nShe said to me hurriedly, \"Go, call the Professor. I want to see\r\nhim at once.\"\r\n\r\n\"Why?\" I asked.\r\n\r\n\"I have an idea. I suppose it must have come in the night, and\r\nmatured without my knowing it. He must hypnotize me before the\r\ndawn, and then I shall be able to speak. Go quick, dearest, the\r\ntime is getting close.\"\r\n\r\nI went to the door. Dr. Seward was resting on the mattress, and\r\nseeing me, he sprang to his feet.\r\n\r\n\"Is anything wrong?\" he asked, in alarm.\r\n\r\n\"No,\" I replied. \"But Mina wants to see Dr. Van Helsing at\r\nonce.\"\r\n\r\n\"I will go,\" he said, and hurried into the Professor's room.\r\n\r\nTwo or three minutes later Van Helsing was in the room in his\r\ndressing gown, and Mr. Morris and Lord Godalming were with Dr.\r\nSeward at the door asking questions. When the Professor saw Mina a\r\nsmile, a positive smile ousted the anxiety of his face.\r\n\r\nHe rubbed his hands as he said, \"Oh, my dear Madam Mina, this is\r\nindeed a change. See! Friend Jonathan, we have got our dear Madam\r\nMina, as of old, back to us today!\" Then turning to her, he said\r\ncheerfully, \"And what am I to do for you? For at this hour you do\r\nnot want me for nothing.\"\r\n\r\n\"I want you to hypnotize me!\" she said. \"Do it before the dawn,\r\nfor I feel that then I can speak, and speak freely. Be quick, for\r\nthe time is short!\" Without a word he motioned her to sit up in\r\nbed.\r\n\r\nLooking fixedly at her, he commenced to make passes in front of\r\nher, from over the top of her head downward, with each hand in\r\nturn. Mina gazed at him fixedly for a few minutes, during which my\r\nown heart beat like a trip hammer, for I felt that some crisis was\r\nat hand. Gradually her eyes closed, and she sat, stock still. Only\r\nby the gentle heaving of her bosom could one know that she was\r\nalive. The Professor made a few more passes and then stopped, and I\r\ncould see that his forehead was covered with great beads of\r\nperspiration. Mina opened her eyes, but she did not seem the same\r\nwoman. There was a far-away look in her eyes, and her voice had a\r\nsad dreaminess which was new to me. Raising his hand to impose\r\nsilence, the Professor motioned to me to bring the others in. They\r\ncame on tiptoe, closing the door behind them, and stood at the foot\r\nof the bed, looking on. Mina appeared not to see them. The\r\nstillness was broken by Van Helsing's voice speaking in a low level\r\ntone which would not break the current of her thoughts.\r\n\r\n\"Where are you?\" The answer came in a neutral way.\r\n\r\n\"I do not know. Sleep has no place it can call its own.\" For\r\nseveral minutes there was silence. Mina sat rigid, and the\r\nProfessor stood staring at her fixedly.\r\n\r\nThe rest of us hardly dared to breathe. The room was growing\r\nlighter. Without taking his eyes from Mina's face, Dr. Van Helsing\r\nmotioned me to pull up the blind. I did so, and the day seemed just\r\nupon us. A red streak shot up, and a rosy light seemed to diffuse\r\nitself through the room. On the instant the Professor spoke\r\nagain.\r\n\r\n\"Where are you now?\"\r\n\r\nThe answer came dreamily, but with intention. It were as though\r\nshe were interpreting something. I have heard her use the same tone\r\nwhen reading her shorthand notes.\r\n\r\n\"I do not know. It is all strange to me!\"\r\n\r\n\"What do you see?\"\r\n\r\n\"I can see nothing. It is all dark.\"\r\n\r\n\"What do you hear?\" I could detect the strain in the Professor's\r\npatient voice.\r\n\r\n\"The lapping of water. It is gurgling by, and little waves leap.\r\nI can hear them on the outside.\"\r\n\r\n\"Then you are on a ship?'\"\r\n\r\nWe all looked at each other, trying to glean something each from\r\nthe other. We were afraid to think.\r\n\r\nThe answer came quick, \"Oh, yes!\"\r\n\r\n\"What else do you hear?\"\r\n\r\n\"The sound of men stamping overhead as they run about. There is\r\nthe creaking of a chain, and the loud tinkle as the check of the\r\ncapstan falls into the ratchet.\"\r\n\r\n\"What are you doing?\"\r\n\r\n\"I am still, oh so still. It is like death!\" The voice faded\r\naway into a deep breath as of one sleeping, and the open eyes\r\nclosed again.\r\n\r\nBy this time the sun had risen, and we were all in the full\r\nlight of day. Dr. Van Helsing placed his hands on Mina's shoulders,\r\nand laid her head down softly on her pillow. She lay like a\r\nsleeping child for a few moments, and then, with a long sigh, awoke\r\nand stared in wonder to see us all around her.\r\n\r\n\"Have I been talking in my sleep?\" was all she said. She seemed,\r\nhowever, to know the situation without telling,though she was eager\r\nto know what she had told. The Professor repeated the conversation,\r\nand she said, \"Then there is not a moment to lose. It may not be\r\nyet too late!\"\r\n\r\nMr. Morris and Lord Godalming started for the door but the\r\nProfessor's calm voice called them back.\r\n\r\n\"Stay, my friends. That ship, wherever it was, was weighing\r\nanchor at the moment in your so great Port of London. Which of them\r\nis it that you seek? God be thanked that we have once again a clue,\r\nthough whither it may lead us we know not. We have been blind\r\nsomewhat. Blind after the manner of men, since we can look back we\r\nsee what we might have seen looking forward if we had been able to\r\nsee what we might have seen! Alas, but that sentence is a puddle,\r\nis it not? We can know now what was in the Count's mind, when he\r\nseize that money, though Jonathan's so fierce knife put him in the\r\ndanger that even he dread. He meant escape. Hear me, ESCAPE! He saw\r\nthat with but one earth box left, and a pack of men following like\r\ndogs after a fox, this London was no place for him. He have take\r\nhis last earth box on board a ship, and he leave the land. He think\r\nto escape, but no! We follow him. Tally Ho! As friend Arthur would\r\nsay when he put on his red frock! Our old fox is wily. Oh! So wily,\r\nand we must follow with wile. I, too, am wily and I think his mind\r\nin a little while. In meantime we may rest and in peace, for there\r\nare between us which he do not want to pass, and which he could not\r\nif he would. Unless the ship were to touch the land, and then only\r\nat full or slack tide. See, and the sun is just rose, and all day\r\nto sunset is us. Let us take bath, and dress, and have breakfast\r\nwhich we all need, and which we can eat comfortably since he be not\r\nin the same land with us.\"\r\n\r\nMina looked at him appealingly as she asked, \"But why need we\r\nseek him further, when he is gone away from us?\"\r\n\r\nHe took her hand and patted it as he replied, \"Ask me nothing as\r\nyet. When we have breakfast, then I answer all questions.\" He would\r\nsay no more, and we separated to dress.\r\n\r\nAfter breakfast Mina repeated her question. He looked at her\r\ngravely for a minute and then said sorrowfully, \"Because my dear,\r\ndear Madam Mina, now more than ever must we find him even if we\r\nhave to follow him to the jaws of Hell!\"\r\n\r\nShe grew paler as she asked faintly, \"Why?\"\r\n\r\n\"Because,\" he answered solemnly, \"he can live for centuries, and\r\nyou are but mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded, since once he\r\nput that mark upon your throat.\"\r\n\r\nI was just in time to catch her as she fell forward in a\r\nfaint.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n","rendered":"
\n

3 October.\u2014The time seemed teribly long whilst we were waiting
\nfor the coming of Godalming and Quincey Morris. The Professor tried
\nto keep our minds active by using them all the time. I could see
\nhis beneficent purpose, by the side glances which he threw from
\ntime to time at Harker. The poor fellow is overwhelmed in a misery
\nthat is appalling to see. Last night he was a frank, happy-looking
\nman, with strong, youthful face, full of energy, and with dark
\nbrown hair. Today he is a drawn, haggard old man, whose white hair
\nmatches well with the hollow burning eyes and griefwritten lines of
\nhis face. His energy is still intact. In fact, he is like a living
\nflame. This may yet be his salvation, for if all go well, it will
\ntide him over the despairing period. He will then, in a kind of
\nway, wake again to the realities of life. Poor fellow, I thought my
\nown trouble was bad enough, but his\u00a0\u2026 !<\/p>\n

The Professor knows this well enough, and is doing his best to
\nkeep his mind active. What he has been saying was, under the
\ncircumstances, of absorbing interest. So well as I can remember,
\nhere it is:<\/p>\n

“I have studied, over and over again since they came into my
\nhands, all the papers relating to this monster, and the more I have
\nstudied, the greater seems the necessity to utterly stamp him out.
\nAll through there are signs of his advance. Not only of his power,
\nbut of his knowledge of it. As I learned from the researches of my
\nfriend Arminius of Buda-Pesth, he was in life a most wonderful man.
\nSoldier, statesman, and alchemist. Which latter was the highest
\ndevelopment of the science knowledge of his time. He had a mighty
\nbrain, a learning beyond compare, and a heart that knew no fear and
\nno remorse. He dared even to attend the Scholomance, and there was
\nno branch of knowledge of his time that he did not essay.<\/p>\n

“Well, in him the brain powers survived the physical death.
\nThough it would seem that memory was not all complete. In some
\nfaculties of mind he has been, and is, only a child. But he is
\ngrowing, and some things that were childish at the first are now of
\nman’s stature. He is experimenting, and doing it well. And if it
\nhad not been that we have crossed his path he would be yet, he may
\nbe yet if we fail, the father or furtherer of a new order of
\nbeings, whose road must lead through Death, not Life.”<\/p>\n

Harker groaned and said, “And this is all arrayed against my
\ndarling! But how is he experimenting? The knowledge may help us to
\ndefeat him!”<\/p>\n

“He has all along, since his coming, been trying his power,
\nslowly but surely. That big child-brain of his is working. Well for
\nus, it is as yet, a child-brain. For had he dared, at the first, to
\nattempt certain things he would long ago have been beyond our
\npower. However, he means to succeed, and a man who has centuries
\nbefore him can afford to wait and to go slow. Festina lente may
\nwell be his motto.”<\/p>\n

“I fail to understand,” said Harker wearily. “Oh, do be more
\nplain to me! Perhaps grief and trouble are dulling my brain.”<\/p>\n

The Professor laid his hand tenderly on his shoulder as he
\nspoke, “Ah, my child, I will be plain. Do you not see how, of late,
\nthis monster has been creeping into knowledge experimentally. How
\nhe has been making use of the zoophagous patient to effect his
\nentry into friend John’s home. For your Vampire, though in all
\nafterwards he can come when and how he will, must at the first make
\nentry only when asked thereto by an inmate. But these are not his
\nmost important experiments. Do we not see how at the first all
\nthese so great boxes were moved by others. He knew not then but
\nthat must be so. But all the time that so great child-brain of his
\nwas growing, and he began to consider whether he might not himself
\nmove the box. So he began to help. And then, when he found that
\nthis be all right, he try to move them all alone. And so he
\nprogress, and he scatter these graves of him. And none but he know
\nwhere they are hidden.<\/p>\n

“He may have intend to bury them deep in the ground. So that
\nonly he use them in the night, or at such time as he can change his
\nform, they do him equal well, and none may know these are his
\nhiding place! But, my child, do not despair, this knowledge came to
\nhim just too late! Already all of his lairs but one be sterilize as
\nfor him. And before the sunset this shall be so. Then he have no
\nplace where he can move and hide. I delayed this morning that so we
\nmight be sure. Is there not more at stake for us than for him? Then
\nwhy not be more careful than him? By my clock it is one hour and
\nalready, if all be well, friend Arthur and Quincey are on their way
\nto us. Today is our day, and we must go sure, if slow, and lose no
\nchance. See! There are five of us when those absent ones
\nreturn.”<\/p>\n

Whilst we were speaking we were startled by a knock at the hall
\ndoor, the double postman’s knock of the telegraph boy. We all moved
\nout to the hall with one impulse, and Van Helsing, holding up his
\nhand to us to keep silence, stepped to the door and opened it. The
\nboy handed in a dispatch. The Professor closed the door again, and
\nafter looking at the direction, opened it and read aloud.<\/p>\n

“Look out for D. He has just now, 12:45, come from Carfax
\nhurriedly and hastened towards the South. He seems to be going the
\nround and may want to see you: Mina.”<\/p>\n

There was a pause, broken by Jonathan Harker’s voice, “Now, God
\nbe thanked, we shall soon meet!”<\/p>\n

Van Helsing turned to him quickly and said, “God will act in His
\nown way and time. Do not fear, and do not rejoice as yet. For what
\nwe wish for at the moment may be our own undoings.”<\/p>\n

“I care for nothing now,” he answered hotly, “except to wipe out
\nthis brute from the face of creation. I would sell my soul to do
\nit!”<\/p>\n

“Oh, hush, hush, my child!” said Van Helsing. “God does not
\npurchase souls in this wise, and the Devil, though he may purchase,
\ndoes not keep faith. But God is merciful and just, and knows your
\npain and your devotion to that dear Madam Mina. Think you, how her
\npain would be doubled, did she but hear your wild words. Do not
\nfear any of us, we are all devoted to this cause, and today shall
\nsee the end. The time is coming for action. Today this Vampire is
\nlimit to the powers of man, and till sunset he may not change. It
\nwill take him time to arrive here, see it is twenty minutes past
\none, and there are yet some times before he can hither come, be he
\nnever so quick. What we must hope for is that my Lord Arthur and
\nQuincey arrive first.”<\/p>\n

About half an hour after we had received Mrs. Harker’s telegram,
\nthere came a quiet, resolute knock at the hall door. It was just an
\nordinary knock, such as is given hourly by thousands of gentlemen,
\nbut it made the Professor’s heart and mine beat loudly. We looked
\nat each other, and together moved out into the hall. We each held
\nready to use our various armaments, the spiritual in the left hand,
\nthe mortal in the right. Van Helsing pulled back the latch, and
\nholding the door half open, stood back, having both hands ready for
\naction. The gladness of our hearts must have shown upon our faces
\nwhen on the step, close to the door, we saw Lord Godalming and
\nQuincey Morris. They came quickly in and closed the door behind
\nthem, the former saying, as they moved along the hall.<\/p>\n

“It is all right. We found both places. Six boxes in each and we
\ndestroyed them all.”<\/p>\n

“Destroyed?” asked the Professor.<\/p>\n

“For him!” We were silent for a minute, and then Quincey said,
\n“There’s nothing to do but to wait here. If, however, he doesn’t
\nturn up by five o’clock, we must start off. For it won’t do to
\nleave Mrs. Harker alone after sunset.”<\/p>\n

“He will be here before long now,’ said Van Helsing, who had
\nbeen consulting his pocketbook. “Nota bene, in Madam’s telegram he
\nwent south from Carfax. That means he went to cross the river, and
\nhe could only do so at slack of tide, which should be something
\nbefore one o’clock. That he went south has a meaning for us. He is
\nas yet only suspicious, and he went from Carfax first to the place
\nwhere he would suspect interference least. You must have been at
\nBermondsey only a short time before him. That he is not here
\nalready shows that he went to Mile End next. This took him some
\ntime, for he would then have to be carried over the river in some
\nway. Believe me, my friends, we shall not have long to wait now. We
\nshould have ready some plan of attack, so that we may throw away no
\nchance. Hush, there is no time now. Have all your arms! Be ready!”
\nHe held up a warning hand as he spoke, for we all could hear a key
\nsoftly inserted in the lock of the hall door.<\/p>\n

I could not but admire, even at such a moment, the way in which
\na dominant spirit asserted itself. In all our hunting parties and
\nadventures in different parts of the world, Quincey Morris had
\nalways been the one to arrange the plan of action, and Arthur and I
\nhad been accustomed to obey him implicitly. Now, the old habit
\nseemed to be renewed instinctively. With a swift glance around the
\nroom, he at once laid out our plan of attack, and without speaking
\na word, with a gesture, placed us each in position. Van Helsing,
\nHarker, and I were just behind the door, so that when it was opened
\nthe Professor could guard it whilst we two stepped between the
\nincomer and the door. Godalming behind and Quincey in front stood
\njust out of sight ready to move in front of the window. We waited
\nin a suspense that made the seconds pass with nightmare slowness.
\nThe slow, careful steps came along the hall. The Count was
\nevidently prepared for some surprise, at least he feared it.<\/p>\n

Suddenly with a single bound he leaped into the room. Winning a
\nway past us before any of us could raise a hand to stay him. There
\nwas something so pantherlike in the movement, something so unhuman,
\nthat it seemed to sober us all from the shock of his coming. The
\nfirst to act was Harker, who with a quick movement, threw himself
\nbefore the door leading into the room in the front of the house. As
\nthe Count saw us, a horrible sort of snarl passed over his face,
\nshowing the eyeteeth long and pointed. But the evil smile as
\nquickly passed into a cold stare of lion-like disdain. His
\nexpression again changed as, with a single impulse, we all advanced
\nupon him. It was a pity that we had not some better organized plan
\nof attack, for even at the moment I wondered what we were to do. I
\ndid not myself know whether our lethal weapons would avail us
\nanything.<\/p>\n

Harker evidently meant to try the matter, for he had ready his
\ngreat Kukri knife and made a fierce and sudden cut at him. The blow
\nwas a powerful one. Only the diabolical quickness of the Count’s
\nleap back saved him. A second less and the trenchant blade had
\nshorn through his coat, making a wide gap whence a bundle of bank
\nnotes and a stream of gold fell out. The expression of the Count’s
\nface was so hellish, that for a moment I feared for Harker, though
\nI saw him throw the terrible knife aloft again for another stroke.
\nInstinctively I moved forward with a protective impulse, holding
\nthe Crucifix and Wafer in my left hand. I felt a mighty power fly
\nalong my arm, and it was without surprise that I saw the monster
\ncower back before a similar movement made spontaneously by each one
\nof us. It would be impossible to describe the expression of hate
\nand baffled malignity, of anger and hellish rage, which came over
\nthe Count’s face. His waxen hue became greenish-yellow by the
\ncontrast of his burning eyes, and the red scar on the forehead
\nshowed on the pallid skin like a palpitating wound. The next
\ninstant, with a sinuous dive he swept under Harker’s arm, ere his
\nblow could fall, and grasping a handful of the money from the
\nfloor, dashed across the room, threw himself at the window. Amid
\nthe crash and glitter of the falling glass, he tumbled into the
\nflagged area below. Through the sound of the shivering glass I
\ncould hear the “ting” of the gold, as some of the sovereigns fell
\non the flagging.<\/p>\n

We ran over and saw him spring unhurt from the ground. He,
\nrushing up the steps, crossed the flagged yard, and pushed open the
\nstable door. There he turned and spoke to us.<\/p>\n

“You think to baffle me, you with your pale faces all in a row,
\nlike sheep in a butcher’s. You shall be sorry yet, each one of you!
\nYou think you have left me without a place to rest, but I have
\nmore. My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and
\ntime is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already.
\nAnd through them you and others shall yet be mine, my creatures, to
\ndo my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed. Bah!”<\/p>\n

With a contemptuous sneer, he passed quickly through the door,
\nand we heard the rusty bolt creak as he fastened it behind him. A
\ndoor beyond opened and shut. The first of us to speak was the
\nProfessor. Realizing the difficulty of following him through the
\nstable, we moved toward the hall.<\/p>\n

“We have learnt something\u00a0\u2026 much! Notwithstanding his brave
\nwords, he fears us. He fears time, he fears want! For if not, why
\nhe hurry so? His very tone betray him, or my ears deceive. Why take
\nthat money? You follow quick. You are hunters of the wild beast,
\nand understand it so. For me, I make sure that nothing here may be
\nof use to him, if so that he returns.”<\/p>\n

As he spoke he put the money remaining in his pocket, took the
\ntitle deeds in the bundle as Harker had left them, and swept the
\nremaining things into the open fireplace, where he set fire to them
\nwith a match.<\/p>\n

Godalming and Morris had rushed out into the yard, and Harker
\nhad lowered himself from the window to follow the Count. He had,
\nhowever, bolted the stable door, and by the time they had forced it
\nopen there was no sign of him. Van Helsing and I tried to make
\ninquiry at the back of the house. But the mews was deserted and no
\none had seen him depart.<\/p>\n

It was now late in the afternoon, and sunset was not far off. We
\nhad to recognize that our game was up. With heavy hearts we agreed
\nwith the Professor when he said, “Let us go back to Madam Mina.
\nPoor, poor dear Madam Mina. All we can do just now is done, and we
\ncan there, at least, protect her. But we need not despair. There is
\nbut one more earth box, and we must try to find it. When that is
\ndone all may yet be well.”<\/p>\n

I could see that he spoke as bravely as he could to comfort
\nHarker. The poor fellow was quite broken down, now and again he
\ngave a low groan which he could not suppress. He was thinking of
\nhis wife.<\/p>\n

With sad hearts we came back to my house, where we found Mrs.
\nHarker waiting us, with an appearance of cheerfulness which did
\nhonor to her bravery and unselfishness. When she saw our faces, her
\nown became as pale as death. For a second or two her eyes were
\nclosed as if she were in secret prayer.<\/p>\n

And then she said cheerfully, “I can never thank you all enough.
\nOh, my poor darling!”<\/p>\n

As she spoke, she took her husband’s grey head in her hands and
\nkissed it.<\/p>\n

“Lay your poor head here and rest it. All will yet be well,
\ndear! God will protect us if He so will it in His good intent.” The
\npoor fellow groaned. There was no place for words in his sublime
\nmisery.<\/p>\n

We had a sort of perfunctory supper together, and I think it
\ncheered us all up somewhat. It was, perhaps, the mere animal heat
\nof food to hungry people, for none of us had eaten anything since
\nbreakfast, or the sense of companionship may have helped us, but
\nanyhow we were all less miserable, and saw the morrow as not
\naltogether without hope.<\/p>\n

True to our promise, we told Mrs. Harker everything which had
\npassed. And although she grew snowy white at times when danger had
\nseemed to threaten her husband, and red at others when his devotion
\nto her was manifested she listened bravely and with calmness. When
\nwe came to the part where Harker had rushed at the Count so
\nrecklessly, she clung to her husband’s arm, and held it tight as
\nthough her clinging could protect him from any harm that might
\ncome. She said nothing, however, till the narration was all
\ndone,and matters had been brought up to the present time.<\/p>\n

Then without letting go her husband’s hand she stood up amongst
\nus and spoke. Oh, that I could give any idea of the scene. Of that
\nsweet, sweet, good, good woman in all the radiant beauty of her
\nyouth and animation, with the red scar on her forehead, of which
\nshe was conscious, and which we saw with grinding of our teeth,
\nremembering whence and how it came. Her loving kindness against our
\ngrim hate. Her tender faith against all our fears and doubting. And
\nwe, knowing that so far as symbols went, she with all her goodness
\nand purity and faith, was outcast from God.<\/p>\n

“Jonathan,” she said, and the word sounded like music on her
\nlips it was so full of love and tenderness, “Jonathan dear, and you
\nall my true, true friends, I want you to bear something in mind
\nthrough all this dreadful time. I know that you must fight. That
\nyou must destroy even as you destroyed the false Lucy so that the
\ntrue Lucy might live hereafter. But it is not a work of hate. That
\npoor soul who has wrought all this misery is the saddest case of
\nall. Just think what will be his joy when he, too, is destroyed in
\nhis worser part that his better part may have spiritual
\nimmortality. You must be pitiful to him, too,though it may not hold
\nyour hands from his destruction.”<\/p>\n

As she spoke I could see her husband’s face darken and draw
\ntogether, as though the passion in him were shriveling his being to
\nits core. Instinctively the clasp on his wife’s hand grew closer,
\ntill his knuckles looked white. She did not flinch from the pain
\nwhich I knew she must have suffered, but looked at him with eyes
\nthat were more appealing than ever.<\/p>\n

As she stopped speaking he leaped to his feet, almost tearing
\nhis hand from hers as he spoke.<\/p>\n

“May God give him into my hand just for long enough to destroy
\nthat earthly life of him which we are aiming at. If beyond it I
\ncould send his soul forever and ever to burning hell I would do
\nit!”<\/p>\n

“Oh, hush! Oh, hush in the name of the good God. Don’t say such
\nthings, Jonathan, my husband, or you will crush me with fear and
\nhorror. Just think, my dear\u00a0\u2026 I have been thinking all this
\nlong, long day of it\u00a0\u2026 that\u00a0\u2026 perhaps\u00a0\u2026 some
\nday\u00a0\u2026 I, too, may need such pity, and that some other like
\nyou, and with equal cause for anger, may deny it to me! Oh, my
\nhusband! My husband, indeed I would have spared you such a thought
\nhad there been another way. But I pray that God may not have
\ntreasured your wild words, except as the heart-broken wail of a
\nvery loving and sorely stricken man. Oh, God, let these poor white
\nhairs go in evidence of what he has suffered, who all his life has
\ndone no wrong, and on whom so many sorrows have come.”<\/p>\n

We men were all in tears now. There was no resisting them, and
\nwe wept openly. She wept, too, to see that her sweeter counsels had
\nprevailed. Her husband flung himself on his knees beside her, and
\nputting his arms round her, hid his face in the folds of her dress.
\nVan Helsing beckoned to us and we stole out of the room, leaving
\nthe two loving hearts alone with their God.<\/p>\n

Before they retired the Professor fixed up the room against any
\ncoming of the Vampire, and assured Mrs. Harker that she might rest
\nin peace. She tried to school herself to the belief, and manifestly
\nfor her husband’s sake, tried to seem content. It was a brave
\nstruggle, and was, I think and believe, not without its reward. Van
\nHelsing had placed at hand a bell which either of them was to sound
\nin case of any emergency. When they had retired, Quincey,
\nGodalming, and I arranged that we should sit up, dividing the night
\nbetween us, and watch over the safety of the poor stricken lady.
\nThe first watch falls to Quincey, so the rest of us shall be off to
\nbed as soon as we can.<\/p>\n

Godalming has already turned in, for his is the second watch.
\nNow that my work is done I, too, shall go to bed.<\/p>\n

JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL<\/p>\n

3-4 October, close to midnight.\u2014I thought yesterday would never
\nend. There was over me a yearning for sleep, in some sort of blind
\nbelief that to wake would be to find things changed, and that any
\nchange must now be for the better. Before we parted, we discussed
\nwhat our next step was to be, but we could arrive at no result. All
\nwe knew was that one earth box remained, and that the Count alone
\nknew where it was. If he chooses to lie hidden, he may baffle us
\nfor years. And in the meantime, the thought is too horrible, I dare
\nnot think of it even now. This I know, that if ever there was a
\nwoman who was all perfection, that one is my poor wronged darling.
\nI loved her a thousand times more for her sweet pity of last night,
\na pity that made my own hate of the monster seem despicable. Surely
\nGod will not permit the world to be the poorer by the loss of such
\na creature. This is hope to me. We are all drifting reefwards now,
\nand faith is our only anchor. Thank God! Mina is sleeping, and
\nsleeping without dreams. I fear what her dreams might be like, with
\nsuch terrible memories to ground them in. She has not been so calm,
\nwithin my seeing, since the sunset. Then, for a while, there came
\nover her face a repose which was like spring after the blasts of
\nMarch. I thought at the time that it was the softness of the red
\nsunset on her face, but somehow now I think it has a deeper
\nmeaning. I am not sleepy myself, though I am weary\u00a0\u2026 weary to
\ndeath. However, I must try to sleep. For there is tomorrow to think
\nof, and there is no rest for me until\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n

Later\u2014I must have fallen asleep, for I was awakened by Mina, who
\nwas sitting up in bed, with a startled look on her face. I could
\nsee easily, for we did not leave the room in darkness. She had
\nplaced a warning hand over my mouth, and now she whispered in my
\near, “Hush! There is someone in the corridor!” I got up softly, and
\ncrossing the room, gently opened the door.<\/p>\n

Just outside, stretched on a mattress, lay Mr. Morris, wide
\nawake. He raised a warning hand for silence as he whispered to me,
\n“Hush! Go back to bed. It is all right. One of us will be here all
\nnight. We don’t mean to take any chances!”<\/p>\n

His look and gesture forbade discussion, so I came back and told
\nMina. She sighed and positively a shadow of a smile stole over her
\npoor, pale face as she put her arms round me and said softly, “Oh,
\nthank God for good brave men!” With a sigh she sank back again to
\nsleep. I write this now as I am not sleepy, though I must try
\nagain.<\/p>\n

4 October, morning.\u2014Once again during the night I was wakened by
\nMina. This time we had all had a good sleep, for the grey of the
\ncoming dawn was making the windows into sharp oblongs, and the gas
\nflame was like a speck rather than a disc of light.<\/p>\n

She said to me hurriedly, “Go, call the Professor. I want to see
\nhim at once.”<\/p>\n

“Why?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“I have an idea. I suppose it must have come in the night, and
\nmatured without my knowing it. He must hypnotize me before the
\ndawn, and then I shall be able to speak. Go quick, dearest, the
\ntime is getting close.”<\/p>\n

I went to the door. Dr. Seward was resting on the mattress, and
\nseeing me, he sprang to his feet.<\/p>\n

“Is anything wrong?” he asked, in alarm.<\/p>\n

“No,” I replied. “But Mina wants to see Dr. Van Helsing at
\nonce.”<\/p>\n

“I will go,” he said, and hurried into the Professor’s room.<\/p>\n

Two or three minutes later Van Helsing was in the room in his
\ndressing gown, and Mr. Morris and Lord Godalming were with Dr.
\nSeward at the door asking questions. When the Professor saw Mina a
\nsmile, a positive smile ousted the anxiety of his face.<\/p>\n

He rubbed his hands as he said, “Oh, my dear Madam Mina, this is
\nindeed a change. See! Friend Jonathan, we have got our dear Madam
\nMina, as of old, back to us today!” Then turning to her, he said
\ncheerfully, “And what am I to do for you? For at this hour you do
\nnot want me for nothing.”<\/p>\n

“I want you to hypnotize me!” she said. “Do it before the dawn,
\nfor I feel that then I can speak, and speak freely. Be quick, for
\nthe time is short!” Without a word he motioned her to sit up in
\nbed.<\/p>\n

Looking fixedly at her, he commenced to make passes in front of
\nher, from over the top of her head downward, with each hand in
\nturn. Mina gazed at him fixedly for a few minutes, during which my
\nown heart beat like a trip hammer, for I felt that some crisis was
\nat hand. Gradually her eyes closed, and she sat, stock still. Only
\nby the gentle heaving of her bosom could one know that she was
\nalive. The Professor made a few more passes and then stopped, and I
\ncould see that his forehead was covered with great beads of
\nperspiration. Mina opened her eyes, but she did not seem the same
\nwoman. There was a far-away look in her eyes, and her voice had a
\nsad dreaminess which was new to me. Raising his hand to impose
\nsilence, the Professor motioned to me to bring the others in. They
\ncame on tiptoe, closing the door behind them, and stood at the foot
\nof the bed, looking on. Mina appeared not to see them. The
\nstillness was broken by Van Helsing’s voice speaking in a low level
\ntone which would not break the current of her thoughts.<\/p>\n

“Where are you?” The answer came in a neutral way.<\/p>\n

“I do not know. Sleep has no place it can call its own.” For
\nseveral minutes there was silence. Mina sat rigid, and the
\nProfessor stood staring at her fixedly.<\/p>\n

The rest of us hardly dared to breathe. The room was growing
\nlighter. Without taking his eyes from Mina’s face, Dr. Van Helsing
\nmotioned me to pull up the blind. I did so, and the day seemed just
\nupon us. A red streak shot up, and a rosy light seemed to diffuse
\nitself through the room. On the instant the Professor spoke
\nagain.<\/p>\n

“Where are you now?”<\/p>\n

The answer came dreamily, but with intention. It were as though
\nshe were interpreting something. I have heard her use the same tone
\nwhen reading her shorthand notes.<\/p>\n

“I do not know. It is all strange to me!”<\/p>\n

“What do you see?”<\/p>\n

“I can see nothing. It is all dark.”<\/p>\n

“What do you hear?” I could detect the strain in the Professor’s
\npatient voice.<\/p>\n

“The lapping of water. It is gurgling by, and little waves leap.
\nI can hear them on the outside.”<\/p>\n

“Then you are on a ship?'”<\/p>\n

We all looked at each other, trying to glean something each from
\nthe other. We were afraid to think.<\/p>\n

The answer came quick, “Oh, yes!”<\/p>\n

“What else do you hear?”<\/p>\n

“The sound of men stamping overhead as they run about. There is
\nthe creaking of a chain, and the loud tinkle as the check of the
\ncapstan falls into the ratchet.”<\/p>\n

“What are you doing?”<\/p>\n

“I am still, oh so still. It is like death!” The voice faded
\naway into a deep breath as of one sleeping, and the open eyes
\nclosed again.<\/p>\n

By this time the sun had risen, and we were all in the full
\nlight of day. Dr. Van Helsing placed his hands on Mina’s shoulders,
\nand laid her head down softly on her pillow. She lay like a
\nsleeping child for a few moments, and then, with a long sigh, awoke
\nand stared in wonder to see us all around her.<\/p>\n

“Have I been talking in my sleep?” was all she said. She seemed,
\nhowever, to know the situation without telling,though she was eager
\nto know what she had told. The Professor repeated the conversation,
\nand she said, “Then there is not a moment to lose. It may not be
\nyet too late!”<\/p>\n

Mr. Morris and Lord Godalming started for the door but the
\nProfessor’s calm voice called them back.<\/p>\n

“Stay, my friends. That ship, wherever it was, was weighing
\nanchor at the moment in your so great Port of London. Which of them
\nis it that you seek? God be thanked that we have once again a clue,
\nthough whither it may lead us we know not. We have been blind
\nsomewhat. Blind after the manner of men, since we can look back we
\nsee what we might have seen looking forward if we had been able to
\nsee what we might have seen! Alas, but that sentence is a puddle,
\nis it not? We can know now what was in the Count’s mind, when he
\nseize that money, though Jonathan’s so fierce knife put him in the
\ndanger that even he dread. He meant escape. Hear me, ESCAPE! He saw
\nthat with but one earth box left, and a pack of men following like
\ndogs after a fox, this London was no place for him. He have take
\nhis last earth box on board a ship, and he leave the land. He think
\nto escape, but no! We follow him. Tally Ho! As friend Arthur would
\nsay when he put on his red frock! Our old fox is wily. Oh! So wily,
\nand we must follow with wile. I, too, am wily and I think his mind
\nin a little while. In meantime we may rest and in peace, for there
\nare between us which he do not want to pass, and which he could not
\nif he would. Unless the ship were to touch the land, and then only
\nat full or slack tide. See, and the sun is just rose, and all day
\nto sunset is us. Let us take bath, and dress, and have breakfast
\nwhich we all need, and which we can eat comfortably since he be not
\nin the same land with us.”<\/p>\n

Mina looked at him appealingly as she asked, “But why need we
\nseek him further, when he is gone away from us?”<\/p>\n

He took her hand and patted it as he replied, “Ask me nothing as
\nyet. When we have breakfast, then I answer all questions.” He would
\nsay no more, and we separated to dress.<\/p>\n

After breakfast Mina repeated her question. He looked at her
\ngravely for a minute and then said sorrowfully, “Because my dear,
\ndear Madam Mina, now more than ever must we find him even if we
\nhave to follow him to the jaws of Hell!”<\/p>\n

She grew paler as she asked faintly, “Why?”<\/p>\n

“Because,” he answered solemnly, “he can live for centuries, and
\nyou are but mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded, since once he
\nput that mark upon your throat.”<\/p>\n

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