April 27, 2011

Dracula by Bram Stoker(14)


destruction. And his presence in his purely material shape,
and at his weakest, might give us some new clue.
As to the disposal of forces, it was suggested by the
Professor that, after our visit to Carfax, we should all enter
the house in Piccadilly. That the two doctors and I should
remain there, whilst Lord Godalming and Quincey found
the lairs at Walworth and Mile End and destroyed them. It
was possible, if not likely, the Professor urged, that the
Count might appear in Piccadilly during the day, and that
if so we might be able to cope with him then and there.
At any rate, we might be able to follow him in force. To
this plan I strenuously objected, and so far as my going was
concerned, for I said that I intended to stay and protect
Mina. I thought that my mind was made up on the
subject, but Mina would not listen to my objection. She
said that there might be some law matter in which I could
be useful. That amongst the Count’s papers might be some
clue which I could understand out of my experience in
Transylvania. And that, as it was, all the strength we could
muster was required to cope with the Count’s
extraordinary power. I had to give in, for Mina’s
resolution was fixed. She said that it was the last hope for
her that we should all work together.
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‘As for me,’ she said, ‘I have no fear. Things have been
as bad as they can be. And whatever may happen must
have in it some element of hope or comfort. Go, my
husband! God can, if He wishes it, guard me as well alone
as with any one present.’
So I started up crying out, ‘Then in God’s name let us
come at once, for we are losing time. The Count may
come to Piccadilly earlier than we think.’
‘Not so!’ said Van Helsing, holding up his hand.
‘But why?’ I asked.
‘Do you forget,’ he said, with actually a smile, ‘that last
night he banqueted heavily, and will sleep late?’
Did I forget! Shall I ever … can I ever! Can any of us
ever forget that terrible scene! Mina struggled hard to keep
her brave countenance, but the pain overmastered her and
she put her hands before her face, and shuddered whilst
she moaned. Van Helsing had not intended to recall her
frightful experience. He had simply lost sight of her and
her part in the affair in his intellectual effort.
When it struck him what he said, he was horrified at
his thoughtlessness and tried to comfort her.

‘Oh, Madam Mina,’ he said, ‘dear, dear, Madam Mina,
alas! That I of all who so reverence you should have said
anything so forgetful. These stupid old lips of mine and
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this stupid old head do not deserve so, but you will forget
it, will you not?’ He bent low beside her as he spoke.
She took his hand, and looking at him through her
tears, said hoarsely, ‘No, I shall not forget, for it is well
that I remember. And with it I have so much in memory
of you that is sweet, that I take it all together. Now, you
must all be going soon. Breakfast is ready, and we must all
eat that we may be strong.’
Breakfast was a strange meal to us all. We tried to be
cheerful and encourage each other, and Mina was the
brightest and most cheerful of us. When it was over, Van
Helsing stood up and said, ‘Now, my dear friends, we go
forth to our terrible enterprise. Are we all armed, as we
were on that night when first we visited our enemy’s lair.
Armed against ghostly as well as carnal attack?’
We all assured him.
‘Then it is well. Now, Madam Mina, you are in any
case quite safe here until the sunset. And before then we
shall return … if … We shall return! But before we go let
me see you armed against personal attack. I have myself,
since you came down, prepared your chamber by the
placing of things of which we know, so that He may not
enter. Now let me guard yourself. On your forehead I
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touch this piece of Sacred Wafer in the name of the
Father, the Son, and …’
There was a fearful scream which almost froze our
hearts to hear. As he had placed the Wafer on Mina’s
forehead, it had seared it … had burned into the flesh as
though it had been a piece of white-hot metal. My poor
darling’s brain had told her the significance of the fact as
quickly as her nerves received the pain of it, and the two
so overwhelmed her that her overwrought nature had its
voice in that dreadful scream.
But the words to her thought came quickly. The echo
of the scream had not ceased to ring on the air when there
came the reaction, and she sank on her knees on the floor
in an agony of abasement. Pulling her beautiful hair over
her face, as the leper of old his mantle, she wailed out.
‘Unclean! Unclean! Even the Almighty shuns my
polluted flesh! I must bear this mark of shame upon my
forehead until the Judgement Day.’
They all paused. I had thrown myself beside her in an
agony of helpless grief, and putting my arms around held
her tight. For a few minutes our sorrowful hearts beat
together, whilst the friends around us turned away their
eyes that ran tears silently. Then Van Helsing turned and
said gravely. So gravely that I could not help feeling that
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he was in some way inspired, and was stating things
outside himself.
‘It may be that you may have to bear that mark till God
himself see fit, as He most surely shall, on the Judgement
Day, to redress all wrongs of the earth and of His children
that He has placed thereon. And oh, Madam Mina, my
dear, my dear, may we who love you be there to see,
when that red scar, the sign of God’s knowledge of what
has been, shall pass away, and leave your forehead as pure
as the heart we know. For so surely as we live, that scar
shall pass away when God sees right to lift the burden that
is hard upon us. Till then we bear our Cross, as His Son
did in obedience to His Will. It may be that we are chosen
instruments of His good pleasure, and that we ascend to
His bidding as that other through stripes and shame.
Through tears and blood. Through doubts and fear, and all
that makes the difference between God and man.’
There was hope in his words, and comfort. And they
made for resignation. Mina and I both felt so, and
simultaneously we each took one of the old man’s hands
and bent over and kissed it. Then without a word we all
knelt down together, and all holding hands, swore to be
true to each other. We men pledged ourselves to raise the
veil of sorrow from the head of her whom, each in his
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own way, we loved. And we prayed for help and guidance
in the terrible task which lay before us. It was then time to
start. So I said farewell to Mina, a parting which neither of
us shall forget to our dying day, and we set out.
To one thing I have made up my mind. If we find out
that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not
go into that unknown and terrible land alone. I suppose it
is thus that in old times one vampire meant many. Just as
their hideous bodies could only rest in sacred earth, so the
holiest love was the recruiting sergeant for their ghastly
ranks.
We entered Carfax without trouble and found all
things the same as on the first occasion. It was hard to
believe that amongst so prosaic surroundings of neglect
and dust and decay there was any ground for such fear as
already we knew. Had not our minds been made up, and
had there not been terrible memories to spur us on, we
could hardly have proceeded with our task. We found no
papers, or any sign of use in the house. And in the old
chapel the great boxes looked just as we had seen them
last.
Dr. Van Helsing said to us solemnly as we stood before
him, ‘And now, my friends, we have a duty here to do.
We must sterilize this earth, so sacred of holy memories,
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that he has brought from a far distant land for such fell use.
He has chosen this earth because it has been holy. Thus
we defeat him with his own weapon, for we make it more
holy still. It was sanctified to such use of man, now we
sanctify it to God.’
As he spoke he took from his bag a screwdriver and a
wrench, and very soon the top of one of the cases was
thrown open. The earth smelled musty and close, but we
did not somehow seem to mind, for our attention was
concentrated on the Professor. Taking from his box a
piece of the Sacred Wafer he laid it reverently on the
earth, and then shutting down the lid began to screw it
home, we aiding him as he worked.
One by one we treated in the same way each of the
great boxes, and left them as we had found them to all
appearance. But in each was a portion of the Host. When
we closed the door behind us, the Professor said solemnly,
‘So much is already done. It may be that with all the
others we can be so successful, then the sunset of this
evening may shine of Madam Mina’s forehead all white as
ivory and with no stain!’
As we passed across the lawn on our way to the station
to catch our train we could see the front of the asylum. I
looked eagerly, and in the window of my own room saw
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Mina. I waved my hand to her, and nodded to tell that
our work there was successfully accomplished. She nodded
in reply to show that she understood. The last I saw, she
was waving her hand in farewell. It was with a heavy heart
that we sought the station and just caught the train, which
was steaming in as we reached the platform. I have written
this in the train.
Piccadilly, 12:30 o’clock.—Just before we reached
Fenchurch Street Lord Godalming said to me, ‘Quincey
and I will find a locksmith. You had better not come with
us in case there should be any difficulty. For under the
circumstances it wouldn’t seem so bad for us to break into
an empty house. But you are a solicitor and the
Incorporated Law Society might tell you that you should
have known better.’
I demurred as to my not sharing any danger even of
odium, but he went on, ‘Besides, it will attract less
attention if there are not too many of us. My title will
make it all right with the locksmith, and with any
policeman that may come along. You had better go with
Jack and the Professor and stay in the Green Park.
Somewhere in sight of the house, and when you see the
door opened and the smith has gone away, do you all
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come across. We shall be on the lookout for you, and shall
let you in.’
‘The advice is good!’ said Van Helsing, so we said no
more. Godalming and Morris hurried off in a cab, we
following in another. At the corner of Arlington Street
our contingent got out and strolled into the Green Park.
My heart beat as I saw the house on which so much of our
hope was centred, looming up grim and silent in its
deserted condition amongst its more lively and sprucelooking
neighbours. We sat down on a bench within good
view, and began to smoke cigars so as to attract as little
attention as possible. The minutes seemed to pass with
leaden feet as we waited for the coming of the others.
At length we saw a four-wheeler drive up. Out of it, in
leisurely fashion, got Lord Godalming and Morris. And
down from the box descended a thick-set working man
with his rush-woven basket of tools. Morris paid the
cabman, who touched his hat and drove away. Together
the two ascended the steps, and Lord Godalming pointed
out what he wanted done. The workman took off his coat
leisurely and hung it on one of the spikes of the rail, saying
something to a policeman who just then sauntered along.
The policeman nodded acquiescence, and the man
kneeling down placed his bag beside him. After searching
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through it, he took out a selection of tools which he
proceeded to lay beside him in orderly fashion. Then he
stood up, looked in the keyhole, blew into it, and turning
to his employers, made some remark. Lord Godalming
smiled, and the man lifted a good sized bunch of keys.
Selecting one of them, he began to probe the lock, as if
feeling his way with it. After fumbling about for a bit he
tried a second, and then a third. All at once the door
opened under a slight push from him, and he and the two
others entered the hall. We sat still. My own cigar burnt
furiously, but Van Helsing’s went cold altogether. We
waited patiently as we saw the workman come out and
bring his bag. Then he held the door partly open,
steadying it with his knees, whilst he fitted a key to the
lock. This he finally handed to Lord Godalming, who
took out his purse and gave him something. The man
touched his hat, took his bag, put on his coat and
departed. Not a soul took the slightest notice of the whole
transaction.
When the man had fairly gone, we three crossed the
street and knocked at the door. It was immediately opened
by Quincey Morris, beside whom stood Lord Godalming
lighting a cigar.
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‘The place smells so vilely,’ said the latter as we came
in. It did indeed smell vilely. Like the old chapel at Carfax.
And with our previous experience it was plain to us that
the Count had been using the place pretty freely. We
moved to explore the house, all keeping together in case
of attack, for we knew we had a strong and wily enemy to
deal with, and as yet we did not know whether the Count
might not be in the house.
In the dining room, which lay at the back of the hall,
we found eight boxes of earth. Eight boxes only out of the
nine which we sought! Our work was not over, and
would never be until we should have found the missing
box.
First we opened the shutters of the window which
looked out across a narrow stone flagged yard at the blank
face of a stable, pointed to look like the front of a
miniature house. There were no windows in it, so we
were not afraid of being overlooked. We did not lose any
time in examining the chests. With the tools which we
had brought with us we opened them, one by one, and
treated them as we had treated those others in the old
chapel. It was evident to us that the Count was not at
present in the house, and we proceeded to search for any
of his effects.
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After a cursory glance at the rest of the rooms, from
basement to attic, we came to the conclusion that the
dining room contained any effects which might belong to
the Count. And so we proceeded to minutely examine
them. They lay in a sort of orderly disorder on the great
dining room table.
There were title deeds of the Piccadilly house in a great
bundle, deeds of the purchase of the houses at Mile End
and Bermondsey, notepaper, envelopes, and pens and ink.
All were covered up in thin wrapping paper to keep them
from the dust. There were also a clothes brush, a brush
and comb, and a jug and basin. The latter containing dirty
water which was reddened as if with blood. Last of all was
a little heap of keys of all sorts and sizes, probably those
belonging to the other houses.
When we had examined this last find, Lord Godalming
and Quincey Morris taking accurate notes of the various
addresses of the houses in the East and the South, took
with them the keys in a great bunch, and set out to
destroy the boxes in these places. The rest of us are, with
what patience we can, waiting their return, or the coming
of the Count.
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Chapter 23
DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
3 October.—The time seemed terribly long whilst we
were waiting for the coming of Godalming and Quincey
Morris. The Professor tried to keep our minds active by
using them all the time. I could see his beneficent purpose,
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, happylooking
man, with strong, youthful face, full of energy,
and with dark brown hair. Today he is a drawn, haggard
old man, whose white hair matches well with the hollow
burning eyes and grief-written lines of his face. His energy
is still intact. In fact, he is like a living flame. This may yet
be his salvation, for if all 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, I thought my
own trouble was bad enough, but his … !
The Professor knows this well enough, and is doing his
best to keep his mind active. What he has been saying was,
under the circumstances, of absorbing interest. So well as I
can remember, here it is:
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‘I have studied, over and over again since they came
into my hands, all the papers relating to this monster, and
the more I have studied, the greater seems the necessity to
utterly stamp him out. All through there are signs of his
advance. Not only of his power, but of his knowledge of
it. As I learned from the researches of my friend Arminius
of Buda-Pesth, he was in life a most wonderful man.
Soldier, statesman, and alchemist. Which latter was the
highest development of the science knowledge of his time.
He had a mighty brain, a learning beyond compare, and a
heart that knew no fear and no remorse. He dared even to
attend the Scholomance, and there was no branch of
knowledge of his time that he did not essay.
‘Well, in him the brain powers survived the physical
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 is growing, and some things that were
childish at the first are now of man’s stature. He is
experimenting, and doing it well. And if it had not been
that we have crossed his path he would be yet, he may be
yet if we fail, the father or furtherer of a new order of
beings, whose road must lead through Death, not Life.’
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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 but surely. That big child-brain of his is
working. Well for us, it is as yet a child-brain. For had he
dared, at the first, to attempt certain things he would long
ago have been beyond our power. However, he means to
succeed, and a man who has centuries before him can
afford to wait and to go slow. Festina lente may well be
his motto.’
‘I fail to understand,’ said Harker wearily. ‘Oh, do be
more plain to me! 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, this monster has been creeping into
knowledge experimentally. How he has been making use
of the zoophagous patient to effect his entry into friend
John’s home. For your Vampire, though in all afterwards
he can come when and how he will, must at the first make
entry only when asked thereto by an inmate. But these are
not his most important experiments. Do we not see how
at the first all these so great boxes were moved by others.
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He knew not then but that must be so. But all the time
that so great child-brain of his was growing, and he began
to consider whether he might not himself move the box.
So he began to help. And then, when he found that this
be all right, he try to move them all alone. And so he
progress, and he scatter these graves of him. And none but
he know where they are hidden.
‘He may have intend to bury them deep in the ground.
So that only he use them in the night, or at such time as
he can change his form, they do him equal well, and none
may know these are his hiding place! But, my child, do
not despair, this knowledge came to him just too late!
Already all of his lairs but one be sterilize as for him. And
before the sunset this shall be so. Then he have no place
where he can move and hide. I delayed this morning that
so we might be sure. Is there not more at stake for us than
for him? Then why not be more careful than him? By my
clock it is one hour and already, if all be well, friend
Arthur and Quincey are on their way to us. Today is our
day, and we must go sure, if slow, and lose no chance.
See! There are five of us when those absent ones return.’
Whilst we were speaking we were startled by a knock
at the hall door, the double postman’s knock of the
telegraph boy. We all moved out to the hall with one
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impulse, and Van Helsing, holding up his hand to us to
keep silence, stepped to the door and opened it. The boy
handed in a dispatch. The Professor closed the door again,
and after looking at the direction, opened it and read
aloud.
‘Look out for D. He has just now, 12:45, come from
Carfax hurriedly and hastened towards the South. He
seems to be going the round and may want to 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 him quickly and said, ‘God will
act in His own way and time. Do not fear, and do not
rejoice as yet. For what we wish for at the moment may
be our own undoings.’
‘I care for nothing now,’ he answered hotly, ‘except to
wipe out this brute from the face of creation. I would sell
my soul to do it!’
‘Oh, hush, hush, my child!’ said Van Helsing. ‘God
does not purchase souls in this wise, and the Devil, though
he may purchase, does not keep faith. But God is merciful
and just, and knows your pain and your devotion to that
dear Madam Mina. Think you, how her pain would be
doubled, did she but hear your wild words. Do not fear
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any of us, we are all devoted to this cause, and today shall
see the end. The time is coming for action. Today this
Vampire is limit to the powers of man, and till sunset he
may not change. It will take him time to arrive here, see it
is twenty minutes past one, and there are yet some times
before he can hither come, be he never so quick. What
we must hope for is that my Lord Arthur and Quincey
arrive first.’
About half an hour after we had received Mrs. Harker’s
telegram, there came a quiet, resolute knock at the hall
door. It was just an ordinary knock, such as is given
hourly by thousands of gentlemen, but it made the
Professor’s heart and mine beat loudly. We looked at each
other, and together moved out into the hall. We each held
ready to use our various armaments, the spiritual in the left
hand, the mortal in the right. Van Helsing pulled back the
latch, and holding the door half open, stood back, having
both hands ready for action. The gladness of our hearts
must have shown upon our faces when on the step, close
to the door, we saw Lord Godalming and Quincey
Morris. They came quickly in and closed the door behind
them, the former saying, as they moved along the hall.
‘It is all right. We found both places. Six boxes in each
and we destroyed them all.’
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‘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 up by five o’clock, we must start
off. For it won’t do to leave Mrs. Harker alone after
sunset.’
‘He will be here before long now,’ said Van Helsing,
who had been consulting his pocketbook. ‘Nota bene, in
Madam’s telegram he went south from Carfax. That
means he went to cross the river, and he could only do so
at slack of tide, which should be something before one
o’clock. That he went south has a meaning for us. He is as
yet only suspicious, and he went from Carfax first to the
place where he would suspect interference least. You must
have been at Bermondsey only a short time before him.
That he is not here already shows that he went to Mile
End next. This took him some time, for he would then
have to be carried over the river in some way. Believe me,
my friends, we shall not have long to wait now. We
should have ready some plan of attack, so that we may
throw away no chance. Hush, there is no time now. Have
all your arms! Be ready!’ He held up a warning hand as he
spoke, for we all could hear a key softly inserted in the
lock of the hall door.
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I could not but admire, even at such a moment, the
way in which a dominant spirit asserted itself. In all our
hunting parties and adventures in different parts of the
world, Quincey Morris had always been the one to
arrange the plan of action, and Arthur and I had been
accustomed to obey him implicitly. Now, the old habit
seemed to be renewed instinctively. With a swift glance
around the room, he at once laid out our plan of attack,
and without speaking a word, with a gesture, placed us
each in position. Van Helsing, Harker, and I were just
behind the door, so that when it was opened the Professor
could guard it whilst we two stepped between the
incomer and the door. Godalming behind and Quincey in
front stood just out of sight ready to move in front of the
window. We waited in a suspense that made the seconds
pass with nightmare slowness. The slow, careful steps came
along the hall. The Count was evidently prepared for
some surprise, at least he feared it.
Suddenly with a single bound he leaped into the room.
Winning a way past us before any of us could raise a hand
to stay him. There was something so pantherlike in the
movement, something so unhuman, that it seemed to
sober us all from the shock of his coming. The first to act
was Harker, who with a quick movement, threw himself
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before the door leading into the room in the front of the
house. As the Count saw us, a horrible sort of snarl passed
over his face, showing the eyeteeth long and pointed. But
the evil smile as quickly passed into a cold stare of lionlike
disdain. His expression again changed as, with a single
impulse, we all advanced upon him. It was a pity that we
had not some better organized plan of attack, for even at
the moment I wondered what we were to do. I did not
myself know whether our lethal weapons would avail us
anything.
Harker evidently meant to try the matter, for he had
ready his great Kukri knife and made a fierce and sudden
cut at him. The blow was a powerful one. Only the
diabolical quickness of the Count’s leap back saved him. A
second less and the trenchant blade had shorn through his
coat, making a wide gap whence a bundle of bank notes
and a stream of gold fell out. The expression of the
Count’s face was so hellish, that for a moment I feared for
Harker, though I saw him throw the terrible knife aloft
again for another stroke. Instinctively I moved forward
with a protective impulse, holding the Crucifix and Wafer
in my left hand. I felt a mighty power fly along my arm,
and it was without surprise that I saw the monster cower
back before a similar movement made spontaneously by
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each one of us. It would be impossible to describe the
expression of hate and baffled malignity, of anger and
hellish rage, which came over the Count’s face. His waxen
hue became greenish-yellow by the contrast of his burning
eyes, and the red scar on the forehead showed on the
pallid skin like a palpitating wound. The next instant, with
a sinuous dive he swept under Harker’s arm, ere his blow
could fall, and grasping a handful of the money from the
floor, dashed across the room, threw himself at the
window. Amid the crash and glitter of the falling glass, he
tumbled into the flagged area below. Through the sound
of the shivering glass I could hear the ‘ting’ of the gold, as
some of the sovereigns fell on the flagging.
We ran over and saw him spring unhurt from the
ground. He, rushing up the 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, like sheep in a butcher’s. You shall be sorry yet,
each one of you! You think you have left me without a
place to rest, but I have more. My revenge is just begun! I
spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls
that you all love are mine already. And through them you
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and others shall yet be mine, my creatures, to do my
bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed. Bah!’
With a contemptuous sneer, he passed quickly through
the door, and we heard the rusty bolt creak as he fastened
it behind him. A door beyond opened and shut. The first
of us to speak was the Professor. Realizing the difficulty of
following him through the stable, we moved toward the
hall.
‘We have learnt something … much! Notwithstanding
his brave words, he fears us. He fears time, he fears want!
For if not, why he hurry so? His very tone betray him, or
my ears deceive. Why take that money? You follow
quick. You are hunters of the wild beast, and understand it
so. For me, I make sure that nothing here may be of use
to him, if so that he returns.’
As he spoke he put the money remaining in his pocket,
took the title deeds in the bundle as Harker had left them,
and swept the remaining things into the open fireplace,
where he set fire to them with a match.
Godalming and Morris had rushed out into the yard,
and Harker had lowered himself from the window to
follow the Count. He had, however, bolted the stable
door, and by the time they had forced it open there was
no sign of him. Van Helsing and I tried to make inquiry at
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the back of 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 to recognize that our game was up. With
heavy hearts we agreed with the Professor when he said,
‘Let us go back to Madam Mina. Poor, poor dear Madam
Mina. All we can do just now is done, and we can there,
at least, protect her. But we need not despair. There is but
one more earth box, and we must try to find it. When
that is done all may yet be well.’
I could see that he spoke as bravely as he could to
comfort Harker. The poor fellow was quite broken down,
now and again he gave a low groan which he could not
suppress. He was thinking of his wife.
With sad hearts we came back to my house, where we
found Mrs. Harker waiting us, with an appearance of
cheerfulness which did honour to her bravery and
unselfishness. When she saw our faces, her own became as
pale as death. For a second or two her eyes were closed as
if she were in 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.
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‘Lay your poor head here and rest it. All will yet be
well, dear! God will protect us if He so will it in His good
intent.’ The poor fellow groaned. There was no place for
words in his sublime misery.
We had a sort of perfunctory supper together, and I
think it cheered us all up somewhat. It was, perhaps, the
mere animal heat of food to hungry people, for none of us
had eaten anything since breakfast, or the sense of
companionship may have helped us, but anyhow we were
all less miserable, and saw the morrow as not altogether
without hope.
True to our promise, we told Mrs. Harker everything
which had passed. And although she grew snowy white at
times when danger had seemed to threaten her husband,
and red at others when his devotion to her was manifested
she listened bravely and with calmness. When we came to
the part where Harker had rushed at the Count so
recklessly, she clung to her husband’s arm, and held it tight
as though her clinging could protect him from any harm
that might come. She said nothing, however, till the
narration was all done, and matters had been brought up
to the present time.
Then without letting go her husband’s hand she stood
up amongst us and spoke. Oh, that I could give any idea
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of the scene. Of that sweet, sweet, good, good woman in
all the radiant beauty of her youth and animation, with the
red scar on her forehead, of which she was conscious, and
which we saw with grinding of our teeth, remembering
whence and how it came. Her loving kindness against our
grim hate. Her tender faith against all our fears and
doubting. And we, knowing that so far as symbols went,
she with all her goodness and purity and faith, was outcast
from God.
‘Jonathan,’ she said, and the word sounded like music
on her lips it was so full of love and tenderness, ‘Jonathan
dear, and you all my true, true friends, I want you to bear
something in mind through all this dreadful time. I know
that you must fight. That you must destroy even as you
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 this misery is the saddest case of all. Just
think what will be his joy when he, too, is destroyed in his
worser part that his better part may have spiritual
immortality. You must be pitiful to him, too, though it
may not hold your hands from his destruction.’
As she spoke I could see her husband’s face darken and
draw together, as though the passion in him were
shriveling his being to its core. Instinctively the clasp on
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his wife’s hand grew closer, till his knuckles looked white.
She did not flinch from the pain which I knew she must
have suffered, but looked at him with eyes that were more
appealing than ever.
As she stopped speaking he leaped to his feet, almost
tearing his hand from hers as he spoke.
‘May God give him into my hand just for long enough
to destroy that earthly life of him which we are aiming at.
If beyond it I could send his soul forever 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. Just think, 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 some other 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 thought had there been
another way. But I pray that God may not have treasured
your wild words, except as the heart-broken wail of a very
loving and sorely stricken man. Oh, God, let these poor
white hairs go in evidence of what he has suffered, who all
his life has done no wrong, and on whom so many
sorrows have come.’
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We men were all in tears now. There was no resisting
them, and we wept openly. She wept, too, to see that her
sweeter counsels had prevailed. Her husband flung himself
on his knees beside her, and putting his arms round her,
hid his face in the folds of her dress. Van Helsing
beckoned to us and we stole out of the room, leaving the
two loving hearts alone with their God.
Before they retired the Professor fixed up the room
against any coming of the Vampire, and assured Mrs.
Harker that she might rest in peace. She tried to school
herself to the belief, and manifestly for her husband’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 at hand 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 should sit
up, dividing the night between us, and watch over the
safety of the poor stricken lady. The first watch falls to
Quincey, so the rest of us shall 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 go to bed.
JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
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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 belief that to wake would be to find
things changed, and that any change must now be for the
better. Before we parted, we discussed what our next step
was to be, but we could arrive at no result. All we knew
was that one earth box remained, and that the Count
alone knew where it was. If he chooses to lie hidden, he
may baffle us for years. And in the meantime, 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, that one is my poor wronged darling. I loved
her a thousand times more for her sweet pity of last night,
a pity that made my own hate of the monster seem
despicable. Surely God will not permit the world to be the
poorer by the loss of such a creature. This is hope to me.
We are all drifting reefwards now, and faith is our only
anchor. Thank God! Mina is sleeping, and sleeping
without dreams. I fear what her dreams might be like,
with such terrible memories to ground them in. She has
not been so calm, within my seeing, since the sunset.
Then, for a while, there came over 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 her
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face, but somehow now I think it has a deeper meaning. I
am not sleepy myself, though I am weary … weary to
death. However, I must try to sleep. For there is
tomorrow to think of, and there is no rest for me until …
Later—I must have fallen asleep, for I was awakened by
Mina, who was sitting 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 hand over my
mouth, and now she whispered in my ear, ‘Hush! There is
someone in the corridor!’ I got up softly, and crossing the
room, gently opened the door.
Just outside, stretched on a mattress, lay Mr. Morris,
wide awake. He raised 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 all night. 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, pale face as she put her arms
round me and said softly, ‘Oh, thank God for good brave
men!’ With a sigh she sank back again to sleep. 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 by Mina. This time we had all had a good
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sleep, for the grey of the coming dawn was making the
windows into sharp oblongs, and the gas flame was like 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 matured without my knowing it. He must
hypnotize me before the dawn, and then I shall be able to
speak. Go quick, dearest, the time is getting close.’
I went to the door. Dr. Seward was resting on the
mattress, and seeing me, 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.
Two or three minutes later Van Helsing was in the
room in his dressing gown, and Mr. Morris and Lord
Godalming were with Dr. Seward at the door asking
questions. When the Professor saw Mina a smile, a
positive smile ousted the anxiety of his face.
He rubbed his hands as he said, ‘Oh, my dear Madam
Mina, this is indeed a change. See! Friend Jonathan, we
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have got our dear Madam Mina, as of old, back to us
today!’ Then turning to her, he said cheerfully, ‘And what
am I to do for you? For at this hour you do not want me
for nothing.’
‘I want you to hypnotize me!’ she said. ‘Do it before
the dawn, for I feel that then I can speak, and speak freely.
Be quick, for the time is short!’ 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. Mina gazed at him fixedly for a
few minutes, during which my own heart beat like a trip
hammer, for I felt that some crisis was at hand. Gradually
her eyes closed, and she sat, stock still. Only by the gentle
heaving of her bosom could one know that she was alive.
The Professor made a few more passes and then stopped,
and I could see that his forehead was covered with great
beads of perspiration. Mina opened her eyes, but she did
not seem the same woman. There was a far-away look in
her eyes, and her voice had a sad dreaminess which was
new to me. Raising his hand to impose silence, the
Professor motioned to me to bring the others in. They
came on tiptoe, closing the door behind them, and stood
at the foot of the bed, looking on. Mina appeared not to
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see them. The stillness was broken by Van Helsing’s voice
speaking in a low level tone which 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 several minutes there was silence. Mina sat rigid, and
the Professor stood staring at her fixedly.
The rest of us hardly dared to breathe. The room was
growing lighter. Without taking his eyes from Mina’s face,
Dr. Van Helsing motioned me to pull up the blind. I did
so, and the day seemed just upon us. A red streak shot up,
and a rosy light seemed to diffuse itself through the room.
On the instant the Professor spoke again.
‘Where are you now?’
The answer came dreamily, but with intention. It were
as though she were interpreting something. I have heard
her use the same 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 patient voice.
‘The lapping of water. It is gurgling by, and little waves
leap. I can hear them on the outside.’
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‘Then you are on a ship?’’
We all looked at each other, trying to glean something
each from the other. We were afraid to think.
The answer came quick, ‘Oh, yes!’
‘What else do you hear?’
‘The sound of men stamping overhead as they run
about. There is the creaking of a chain, and the loud tinkle
as the check of the capstan falls into the ratchet.’
‘What are you doing?’
‘I am still, oh so still. It is like death!’ The voice faded
away into a 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 of day. Dr. Van Helsing placed his hands on
Mina’s shoulders, and laid her head down softly on her
pillow. She lay like a sleeping child for a few moments,
and then, with a long sigh, awoke and stared in wonder to
see us all around her.
‘Have I been talking in my sleep?’ was all she said. She
seemed, however, to know the situation without telling,
though she was eager to know what she had told. The
Professor repeated the conversation, and she said, ‘Then
there is not a moment to lose. It may not be yet too late!’
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Mr. Morris and Lord Godalming started for the door
but the Professor’s calm voice called them back.
‘Stay, my friends. That ship, wherever it was, was
weighing anchor at the moment in your so great Port of
London. Which of them is it that you seek? God be
thanked that we have once again a clue, though whither it
may lead us we know not. We have been blind somewhat.
Blind after the manner of men, since we can look back we
see what we might have seen looking forward if we had
been able to see what we might have seen! Alas, but that
sentence is a puddle, is it not? We can know now what
was in the Count’s mind, when he seize that money,
though Jonathan’s so fierce knife put him in the danger
that even he dread. He meant escape. Hear me, ESCAPE!
He saw that with but one earth box left, and a pack of
men following like dogs after a fox, this London was no
place for him. He have take his last earth box on board a
ship, and he leave the land. He think to escape, but no!
We follow him. Tally Ho! As friend Arthur would say
when he put on his red frock! Our old fox is wily. Oh! So
wily, and we must follow with wile. I, too, am wily and I
think his mind in a little while. In meantime we may rest
and in peace, for there are between us which he do not
want to pass, and which he could not if he would. Unless
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the ship were to touch the land, and then only at full or
slack tide. See, and the sun is just rose, and all day to
sunset is us. 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 with us.’
Mina looked at him appealingly as she asked, ‘But why
need we seek him further, when he is gone away from us?’
He took her hand and patted it as he replied, ‘Ask me
nothing as yet. When we have breakfast, then I answer all
questions.’ He would say no more, and we separated to
dress.
After breakfast Mina repeated her question. He looked
at her gravely for a minute and then said sorrowfully,
‘Because my dear, dear Madam Mina, now more than
ever must we find him even if we have to follow him to
the jaws of Hell!’
She grew paler as she asked faintly, ‘Why?’
‘Because,’ he answered solemnly, ‘he can live for
centuries, and you are but mortal woman. Time is now to
be dreaded, since once he put that mark upon your
throat.’
I was just in time to catch her as she fell forward in a
faint.
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Chapter 24
DR. SEWARD’S PHONOGRAPH DIARY
SPOKEN BY VAN HELSING
This to Jonathan Harker.
You are to stay with your dear Madam Mina. We shall
go to make our search, if I can call it so, for it is not search
but knowing, and we seek confirmation only. But do you
stay and take care of her today. This is your best and most
holiest office. This day nothing can find him here.
Let me tell you that so you will know what we four
know already, for I have tell them. He, our enemy, have
gone away. He have gone back to his Castle in
Transylvania. I know it so well, as if a great hand of fire
wrote it on the wall. He have prepare for this in some
way, and that last earth box was ready to ship somewheres.
For this he took the money. For this he hurry at the last,
lest we catch him before the sun go down. It was his last
hope, save that he might hide in the tomb that he think
poor Miss Lucy, being as he thought like him, keep open
to him. But there was not of time. When that fail he make
straight for his last resource, his last earth-work I might say
did I wish double entente. He is clever, oh so clever! He
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know that his game here was finish. And so he decide he
go back home. He find ship going by the route he came,
and he go in it.
We go off now to find what ship, and whither bound.
When we have discover that, we come back and tell you
all. Then we will comfort you and poor Madam Mina
with new hope. For it will be hope when you think it
over, that all is not lost. This very creature that we pursue,
he take hundreds of years to get so far as London. And yet
in one day, when we know of the disposal of him we
drive him out. He is finite, though he is powerful to do
much harm and suffers not as we do. But we are strong,
each in our purpose, and we are all more strong together.
Take heart afresh, dear husband of Madam Mina. This
battle is but begun and in the end we shall win. So sure as
that God sits on high to watch over His children.
Therefore be of much comfort till we return.
VAN HELSING.
JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
4 October.—When I read to Mina, Van Helsing’s
message in the phonograph, the poor girl brightened up
considerably. Already the certainty that the Count is out
of the country has given her comfort. And comfort is
strength to her. For my own part, now that his horrible
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danger is not face to face with us, it seems almost
impossible to believe in it. Even my own terrible
experiences in Castle Dracula seem like a long forgotten
dream. Here in the crisp autumn air in the bright sunlight.
Alas! How can I disbelieve! In the midst of my thought
my eye fell on the red scar on my poor darling’s white
forehead. Whilst that lasts, there can be no disbelief. Mina
and I fear to be idle, so we have been over all the diaries
again and again. Somehow, although the reality seem
greater each time, the pain and the fear seem less. There is
something of a guiding purpose manifest throughout,
which is comforting. Mina says that perhaps we are the
instruments of ultimate good. It may be! I shall try to
think as she does. We have never spoken to each other yet
of the future. It is better to wait till we see the Professor
and the others after their investigations.
The day is running by more quickly than I ever
thought a day could run for me again. It is now three
o’clock.
MINA HARKER’S JOURNAL
5 October, 5 P.M.—Our meeting for report. Present:
Professor Van Helsing, Lord Godalming, Dr. Seward, Mr.
Quincey Morris, Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker.
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Dr. Van Helsing described what steps were taken
during the day to discover on what boat and whither
bound Count Dracula made his escape.
‘As I knew that he wanted to get back to Transylvania,
I felt sure that he must go by the Danube mouth, or by
somewhere in the Black Sea, since by that way he come.
It was a dreary blank that was before us. Omme Ignotum
pro magnifico. And so with heavy hearts we start to find
what ships leave for the Black Sea last night. He was in
sailing ship, since Madam Mina tell of sails being set.
These not so important as to go in your list of the shipping
in the Times, and so we go, by suggestion of Lord
Godalming, to your Lloyd’s, where are note of all ships
that sail, however so small. There we find that only one
Black Sea bound ship go out with the tide. She is the
Czarina Catherine, and she sail from Doolittle’s Wharf for
Varna, and thence to other ports and up the Danube. ‘So!’
said I, ‘this is the ship whereon is the Count.’ So off we go
to Doolittle’s Wharf, and there we find a man in an office.
From him we inquire of the goings of the Czarina
Catherine. He swear much, and he red face and loud of
voice, but he good fellow all the same. And when
Quincey give him something from his pocket which
crackle as he roll it up, and put it in a so small bag which
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he have hid deep in his clothing, he still better fellow and
humble servant to us. He come with us, and ask many
men who are rough and hot. These be better fellows too
when they have been no more thirsty. They say much of
blood and bloom, and of others which I comprehend not,
though I guess what they mean. But nevertheless they tell
us all things which we want to know.
‘They make known to us among them, how last
afternoon at about five o’clock comes a man so hurry. A
tall man, thin and pale, with high nose and teeth so white,
and eyes that seem to be burning. That he be all in black,
except that he have a hat of straw which suit not him or
the time. That he scatter his money in making quick
inquiry as to what ship sails for the Black Sea and for
where. Some took him to the office and then to the ship,
where he will not go aboard but halt at shore end of
gangplank, and ask that the captain come to him. The
captain come, when told that he will be pay well, and
though he swear much at the first he agree to term. Then
the thin man go and some one tell him where horse and
cart can be hired. He go there and soon he come again,
himself driving cart on which a great box. This he himself
lift down, though it take several to put it on truck for the
ship. He give much talk to captain as to how and where
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his box is to be place. But the captain like it not and swear
at him in many tongues, and tell him that if he like he can
come and see where it shall be. But he say ‘no,’ that he
come not yet, for that he have much to do. Whereupon
the captain tell him that he had better be quick, with
blood, for that his ship will leave the place, of blood,
before the turn of the tide, with blood. Then the thin man
smile and say that of course he must go when he think fit,
but he will be surprise if he go quite so soon. The captain
swear again, polyglot, and the thin man make him bow,
and thank him, and say that he will so far intrude on his
kindness as to come aboard before the sailing. Final the
captain, more red than ever, and in more tongues, tell him
that he doesn’t want no Frenchmen, with bloom upon
them and also with blood, in his ship, with blood on her
also. And so, after asking where he might purchase ship
forms, he departed.
‘No one knew where he went ‘or bloomin’ well cared’
as they said, for they had something else to think of, well
with blood again. For it soon became apparent to all that
the Czarina Catherine would not sail as was expected. A
thin mist began to creep up from the river, and it grew,
and grew. Till soon a dense fog enveloped the ship and all
around her. The captain swore polyglot, very polyglot,
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polyglot with bloom and blood, but he could do nothing.
The water rose and rose, and he began to fear that he
would lose the tide altogether. He was in no friendly
mood, when just at full tide, the thin man came up the
gangplank again and asked to see where his box had been
stowed. Then the captain replied that he wished that he
and his box, old and with much bloom and blood, were in
hell. But the thin man did not be offend, and went down
with the mate and saw where it was place, and came up
and stood awhile on deck in fog. He must have come off
by himself, for none notice him. Indeed they thought not
of him, for soon the fog begin to melt away, and all was
clear again. My friends of the thirst and the language that
was of bloom and blood laughed, as they told how the
captain’s swears exceeded even his usual polyglot, and was
more than ever full of picturesque, when on questioning
other mariners who were on movement up and down the
river that hour, he found that few of them had seen any of
fog at all, except where it lay round the wharf. However,
the ship went out on the ebb tide, and was doubtless by
morning far down the river mouth. She was then, when
they told us, well out to sea.
‘And so, my dear Madam Mina, it is that we have to
rest for a time, for our enemy is on the sea, with the fog at
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his command, on his way to the Danube mouth. To sail a
ship takes time, go she never so quick. And when we start
to go on land more quick, and we meet him there. Our
best hope is to come on him when in the box between
sunrise and sunset. For then he can make no struggle, and
we may deal with him as we should. There are days for us,
in which we can make ready our plan. We know all about
where he go. For we have seen the owner of the ship,
who have shown us invoices and all papers that can be.
The box we seek is to be landed in Varna, and to be given
to an agent, one Ristics who will there present his
credentials. And so our merchant friend will have done his
part. When he ask if there be any wrong, for that so, he
can telegraph and have inquiry made at Varna, we say
‘no,’ for what is to be done is not for police or of the
customs. It must be done by us alone and in our own
way.’
When Dr. Van Helsing had done speaking, I asked him
if he were certain that the Count had remained on board
the ship. He replied, ‘We have the best proof of that, your
own evidence, when in the hypnotic trance this morning.’
I asked him again if it were really necessary that they
should pursue the Count, for oh! I dread Jonathan leaving
me, and I know that he would surely go if the others
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went. He answered in growing passion, at first quietly. As
he went on, however, he grew more angry and more
forceful, till in the end we could not but see wherein was
at least some of that personal dominance which made him
so long a master amongst men.
‘Yes, it is necessary, necessary, necessary! For your sake
in the first, and then for the sake of humanity. This
monster has done much harm already, in the narrow scope
where he find himself, and in the short time when as yet
he was only as a body groping his so small measure in
darkness and not knowing. All this have I told these
others. You, my dear Madam Mina, will learn it in the
phonograph of my friend John, or in that of your husband.
I have told them how the measure of leaving his own
barren land, barren of peoples, and coming to a new land
where life of man teems till they are like the multitude of
standing corn, was the work of centuries. Were another of
the Undead, like him, to try to do what he has done,
perhaps not all the centuries of the world that have been,
or that will be, could aid him. With this one, all the forces
of nature that are occult and deep and strong must have
worked together in some wonderous way. The very place,
where he have been alive, Undead for all these centuries,
is full of strangeness of the geologic and chemical world.
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There are deep caverns and fissures that reach none know
whither. There have been volcanoes, some of whose
openings still send out waters of strange properties, and
gases that kill or make to vivify. Doubtless, there is
something magnetic or electric in some of these
combinations of occult forces which work for physical life
in strange way, and in himself were from the first some
great qualities. In a hard and warlike time he was celebrate
that he have more iron nerve, more subtle brain, more
braver heart, than any man. In him some vital principle
have in strange way found their utmost. And as his body
keep strong and grow and thrive, so his brain grow too.
All this without that diabolic aid which is surely to him.
For it have to yield to the powers that come from, and
are, symbolic of good. And now this is what he is to us.
He have infect you, oh forgive me, my dear, that I must
say such, but it is for good of you that I speak. He infect
you in such wise, that even if he do no more, you have
only to live, to live in your own old, sweet way, and so in
time, death, which is of man’s common lot and with
God’s sanction, shall make you like to him. This must not
be! We have sworn together that it must not. Thus are we
ministers of God’s own wish. That the world, and men for
whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters,
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whose very existence would defame Him. He have
allowed us to redeem one soul already, and we go out as
the old knights of the Cross to redeem more. Like them
we shall travel towards the sunrise. And like them, if we
fall, we fall in good cause.’
He paused and I said, ‘But will not the Count take his
rebuff wisely? Since he has been driven from England, will
he not avoid it, as a tiger does the village from which he
has been hunted?’
‘Aha!’ he said, ‘your simile of the tiger good, for me,
and I shall adopt him. Your maneater, as they of India call
the tiger who has once tasted blood of the human, care no
more for the other prey, but prowl unceasing till he get
him. This that we hunt from our village is a tiger, too, a
maneater, and he never cease to prowl. Nay, in himself he
is not one to retire and stay afar. In his life, his living life,
he go over the Turkey frontier and attack his enemy on
his own ground. He be beaten back, but did he stay? No!
He come again, and again, and again. Look at his
persistence and endurance. With the child-brain that was
to him he have long since conceive the idea of coming to
a great city. What does he do? He find out the place of all
the world most of promise for him. Then he deliberately
set himself down to prepare for the task. He find in
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn