“Thus when we find the habitation of this man-that-was,we can confine him to his coffin and destroy him, if we obey what we know. But he is clever.I have asked my friend Arminius, of Buda-Pesth University, to make his record; and,from all the means that are, he tell me of what he has been. He must, indeed,have been that Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk,over the great river on the very frontier of Turkey-land. If it be so, then was he no common man;for in that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning,as well as the bravest of the sons of the ‘land beyond the forest.’ That mighty brain and that iron resolution went with him to his grave,and are even now arrayed against us. The Draculas were, says Arminius, a great and noble race,though now and again were scions who were held by their coevals to have had dealings with the Evil One.They learned his secrets in the Scholomance, amongst the mountains over Lake Hermanstadt,where the devil claims the tenth scholar as his due.In the records are such words as ‘stregoica’--witch, ‘ordog,’ and ‘pokol’--Satan and hell;and in one manuscript this very Dracula is spoken of as ‘wampyr,’ which we all understand too well.There have been from the loins of this very one great men and good women,and their graves make sacred the earth where alone this foulness can dwell.For it is not the least of its terrors that this evil thing is rooted deep in all good;in soil barren of holy memories it cannot rest.”
Whilst they were talking Mr. Morris was looking steadily at the window, and he now got up quietly,and went out of the room. There was a little pause, and then the Professor went on:--
“And now we must settle what we do. We have here much data,and we must proceed to lay out our campaign.We know from the inquiry of Jonathan that from the castle to Whitby came fifty boxes of earth,all of which were delivered at Carfax; we also know that at least some of these boxes have been removed.It seems to me, that our first step should be to ascertain whether all the rest remain in the house beyond that wall where we look to-day;or whether any more have been removed. If the latter, we must trace----”
Here we were interrupted in a very startling way. Outside the house came the sound of a pistol-shot;the glass of the window was shattered with a bullet, which,ricochetting from the top of the embrasure, struck the far wall of the room.I am afraid I am at heart a coward, for I shrieked out. The men all jumped to their feet;Lord Godalming flew over to the window and threw up the sash. As he did so we heard Mr. Morris’s voice without:--
“Sorry!I fear I have alarmed you. I shall come in and tell you about it. ” A minute later he came in and said:--
“It was an idiotic thing of me to do, and I ask your pardon, Mrs. Harker, most sincerely;I fear I must have frightened you terribly.But the fact is that whilst the Professor was talking there came a big bat and sat on the window-sill.I have got such a horror of the damned brutes from recent events that I cannot stand them,and I went out to have a shot, as I have been doing of late of evenings, whenever I have seen one.You used to laugh at me for it then, Art.”
“Did you hit it?” asked Dr. Van Helsing.
“I don’t know; I fancy not, for it flew away into the wood.” Without saying any more he took his seat, and the Professor began to resume his statement:--
“We must trace each of these boxes; and when we are ready,we must either capture or kill this monster in his lair; or we must, so to speak,sterilise the earth, so that no more he can seek safety in it.Thus in the end we may find him in his form of man between the hours of noon and sunset,and so engage with him when he is at his most weak.
“And now for you, Madam Mina, this night is the end until all be well.You are too precious to us to have such risk. When we part to-night, you no more must question.We shall tell you all in good time. We are men and are able to bear;but you must be our star and our hope, and we shall act all the more free that you are not in the danger, such as we are.”
All the men, even Jonathan, seemed relieved;but it did not seem to me good that they should brave danger and, perhaps,lessen their safety--strength being the best safety--through care of me;but their minds were made up, and, though it was a bitter pill for me to swallow,I could say nothing, save to accept their chivalrous care of me.
Mr. Morris resumed the discussion:--
“As there is no time to lose, I vote we have a look at his house right now.Time is everything with him; and swift action on our part may save another victim.”
I own that my heart began to fail me when the time for action came so close,but I did not say anything, for I had a greater fear that if I appeared as a drag or a hindrance to their work,they might even leave me out of their counsels altogether. They have now gone off to Carfax, with means to get into the house.
Manlike, they had told me to go to bed and sleep;as if a woman can sleep when those she loves are in danger!I shall lie down and pretend to sleep, lest Jonathan have added anxiety about me when he returns.
_Dr. Seward’s Diary._
_1 October, 4 a. m._--Just as we were about to leave the house,an urgent message was brought to me from Renfield to know if I would see him at once,as he had something of the utmost importance to say to me.I told the messenger to say that I would attend to his wishes in the morning;I was busy just at the moment. The attendant added:--
“He seems very importunate, sir. I have never seen him so eager. I don’t know but what,if you don’t see him soon, he will have one of his violent fits.” I knew the man would not have said this without some cause, so I said: “All right; I’ll go now”;and I asked the others to wait a few minutes for me, as I had to go and see my “patient.”
“Take me with you, friend John,” said the Professor. “His case in your diary interest me much,and it had bearing, too, now and again on _our_ case. I should much like to see him,and especial when his mind is disturbed.”
“May I come also?” asked Lord Godalming.
“Me too?” said Quincey Morris. “May I come?” said Harker. I nodded, and we all went down the passage together.
We found him in a state of considerable excitement,but far more rational in his speech and manner than I had ever seen him.There was an unusual understanding of himself,which was unlike anything I had ever met with in a lunatic;and he took it for granted that his reasons would prevail with others entirely sane.We all four went into the room, but none of the others at first said anything.His request was that I would at once release him from the asylum and send him home.This he backed up with arguments regarding his complete recovery,and adduced his own existing sanity. “I appeal to your friends,” he said, “they will, perhaps,not mind sitting in judgment on my case. By the way, you have not introduced me.” I was so much astonished, that the oddness of introducing a madman in an asylum did not strike me at the moment;and, besides, there was a certain dignity in the man’s manner, so much of the habit of equality,that I at once made the introduction: “Lord Godalming; Professor Van Helsing; Mr. Quincey Morris,of Texas; Mr. Renfield.” He shook hands with each of them, saying in turn:--
“Lord Godalming, I had the honour of seconding your father at the Windham; I grieve to know,by your holding the title, that he is no more. He was a man loved and honoured by all who knew him;and in his youth was, I have heard, the inventor of a burnt rum punch,much patronised on Derby night. Mr. Morris, you should be proud of your great state.Its reception into the Union was a precedent which may have far-reaching effects hereafter,when the Pole and the Tropics may hold alliance to the Stars and Stripes.The power of Treaty may yet prove a vast engine of enlargement,when the Monroe doctrine takes its true place as a political fable.What shall any man say of his pleasure at meeting Van Helsing?Sir, I make no apology for dropping all forms of conventional prefix.When an individual has revolutionised therapeutics by his discovery of the continuous evolution of brain-matter,conventional forms are unfitting, since they would seem to limit him to one of a class. You,gentlemen, who by nationality, by heredity, or by the possession of natural gifts,are fitted to hold your respective places in the moving world,I take to witness that I am as sane as at least the majority of men who are in full possession of their liberties.And I am sure that you, Dr. Seward, humanitarian and medico-jurist as well as scientist,will deem it a moral duty to deal with me as one to be considered as under exceptional circumstances.” He made this last appeal with a courtly air of conviction which was not without its own charm.
I think we were all staggered. For my own part, I was under the conviction,despite my knowledge of the man’s character and history, that his reason had been restored;and I felt under a strong impulse to tell him that I was satisfied as to his sanity,and would see about the necessary formalities for his release in the morning.I thought it better to wait, however, before making so grave a statement,for of old I knew the sudden changes to which this particular patient was liable.So I contented myself with making a general statement that he appeared to be improving very rapidly;that I would have a longer chat with him in the morning,and would then see what I could do in the direction of meeting his wishes.This did not at all satisfy him, for he said quickly:--
“But I fear, Dr. Seward, that you hardly apprehend my wish.I desire to go at once--here--now--this very hour--this very moment, if I may. Time presses,and in our implied agreement with the old scytheman it is of the essence of the contract.I am sure it is only necessary to put before so admirable a practitioner as Dr. Seward so simple,yet so momentous a wish, to ensure its fulfilment.” He looked at me keenly,and seeing the negative in my face, turned to the others, and scrutinised them closely.Not meeting any sufficient response, he went on:--
“Is it possible that I have erred in my supposition?”
“You have,” I said frankly, but at the same time, as I felt, brutally.There was a considerable pause, and then he said slowly:--
“Then I suppose I must only shift my ground of request. Let me ask for this concession--boon,privilege, what you will. I am content to implore in such a case, not on personal grounds,but for the sake of others. I am not at liberty to give you the whole of my reasons; but you may,I assure you, take it from me that they are good ones, sound and unselfish,and spring from the highest sense of duty. Could you look, sir, into my heart,you would approve to the full the sentiments which animate me. Nay, more,you would count me amongst the best and truest of your friends.” Again he looked at us all keenly.I had a growing conviction that this sudden change of his entire intellectual method was but yet another form or phase of his madness,and so determined to let him go on a little longer, knowing from experience that he would,like all lunatics, give himself away in the end.Van Helsing was gazing at him with a look of utmost intensity,his bushy eyebrows almost meeting with the fixed concentration of his look.He said to Renfield in a tone which did not surprise me at the time,but only when I thought of it afterwards--for it was as of one addressing an equal:--
“Can you not tell frankly your real reason for wishing to be free to-night?I will undertake that if you will satisfy even me--a stranger, without prejudice,and with the habit of keeping an open mind--Dr. Seward will give you,at his own risk and on his own responsibility, the privilege you seek.” He shook his head sadly,and with a look of poignant regret on his face. The Professor went on:--
“Come, sir, bethink yourself. You claim the privilege of reason in the highest degree,since you seek to impress us with your complete reasonableness. You do this,whose sanity we have reason to doubt, since you are not yet released from medical treatment for this very defect.If you will not help us in our effort to choose the wisest course,how can we perform the duty which you yourself put upon us?Be wise, and help us; and if we can we shall aid you to achieve your wish. ” He still shook his head as he said:--
“Dr. Van Helsing, I have nothing to say. Your argument is complete,and if I were free to speak I should not hesitate a moment;but I am not my own master in the matter. I can only ask you to trust me. If I am refused,the responsibility does not rest with me.” I thought it was now time to end the scene,which was becoming too comically grave, so I went towards the door, simply saying:--
“Come, my friends, we have work to do. Good-night.”
As, however, I got near the door, a new change came over the patient.He moved towards me so quickly that for the moment I feared that he was about to make another homicidal attack.My fears, however, were groundless, for he held up his two hands imploringly,and made his petition in a moving manner.As he saw that the very excess of his emotion was militating against him,by restoring us more to our old relations, he became still more demonstrative.I glanced at Van Helsing, and saw my conviction reflected in his eyes;so I became a little more fixed in my manner, if not more stern,and motioned to him that his efforts were unavailing.I had previously seen something of the same constantly growing excitement in him when he had to make some request of which at the time he had thought much,such, for instance, as when he wanted a cat;and I was prepared to see the collapse into the same sullen acquiescence on this occasion.My expectation was not realised, for, when he found that his appeal would not be successful,he got into quite a frantic condition. He threw himself on his knees, and held up his hands,wringing them in plaintive supplication, and poured forth a torrent of entreaty,with the tears rolling down his cheeks,and his whole face and form expressive of the deepest emotion:--
“Let me entreat you, Dr. Seward, oh, let me implore you, to let me out of this house at once.Send me away how you will and where you will; send keepers with me with whips and chains;let them take me in a strait-waistcoat, manacled and leg-ironed, even to a gaol;but let me go out of this. You don’t know what you do by keeping me here.I am speaking from the depths of my heart--of my very soul. You don’t know whom you wrong, or how; and I may not tell. Woe is me!I may not tell. By all you hold sacred--by all you hold dear--by your love that is lost--by your hope that lives--for the sake of the Almighty,take me out of this and save my soul from guilt!Can’t you hear me, man?Can’t you understand?Will you never learn?Don’t you know that I am sane and earnest now; that I am no lunatic in a mad fit, but a sane man fighting for his soul?Oh, hear me!hear me!Let me go!let me go!let me go!”
I thought that the longer this went on the wilder he would get, and so would bring on a fit;so I took him by the hand and raised him up.
“Come,” I said sternly, “no more of this; we have had quite enough already.Get to your bed and try to behave more discreetly.”
He suddenly stopped and looked at me intently for several moments. Then, without a word,he rose and moving over, sat down on the side of the bed. The collapse had come,as on former occasion, just as I had expected.
When I was leaving the room, last of our party, he said to me in a quiet, well-bred voice:--
“You will, I trust, Dr. Seward, do me the justice to bear in mind, later on,that I did what I could to convince you to-night.”
CHAPTER XIX
JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
_1 October, 5 a. m._--I went with the party to the search with an easy mind,for I think I never saw Mina so absolutely strong and well.I am so glad that she consented to hold back and let us men do the work. Somehow,it was a dread to me that she was in this fearful business at all; but now that her work is done,and that it is due to her energy and brains and foresight that the whole story is put together in such a way that every point tells,she may well feel that her part is finished, and that she can henceforth leave the rest to us.We were, I think, all a little upset by the scene with Mr. Renfield.When we came away from his room we were silent till we got back to the study. Then Mr. Morris said to Dr. Seward:--
“Say, Jack, if that man wasn’t attempting a bluff, he is about the sanest lunatic I ever saw.I’m not sure, but I believe that he had some serious purpose, and if he had,it was pretty rough on him not to get a chance.” Lord Godalming and I were silent, but Dr. Van Helsing added:--
“Friend John, you know more of lunatics than I do, and I’m glad of it,for I fear that if it had been to me to decide I would before that last hysterical outburst have given him free.But we live and learn, and in our present task we must take no chance,as my friend Quincey would say. All is best as they are.” Dr.Seward seemed to answer them both in a dreamy kind of way:--
“I don’t know but that I agree with you.If that man had been an ordinary lunatic I would have taken my chance of trusting him;but he seems so mixed up with the Count in an indexy kind of way that I am afraid of doing anything wrong by helping his fads.I can’t forget how he prayed with almost equal fervour for a cat,and then tried to tear my throat out with his teeth. Besides, he called the Count ‘lord and master,’ and he may want to get out to help him in some diabolical way.That horrid thing has the wolves and the rats and his own kind to help him,so I suppose he isn’t above trying to use a respectable lunatic. He certainly did seem earnest,though. I only hope we have done what is best. These things,in conjunction with the wild work we have in hand, help to unnerve a man.” The Professor stepped over, and laying his hand on his shoulder, said in his grave, kindly way:--
“Friend John, have no fear. We are trying to do our duty in a very sad and terrible case;we can only do as we deem best. What else have we to hope for, except the pity of the good God?” Lord Godalming had slipped away for a few minutes, but now he returned.He held up a little silver whistle, as he remarked:--
“That old place may be full of rats, and if so, I’ve got an antidote on call.” Having passed the wall, we took our way to the house,taking care to keep in the shadows of the trees on the lawn when the moonlight shone out.When we got to the porch the Professor opened his bag and took out a lot of things,which he laid on the step, sorting them into four little groups, evidently one for each. Then he spoke:--
“My friends, we are going into a terrible danger, and we need arms of many kinds.Our enemy is not merely spiritual. Remember that he has the strength of twenty men, and that,though our necks or our windpipes are of the common kind--and therefore breakable or crushable--his are not amenable to mere strength.A stronger man, or a body of men more strong in all than him, can at certain times hold him;but they cannot hurt him as we can be hurt by him. We must, therefore,guard ourselves from his touch. Keep this near your heart”--as he spoke he lifted a little silver crucifix and held it out to me,I being nearest to him--“put these flowers round your neck”--here he handed to me a wreath of withered garlic blossoms--“for other enemies more mundane,this revolver and this knife; and for aid in all, these so small electric lamps,which you can fasten to your breast; and for all, and above all at the last, this,which we must not desecrate needless.” This was a portion of Sacred Wafer,which he put in an envelope and handed to me. Each of the others was similarly equipped. “Now,” he said, “friend John, where are the skeleton keys?If so that we can open the door, we need not break house by the window, as before at Miss Lucy’s.”
Dr. Seward tried one or two skeleton keys,his mechanical dexterity as a surgeon standing him in good stead. Presently he got one to suit;after a little play back and forward the bolt yielded, and, with a rusty clang, shot back.We pressed on the door, the rusty hinges creaked, and it slowly opened.It was startlingly like the image conveyed to me in Dr.Seward’s diary of the opening of Miss Westenra’s tomb;I fancy that the same idea seemed to strike the others, for with one accord they shrank back.The Professor was the first to move forward, and stepped into the open door.
“_In manus tuas, Domine!_” he said, crossing himself as he passed over the threshold. We closed the door behind us,lest when we should have lit our lamps we should possibly attract attention from the road.The Professor carefully tried the lock,lest we might not be able to open it from within should we be in a hurry making our exit.Then we all lit our lamps and proceeded on our search.
The light from the tiny lamps fell in all sorts of odd forms, as the rays crossed each other,or the opacity of our bodies threw great shadows.I could not for my life get away from the feeling that there was some one else amongst us.I suppose it was the recollection, so powerfully brought home to me by the grim surroundings,of that terrible experience in Transylvania. I think the feeling was common to us all,for I noticed that the others kept looking over their shoulders at every sound and every new shadow, just as I felt myself doing.
The whole place was thick with dust. The floor was seemingly inches deep,except where there were recent footsteps,in which on holding down my lamp I could see marks of hobnails where the dust was cracked.The walls were fluffy and heavy with dust, and in the corners were masses of spider’s webs,whereon the dust had gathered till they looked like old tattered rags as the weight had torn them partly down.On a table in the hall was a great bunch of keys, with a time-yellowed label on each.They had been used several times, for on the table were several similar rents in the blanket of dust,similar to that exposed when the Professor lifted them. He turned to me and said:--
“You know this place, Jonathan. You have copied maps of it,and you know it at least more than we do. Which is the way to the chapel?” I had an idea of its direction, though on my former visit I had not been able to get admission to it;so I led the way, and after a few wrong turnings found myself opposite a low, arched oaken door,ribbed with iron bands. “This is the spot,” said the Professor as he turned his lamp on a small map of the house,copied from the file of my original correspondence regarding the purchase.With a little trouble we found the key on the bunch and opened the door.We were prepared for some unpleasantness, for as we were opening the door a faint,malodorous air seemed to exhale through the gaps,but none of us ever expected such an odour as we encountered.None of the others had met the Count at all at close quarters,and when I had seen him he was either in the fasting stage of his existence in his rooms or,when he was gloated with fresh blood, in a ruined building open to the air;but here the place was small and close, and the long disuse had made the air stagnant and foul.There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came through the fouler air.But as to the odour itself, how shall I describe it?It was not alone that it was composed of all the ills of mortality and with the pungent,acrid smell of blood, but it seemed as though corruption had become itself corrupt. Faugh!it sickens me to think of it. Every breath exhaled by that monster seemed to have clung to the place and intensified its loathsomeness.
Under ordinary circumstances such a stench would have brought our enterprise to an end;but this was no ordinary case, and the high and terrible purpose in which we were involved gave us a strength which rose above merely physical considerations.After the involuntary shrinking consequent on the first nauseous whiff,we one and all set about our work as though that loathsome place were a garden of roses.
We made an accurate examination of the place, the Professor saying as we began:--
“The first thing is to see how many of the boxes are left;we must then examine every hole and corner and cranny and see if we cannot get some clue as to what has become of the rest.” A glance was sufficient to show how many remained, for the great earth chests were bulky, and there was no mistaking them.
There were only twenty-nine left out of the fifty!Once I got a fright, for, seeing Lord Godalming suddenly turn and look out of the vaulted door into the dark passage beyond,I looked too, and for an instant my heart stood still. Somewhere, looking out from the shadow,I seemed to see the high lights of the Count’s evil face, the ridge of the nose, the red eyes,the red lips, the awful pallor. It was only for a moment, for, as Lord Godalming said,“I thought I saw a face, but it was only the shadows,” and resumed his inquiry,I turned my lamp in the direction, and stepped into the passage. There was no sign of any one;and as there were no corners, no doors, no aperture of any kind,but only the solid walls of the passage, there could be no hiding-place even for _him_.I took it that fear had helped imagination, and said nothing.
A few minutes later I saw Morris step suddenly back from a corner, which he was examining.We all followed his movements with our eyes, for undoubtedly some nervousness was growing on us,and we saw a whole mass of phosphorescence, which twinkled like stars.We all instinctively drew back. The whole place was becoming alive with rats.
For a moment or two we stood appalled, all save Lord Godalming,who was seemingly prepared for such an emergency. Rushing over to the great iron-bound oaken door,which Dr. Seward had described from the outside, and which I had seen myself,he turned the key in the lock, drew the huge bolts, and swung the door open. Then,taking his little silver whistle from his pocket, he blew a low, shrill call.It was answered from behind Dr. Seward’s house by the yelping of dogs,and after about a minute three terriers came dashing round the corner of the house.Unconsciously we had all moved towards the door,and as we moved I noticed that the dust had been much disturbed:the boxes which had been taken out had been brought this way.But even in the minute that had elapsed the number of the rats had vastly increased.They seemed to swarm over the place all at once, till the lamplight,shining on their moving dark bodies and glittering, baleful eyes,made the place look like a bank of earth set with fireflies. The dogs dashed on,but at the threshold suddenly stopped and snarled, and then, simultaneously lifting their noses,began to howl in most lugubrious fashion. The rats were multiplying in thousands, and we moved out.
Lord Godalming lifted one of the dogs, and carrying him in, placed him on the floor.The instant his feet touched the ground he seemed to recover his courage,and rushed at his natural enemies. They fled before him so fast that before he had shaken the life out of a score,the other dogs, who had by now been lifted in the same manner,had but small prey ere the whole mass had vanished.
With their going it seemed as if some evil presence had departed,for the dogs frisked about and barked merrily as they made sudden darts at their prostrate foes,and turned them over and over and tossed them in the air with vicious shakes.We all seemed to find our spirits rise.Whether it was the purifying of the deadly atmosphere by the opening of the chapel door,or the relief which we experienced by finding ourselves in the open I know not;but most certainly the shadow of dread seemed to slip from us like a robe,and the occasion of our coming lost something of its grim significance,though we did not slacken a whit in our resolution.We closed the outer door and barred and locked it, and bringing the dogs with us,began our search of the house. We found nothing throughout except dust in extraordinary proportions,and all untouched save for my own footsteps when I had made my first visit.Never once did the dogs exhibit any symptom of uneasiness,and even when we returned to the chapel they frisked about as though they had been rabbit-hunting in a summer wood.
The morning was quickening in the east when we emerged from the front. Dr.Van Helsing had taken the key of the hall-door from the bunch,and locked the door in orthodox fashion, putting the key into his pocket when he had done.