küche wohnzimmer sarg

chapter 12.dr. seward's diary 18 september.--i drove at once tohillingham and arrived early. keeping my cab at the gate, i went up theavenue alone. i knocked gently and rang as quietly aspossible, for i feared to disturb lucy or her mother, and hoped to only bring aservant to the door. after a while, finding no response, iknocked and rang again, still no answer. i cursed the laziness of the servants thatthey should lie abed at such an hour, for it was now ten o'clock, and so rang andknocked again, but more impatiently, but still without response.

hitherto i had blamed only the servants,but now a terrible fear began to assail me. was this desolation but another link in thechain of doom which seemed drawing tight round us? was it indeed a house of death to which ihad come, too late? i know that minutes, even seconds of delay,might mean hours of danger to lucy, if she had had again one of those frightfulrelapses, and i went round the house to try if i could find by chance an entryanywhere. i could find no means of ingress. every window and door was fastened andlocked, and i returned baffled to the

porch.as i did so, i heard the rapid pit-pat of a swiftly driven horse's feet. they stopped at the gate, and a few secondslater i met van helsing running up the avenue.when he saw me, he gasped out, "then it was you, and just arrived. how is she?are we too late? did you not get my telegram?" i answered as quickly and coherently as icould that i had only got his telegram early in the morning, and had not a minutein coming here, and that i could not make

any one in the house hear me. he paused and raised his hat as he saidsolemnly, "then i fear we are too late. god's will be done!"with his usual recuperative energy, he went on, "come. if there be no way open to get in, we mustmake one. time is all in all to us now."we went round to the back of the house, where there was a kitchen window. the professor took a small surgical sawfrom his case, and handing it to me, pointed to the iron bars which guarded thewindow.

i attacked them at once and had very sooncut through three of them. then with a long, thin knife we pushed backthe fastening of the sashes and opened the window. i helped the professor in, and followedhim. there was no one in the kitchen or in theservants' rooms, which were close at hand. we tried all the rooms as we went along,and in the dining room, dimly lit by rays of light through the shutters, found fourservant women lying on the floor. there was no need to think them dead, fortheir stertorous breathing and the acrid smell of laudanum in the room left no doubtas to their condition.

van helsing and i looked at each other, andas we moved away he said, "we can attend to them later."then we ascended to lucy's room. for an instant or two we paused at the doorto listen, but there was no sound that we could hear. with white faces and trembling hands, weopened the door gently, and entered the room.how shall i describe what we saw? on the bed lay two women, lucy and hermother. the latter lay farthest in, and she wascovered with a white sheet, the edge of which had been blown back by the droughtthrough the broken window, showing the

drawn, white, face, with a look of terrorfixed upon it. by her side lay lucy, with face white andstill more drawn. the flowers which had been round her neckwe found upon her mother's bosom, and her throat was bare, showing the two littlewounds which we had noticed before, but looking horribly white and mangled. without a word the professor bent over thebed, his head almost touching poor lucy's breast. then he gave a quick turn of his head, asof one who listens, and leaping to his feet, he cried out to me, "it is not yettoo late!

quick! quick!bring the brandy!" i flew downstairs and returned with it,taking care to smell and taste it, lest it, too, were drugged like the decanter ofsherry which i found on the table. the maids were still breathing, but morerestlessly, and i fancied that the narcotic was wearing off.i did not stay to make sure, but returned to van helsing. he rubbed the brandy, as on anotheroccasion, on her lips and gums and on her wrists and the palms of her hands.he said to me, "i can do this, all that can

be at the present. you go wake those maids.flick them in the face with a wet towel, and flick them hard.make them get heat and fire and a warm bath. this poor soul is nearly as cold as thatbeside her. she will need be heated before we can doanything more." i went at once, and found little difficultyin waking three of the women. the fourth was only a young girl, and thedrug had evidently affected her more strongly so i lifted her on the sofa andlet her sleep.

the others were dazed at first, but asremembrance came back to them they cried and sobbed in a hysterical manner.i was stern with them, however, and would not let them talk. i told them that one life was bad enough tolose, and if they delayed they would sacrifice miss lucy. so, sobbing and crying they went abouttheir way, half clad as they were, and prepared fire and water. fortunately, the kitchen and boiler fireswere still alive, and there was no lack of hot water.we got a bath and carried lucy out as she

was and placed her in it. whilst we were busy chafing her limbs therewas a knock at the hall door. one of the maids ran off, hurried on somemore clothes, and opened it. then she returned and whispered to us thatthere was a gentleman who had come with a message from mr. holmwood.i bade her simply tell him that he must wait, for we could see no one now. she went away with the message, and,engrossed with our work, i clean forgot all about him.i never saw in all my experience the professor work in such deadly earnest.

i knew, as he knew, that it was a stand-upfight with death, and in a pause told him so. he answered me in a way that i did notunderstand, but with the sternest look that his face could wear. "if that were all, i would stop here wherewe are now, and let her fade away into peace, for i see no light in life over herhorizon." he went on with his work with, if possible,renewed and more frenzied vigour. presently we both began to be consciousthat the heat was beginning to be of some effect.

lucy's heart beat a trifle more audibly tothe stethoscope, and her lungs had a perceptible movement. van helsing's face almost beamed, and as welifted her from the bath and rolled her in a hot sheet to dry her he said to me, "thefirst gain is ours! check to the king!" we took lucy into another room, which hadby now been prepared, and laid her in bed and forced a few drops of brandy down herthroat. i noticed that van helsing tied a soft silkhandkerchief round her throat. she was still unconscious, and was quite asbad as, if not worse than, we had ever seen

her. van helsing called in one of the women, andtold her to stay with her and not to take her eyes off her till we returned, and thenbeckoned me out of the room. "we must consult as to what is to be done,"he said as we descended the stairs. in the hall he opened the dining room door,and we passed in, he closing the door carefully behind him. the shutters had been opened, but theblinds were already down, with that obedience to the etiquette of death whichthe british woman of the lower classes always rigidly observes.

the room was, therefore, dimly dark.it was, however, light enough for our purposes.van helsing's sternness was somewhat relieved by a look of perplexity. he was evidently torturing his mind aboutsomething, so i waited for an instant, and he spoke."what are we to do now? where are we to turn for help? we must have another transfusion of blood,and that soon, or that poor girl's life won't be worth an hour's purchase.you are exhausted already. i am exhausted too.

i fear to trust those women, even if theywould have courage to submit. what are we to do for some one who willopen his veins for her?" "what's the matter with me, anyhow?" the voice came from the sofa across theroom, and its tones brought relief and joy to my heart, for they were those of quinceymorris. van helsing started angrily at the firstsound, but his face softened and a glad look came into his eyes as i cried out,"quincey morris!" and rushed towards him with outstretched hands. "what brought you here?"i cried as our hands met.

"i guess art is the cause." he handed me a telegram.--'have not heardfrom seward for three days, and am terribly anxious.cannot leave. father still in same condition. send me word how lucy is.do not delay.--holmwood.' "i think i came just in the nick of time.you know you have only to tell me what to do." van helsing strode forward, and took hishand, looking him straight in the eyes as he said, "a brave man's blood is the bestthing on this earth when a woman is in

trouble. you're a man and no mistake.well, the devil may work against us for all he's worth, but god sends us men when wewant them." once again we went through that ghastlyoperation. i have not the heart to go through with thedetails. lucy had got a terrible shock and it toldon her more than before, for though plenty of blood went into her veins, her body didnot respond to the treatment as well as on the other occasions. her struggle back into life was somethingfrightful to see and hear.

however, the action of both heart and lungsimproved, and van helsing made a sub- cutaneous injection of morphia, as before,and with good effect. her faint became a profound slumber. the professor watched whilst i wentdownstairs with quincey morris, and sent one of the maids to pay off one of thecabmen who were waiting. i left quincey lying down after having aglass of wine, and told the cook to get ready a good breakfast.then a thought struck me, and i went back to the room where lucy now was. when i came softly in, i found van helsingwith a sheet or two of note paper in his

hand. he had evidently read it, and was thinkingit over as he sat with his hand to his brow. there was a look of grim satisfaction inhis face, as of one who has had a doubt solved. he handed me the paper saying only, "itdropped from lucy's breast when we carried her to the bath." when i had read it, i stood looking at theprofessor, and after a pause asked him, "in god's name, what does it all mean?was she, or is she, mad, or what sort of

horrible danger is it?" i was so bewildered that i did not knowwhat to say more. van helsing put out his hand and took thepaper, saying, "do not trouble about it now. forget it for the present.you shall know and understand it all in good time, but it will be later.and now what is it that you came to me to say?" this brought me back to fact, and i was allmyself again. "i came to speak about the certificate ofdeath.

if we do not act properly and wisely, theremay be an inquest, and that paper would have to be produced. i am in hopes that we need have no inquest,for if we had it would surely kill poor lucy, if nothing else did. i know, and you know, and the other doctorwho attended her knows, that mrs. westenra had disease of the heart, and we cancertify that she died of it. let us fill up the certificate at once, andi shall take it myself to the registrar and go on to the undertaker.""good, oh my friend john! well thought of!

truly miss lucy, if she be sad in the foesthat beset her, is at least happy in the friends that love her.one, two, three, all open their veins for her, besides one old man. ah, yes, i know, friend john.i am not blind! i love you all the more for it!now go." in the hall i met quincey morris, with atelegram for arthur telling him that mrs. westenra was dead, that lucy also had beenill, but was now going on better, and that van helsing and i were with her. i told him where i was going, and hehurried me out, but as i was going said,

"when you come back, jack, may i have twowords with you all to ourselves?" i nodded in reply and went out. i found no difficulty about theregistration, and arranged with the local undertaker to come up in the evening tomeasure for the coffin and to make arrangements. when i got back quincey was waiting for me.i told him i would see him as soon as i knew about lucy, and went up to her room. she was still sleeping, and the professorseemingly had not moved from his seat at her side.

from his putting his finger to his lips, igathered that he expected her to wake before long and was afraid of fore-stallingnature. so i went down to quincey and took him intothe breakfast room, where the blinds were not drawn down, and which was a little morecheerful, or rather less cheerless, than the other rooms. when we were alone, he said to me, "jackseward, i don't want to shove myself in anywhere where i've no right to be, butthis is no ordinary case. you know i loved that girl and wanted tomarry her, but although that's all past and gone, i can't help feeling anxious abouther all the same.

what is it that's wrong with her? the dutchman, and a fine old fellow he is,i can see that, said that time you two came into the room, that you must have anothertransfusion of blood, and that both you and he were exhausted. now i know well that you medical men speakin camera, and that a man must not expect to know what they consult about in private.but this is no common matter, and whatever it is, i have done my part. is not that so?""that's so," i said, and he went on. "i take it that both you and van helsinghad done already what i did today.

is not that so?" "that's so.""and i guess art was in it too. when i saw him four days ago down at hisown place he looked queer. i have not seen anything pulled down soquick since i was on the pampas and had a mare that i was fond of go to grass all ina night. one of those big bats that they callvampires had got at her in the night, and what with his gorge and the vein left open,there wasn't enough blood in her to let her stand up, and i had to put a bullet throughher as she lay. jack, if you may tell me without betrayingconfidence, arthur was the first, is not

that so?" as he spoke the poor fellow looked terriblyanxious. he was in a torture of suspense regardingthe woman he loved, and his utter ignorance of the terrible mystery which seemed tosurround her intensified his pain. his very heart was bleeding, and it tookall the manhood of him, and there was a royal lot of it, too, to keep him frombreaking down. i paused before answering, for i felt thati must not betray anything which the professor wished kept secret, but alreadyhe knew so much, and guessed so much, that there could be no reason for not answering,so i answered in the same phrase.

"that's so.""and how long has this been going on?" "about ten days." "ten days!then i guess, jack seward, that that poor pretty creature that we all love has hadput into her veins within that time the blood of four strong men. man alive, her whole body wouldn't holdit." then coming close to me, he spoke in afierce half-whisper. "what took it out?" i shook my head."that," i said, "is the crux.

van helsing is simply frantic about it, andi am at my wits' end. i can't even hazard a guess. there has been a series of littlecircumstances which have thrown out all our calculations as to lucy being properlywatched. but these shall not occur again. here we stay until all be well, or ill."quincey held out his hand. "count me in," he said."you and the dutchman will tell me what to do, and i'll do it." when she woke late in the afternoon, lucy'sfirst movement was to feel in her breast,

and to my surprise, produced the paperwhich van helsing had given me to read. the careful professor had replaced it whereit had come from, lest on waking she should be alarmed.her eyes then lit on van helsing and on me too, and gladdened. then she looked round the room, and seeingwhere she was, shuddered. she gave a loud cry, and put her poor thinhands before her pale face. we both understood what was meant, that shehad realized to the full her mother's death.so we tried what we could to comfort her. doubtless sympathy eased her somewhat, butshe was very low in thought and spirit, and

wept silently and weakly for a long time. we told her that either or both of us wouldnow remain with her all the time, and that seemed to comfort her.towards dusk she fell into a doze. here a very odd thing occurred. whilst still asleep she took the paper fromher breast and tore it in two. van helsing stepped over and took thepieces from her. all the same, however, she went on with theaction of tearing, as though the material were still in her hands.finally she lifted her hands and opened them as though scattering the fragments.

van helsing seemed surprised, and his browsgathered as if in thought, but he said nothing. 19 september.--all last night she sleptfitfully, being always afraid to sleep, and something weaker when she woke from it. the professor and i took in turns to watch,and we never left her for a moment unattended. quincey morris said nothing about hisintention, but i knew that all night long he patrolled round and round the house.when the day came, its searching light showed the ravages in poor lucy's strength.

she was hardly able to turn her head, andthe little nourishment which she could take seemed to do her no good. at times she slept, and both van helsingand i noticed the difference in her, between sleeping and waking.whilst asleep she looked stronger, although more haggard, and her breathing was softer. her open mouth showed the pale gums drawnback from the teeth, which looked positively longer and sharper than usual. when she woke the softness of her eyesevidently changed the expression, for she looked her own self, although a dying one.in the afternoon she asked for arthur, and

we telegraphed for him. quincey went off to meet him at thestation. when he arrived it was nearly six o'clock,and the sun was setting full and warm, and the red light streamed in through thewindow and gave more colour to the pale cheeks. when he saw her, arthur was simply chokingwith emotion, and none of us could speak. in the hours that had passed, the fits ofsleep, or the comatose condition that passed for it, had grown more frequent, sothat the pauses when conversation was possible were shortened.

arthur's presence, however, seemed to actas a stimulant. she rallied a little, and spoke to him morebrightly than she had done since we arrived. he too pulled himself together, and spokeas cheerily as he could, so that the best was made of everything.it is now nearly one o'clock, and he and van helsing are sitting with her. i am to relieve them in a quarter of anhour, and i am entering this on lucy's phonograph.until six o'clock they are to try to rest. i fear that tomorrow will end our watching,for the shock has been too great.

the poor child cannot rally.god help us all. letter mina harker to lucy westenra(unopened by her) 17 septembermy dearest lucy, "it seems an age since i heard from you, orindeed since i wrote. you will pardon me, i know, for all myfaults when you have read all my budget of news. well, i got my husband back all right.when we arrived at exeter there was a carriage waiting for us, and in it, thoughhe had an attack of gout, mr. hawkins. he took us to his house, where there wererooms for us all nice and comfortable, and

we dined together.after dinner mr. hawkins said, "'my dears, i want to drink your health andprosperity, and may every blessing attend you both.i know you both from children, and have, with love and pride, seen you grow up. now i want you to make your home here withme. i have left to me neither chick nor child.all are gone, and in my will i have left you everything.' i cried, lucy dear, as jonathan and the oldman clasped hands. our evening was a very, very happy one.

"so here we are, installed in thisbeautiful old house, and from both my bedroom and the drawing room i can see thegreat elms of the cathedral close, with their great black stems standing out against the old yellow stone of thecathedral, and i can hear the rooks overhead cawing and cawing and chatteringand chattering and gossiping all day, after the manner of rooks--and humans. i am busy, i need not tell you, arrangingthings and housekeeping. jonathan and mr. hawkins are busy all day,for now that jonathan is a partner, mr. hawkins wants to tell him all about theclients.

"how is your dear mother getting on? i wish i could run up to town for a day ortwo to see you, dear, but i dare not go yet, with so much on my shoulders, andjonathan wants looking after still. he is beginning to put some flesh on hisbones again, but he was terribly weakened by the long illness. even now he sometimes starts out of hissleep in a sudden way and awakes all trembling until i can coax him back to hisusual placidity. however, thank god, these occasions growless frequent as the days go on, and they will in time pass away altogether, i trust.and now i have told you my news, let me ask

yours. when are you to be married, and where, andwho is to perform the ceremony, and what are you to wear, and is it to be a publicor private wedding? tell me all about it, dear, tell me allabout everything, for there is nothing which interests you which will not be dearto me. jonathan asks me to send his 'respectfulduty', but i do not think that is good enough from the junior partner of theimportant firm hawkins & harker. and so, as you love me, and he loves me,and i love you with all the moods and tenses of the verb, i send you simply his'love' instead.

goodbye, my dearest lucy, and blessings onyou. "yours,"mina harker" report from patrick hennessey, md, mrcslk,qcpi, etc, etc, to john seward, md 20 septembermy dear sir: "in accordance with your wishes, i enclosereport of the conditions of everything left in my charge.with regard to patient, renfield, there is more to say. he has had another outbreak, which mighthave had a dreadful ending, but which, as it fortunately happened, was unattendedwith any unhappy results.

this afternoon a carrier's cart with twomen made a call at the empty house whose grounds abut on ours, the house to which,you will remember, the patient twice ran away. the men stopped at our gate to ask theporter their way, as they were strangers. "i was myself looking out of the studywindow, having a smoke after dinner, and saw one of them come up to the house. as he passed the window of renfield's room,the patient began to rate him from within, and called him all the foul names he couldlay his tongue to. the man, who seemed a decent fellow enough,contented himself by telling him to 'shut

up for a foul-mouthed beggar', whereon ourman accused him of robbing him and wanting to murder him and said that he would hinderhim if he were to swing for it. i opened the window and signed to the mannot to notice, so he contented himself after looking the place over and making uphis mind as to what kind of place he had got to by saying, 'lor' bless yer, sir, i wouldn't mind what was said to me in abloomin' madhouse. i pity ye and the guv'nor for havin' tolive in the house with a wild beast like that.' "then he asked his way civilly enough, andi told him where the gate of the empty

house was.he went away followed by threats and curses and revilings from our man. i went down to see if i could make out anycause for his anger, since he is usually such a well-behaved man, and except hisviolent fits nothing of the kind had ever occurred. i found him, to my astonishment, quitecomposed and most genial in his manner. i tried to get him to talk of the incident,but he blandly asked me questions as to what i meant, and led me to believe that hewas completely oblivious of the affair. it was, i am sorry to say, however, onlyanother instance of his cunning, for within

half an hour i heard of him again. this time he had broken out through thewindow of his room, and was running down the avenue. i called to the attendants to follow me,and ran after him, for i feared he was intent on some mischief. my fear was justified when i saw the samecart which had passed before coming down the road, having on it some great woodenboxes. the men were wiping their foreheads, andwere flushed in the face, as if with violent exercise.

before i could get up to him, the patientrushed at them, and pulling one of them off the cart, began to knock his head againstthe ground. if i had not seized him just at the moment,i believe he would have killed the man there and then. the other fellow jumped down and struck himover the head with the butt end of his heavy whip. it was a horrible blow, but he did not seemto mind it, but seized him also, and struggled with the three of us, pulling usto and fro as if we were kittens. you know i am no lightweight, and theothers were both burly men.

at first he was silent in his fighting, butas we began to master him, and the attendants were putting a strait waistcoaton him, he began to shout, 'i'll frustrate them! they shan't rob me!they shan't murder me by inches! i'll fight for my lord and master!' and allsorts of similar incoherent ravings. it was with very considerable difficultythat they got him back to the house and put him in the padded room.one of the attendants, hardy, had a finger broken. however, i set it all right, and he isgoing on well.

"the two carriers were at first loud intheir threats of actions for damages, and promised to rain all the penalties of thelaw on us. their threats were, however, mingled withsome sort of indirect apology for the defeat of the two of them by a feeblemadman. they said that if it had not been for theway their strength had been spent in carrying and raising the heavy boxes to thecart they would have made short work of him. they gave as another reason for theirdefeat the extraordinary state of drouth to which they had been reduced by the dustynature of their occupation and the

reprehensible distance from the scene of their labors of any place of publicentertainment. i quite understood their drift, and after astiff glass of strong grog, or rather more of the same, and with each a sovereign inhand, they made light of the attack, and swore that they would encounter a worse madman any day for the pleasure of meetingso 'bloomin' good a bloke' as your correspondent.i took their names and addresses, in case they might be needed. they are as follows: jack smollet, ofdudding's rents, king george's road, great

walworth, and thomas snelling, peterfarley's row, guide court, bethnal green. they are both in the employment of harris &sons, moving and shipment company, orange master's yard, soho. "i shall report to you any matter ofinterest occurring here, and shall wire you at once if there is anything of importance."believe me, dear sir, "yours faithfully, "patrick hennessey." letter, mina harker to lucy westenra(unopened by her) 18 september"my dearest lucy,

"such a sad blow has befallen us. mr. hawkins has died very suddenly.some may not think it so sad for us, but we had both come to so love him that it reallyseems as though we had lost a father. i never knew either father or mother, sothat the dear old man's death is a real blow to me.jonathan is greatly distressed. it is not only that he feels sorrow, deepsorrow, for the dear, good man who has befriended him all his life, and now at theend has treated him like his own son and left him a fortune which to people of our modest bringing up is wealth beyond thedream of avarice, but jonathan feels it on

another account.he says the amount of responsibility which it puts upon him makes him nervous. he begins to doubt himself.i try to cheer him up, and my belief in him helps him to have a belief in himself.but it is here that the grave shock that he experienced tells upon him the most. oh, it is too hard that a sweet, simple,noble, strong nature such as his, a nature which enabled him by our dear, goodfriend's aid to rise from clerk to master in a few years, should be so injured thatthe very essence of its strength is gone. forgive me, dear, if i worry you with mytroubles in the midst of your own

happiness, but lucy dear, i must tellsomeone, for the strain of keeping up a brave and cheerful appearance to jonathan tries me, and i have no one here that i canconfide in. i dread coming up to london, as we must dothat day after tomorrow, for poor mr. hawkins left in his will that he was to beburied in the grave with his father. as there are no relations at all, jonathanwill have to be chief mourner. i shall try to run over to see you,dearest, if only for a few minutes. forgive me for troubling you. with all blessings,"your loving

"mina harker" dr. seward's diary20 september.--only resolution and habit can let me make an entry tonight. i am too miserable, too low spirited, toosick of the world and all in it, including life itself, that i would not care if iheard this moment the flapping of the wings of the angel of death. and he has been flapping those grim wingsto some purpose of late, lucy's mother and arthur's father, and now...let me get on with my work. i duly relieved van helsing in his watchover lucy.

we wanted arthur to go to rest also, but herefused at first. it was only when i told him that we shouldwant him to help us during the day, and that we must not all break down for want ofrest, lest lucy should suffer, that he agreed to go. van helsing was very kind to him."come, my child," he said. "come with me. you are sick and weak, and have had muchsorrow and much mental pain, as well as that tax on your strength that we know of.you must not be alone, for to be alone is to be full of fears and alarms.

come to the drawing room, where there is abig fire, and there are two sofas. you shall lie on one, and i on the other,and our sympathy will be comfort to each other, even though we do not speak, andeven if we sleep." arthur went off with him, casting back alonging look on lucy's face, which lay in her pillow, almost whiter than the lawn. she lay quite still, and i looked aroundthe room to see that all was as it should be. i could see that the professor had carriedout in this room, as in the other, his purpose of using the garlic.

the whole of the window sashes reeked withit, and round lucy's neck, over the silk handkerchief which van helsing made herkeep on, was a rough chaplet of the same odorous flowers. lucy was breathing somewhat stertorously,and her face was at its worst, for the open mouth showed the pale gums. her teeth, in the dim, uncertain light,seemed longer and sharper than they had been in the morning. in particular, by some trick of the light,the canine teeth looked longer and sharper than the rest.i sat down beside her, and presently she

moved uneasily. at the same moment there came a sort ofdull flapping or buffeting at the window. i went over to it softly, and peeped out bythe corner of the blind. there was a full moonlight, and i could seethat the noise was made by a great bat, which wheeled around, doubtless attractedby the light, although so dim, and every now and again struck the window with itswings. when i came back to my seat, i found thatlucy had moved slightly, and had torn away the garlic flowers from her throat. i replaced them as well as i could, and satwatching her.

presently she woke, and i gave her food, asvan helsing had prescribed. she took but a little, and that languidly. there did not seem to be with her now theunconscious struggle for life and strength that had hitherto so marked her illness. it struck me as curious that the moment shebecame conscious she pressed the garlic flowers close to her. it was certainly odd that whenever she gotinto that lethargic state, with the stertorous breathing, she put the flowersfrom her, but that when she waked she clutched them close.

there was no possibility of making anymistake about this, for in the long hours that followed, she had many spells ofsleeping and waking and repeated both actions many times. at six o'clock van helsing came to relieveme. arthur had then fallen into a doze, and hemercifully let him sleep on. when he saw lucy's face i could hear thehissing indraw of breath, and he said to me in a sharp whisper."draw up the blind. i want light!" then he bent down, and, with his facealmost touching lucy's, examined her

carefully.he removed the flowers and lifted the silk handkerchief from her throat. as he did so he started back and i couldhear his ejaculation, "mein gott!" as it was smothered in his throat.i bent over and looked, too, and as i noticed some queer chill came over me. the wounds on the throat had absolutelydisappeared. for fully five minutes van helsing stoodlooking at her, with his face at its sternest. then he turned to me and said calmly, "sheis dying.

it will not be long now.it will be much difference, mark me, whether she dies conscious or in her sleep. wake that poor boy, and let him come andsee the last. he trusts us, and we have promised him."i went to the dining room and waked him. he was dazed for a moment, but when he sawthe sunlight streaming in through the edges of the shutters he thought he was late, andexpressed his fear. i assured him that lucy was still asleep,but told him as gently as i could that both van helsing and i feared that the end wasnear. he covered his face with his hands, andslid down on his knees by the sofa, where

he remained, perhaps a minute, with hishead buried, praying, whilst his shoulders shook with grief. i took him by the hand and raised him up."come," i said, "my dear old fellow, summon all your fortitude.it will be best and easiest for her." when we came into lucy's room i could seethat van helsing had, with his usual forethought, been putting matters straightand making everything look as pleasing as possible. he had even brushed lucy's hair, so that itlay on the pillow in its usual sunny ripples.

when we came into the room she opened hereyes, and seeing him, whispered softly, "arthur!oh, my love, i am so glad you have come!" he was stooping to kiss her, when vanhelsing motioned him back. "no," he whispered, "not yet!hold her hand, it will comfort her more." so arthur took her hand and knelt besideher, and she looked her best, with all the soft lines matching the angelic beauty ofher eyes. then gradually her eyes closed, and shesank to sleep. for a little bit her breast heaved softly,and her breath came and went like a tired child's.

and then insensibly there came the strangechange which i had noticed in the night. her breathing grew stertorous, the mouthopened, and the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper thanever. in a sort of sleep-waking, vague,unconscious way she opened her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said ina soft, voluptuous voice, such as i had never heard from her lips, "arthur! oh, my love, i am so glad you have come!kiss me!" arthur bent eagerly over to kiss her, butat that instant van helsing, who, like me, had been startled by her voice, swoopedupon him, and catching him by the neck with

both hands, dragged him back with a fury of strength which i never thought he couldhave possessed, and actually hurled him almost across the room."not on your life!" he said, "not for your living soul and hers!" and he stood between them like a lion atbay. arthur was so taken aback that he did notfor a moment know what to do or say, and before any impulse of violence could seizehim he realized the place and the occasion, and stood silent, waiting. i kept my eyes fixed on lucy, as did vanhelsing, and we saw a spasm as of rage flit

like a shadow over her face.the sharp teeth clamped together. then her eyes closed, and she breathedheavily. very shortly after she opened her eyes inall their softness, and putting out her poor, pale, thin hand, took van helsing'sgreat brown one, drawing it close to her, she kissed it. "my true friend," she said, in a faintvoice, but with untellable pathos, "my true friend, and his!oh, guard him, and give me peace!" "i swear it!" he said solemnly, kneelingbeside her and holding up his hand, as one who registers an oath.

then he turned to arthur, and said to him,"come, my child, take her hand in yours, and kiss her on the forehead, and onlyonce." their eyes met instead of their lips, andso they parted. lucy's eyes closed, and van helsing, whohad been watching closely, took arthur's arm, and drew him away. and then lucy's breathing became stertorousagain, and all at once it ceased. "it is all over," said van helsing."she is dead!" i took arthur by the arm, and led him awayto the drawing room, where he sat down, and covered his face with his hands, sobbing ina way that nearly broke me down to see.

i went back to the room, and found vanhelsing looking at poor lucy, and his face was sterner than ever.some change had come over her body. death had given back part of her beauty,for her brow and cheeks had recovered some of their flowing lines.even the lips had lost their deadly pallor. it was as if the blood, no longer neededfor the working of the heart, had gone to make the harshness of death as little rudeas might be. "we thought her dying whilst she slept, andsleeping when she died." i stood beside van helsing, and said, "ahwell, poor girl, there is peace for her at last.

it is the end!"he turned to me, and said with grave solemnity, "not so, alas!not so. it is only the beginning!" when i asked him what he meant, he onlyshook his head and answered, "we can do nothing as yet.wait and see."

Subscribe to receive free email updates: