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."So far," he said, "our night has been eminently successful.No harm hascome to us such as I feared might be and yet we have ascertained howmany boxes are missing.More than all do I rejoice that this, our first, andperhaps our most difficult and dangerous, step has been accomplishedwithout the bringing thereinto our most sweet Madam Mina or troublingher waking or sleeping thoughts with sights and sounds and smells ofhorror which she might never forget.One lesson, too, we have learned, ifit be allowable to argue a particulari, that the brute beasts which are to theCount's command are yet themselves not amenable to his spiritual power,for look, these rats that would come to his call, just as from his castle tophe summon the wolves to your going and to that poor mother's cry, thoughthey come to him, they run pell-mell from the so little dogs of my friendArthur.We have other matters before us, other dangers, other fears, andthat monster.He has not used his power over the brute world for theonly or the last time tonight.So be it that he has gone elsewhere.Good!It has given us opportunity to cry `check'in some ways in this chess game,which we play for the stake of human souls.And now let us go home.The dawn is close at hand, and we have reason to be content with our firstnight's work.It may be ordained that we have many nights and days tofollow, if full of peril, but we must go on, and from no danger shall weshrink."The house was silent when we got back, save for some poor creature whowas screaming away in one of the distant wards, and a low, moaningPage 215 CHAPTER 19sound from Renfield's room.The poor wretch was doubtless torturinghimself, after the manner of the insane, with needless thoughts of pain.I came tiptoe into our own room, and found Mina asleep, breathing sosoftly that I had to put my ear down to hear it.She looks paler than usual.I hope the meeting tonight has not upset her.I am truly thankful that sheis to be left out of our future work, and even of our deliberations.It is toogreat a strain for a woman to bear.I did not think so at first, but I knowbetter now.Therefore I am glad that it is settled.There may be thingswhich would frighten her to hear, and yet to conceal them from her mightbe worse than to tell her if once she suspected that there was anyconcealment.Henceforth our work is to be a sealed book to her, till atleast such time as we can tell her that all is finished, and the earth freefrom a monster of the nether world.I daresay it will be difficult to beginto keep silence after such confidence as ours, but I must be resolute, andtomorrow I shall keep dark over tonight's doings, and shall refuse to speakof anything that has happened.I rest on the sofa, so as not to disturb her.1 October, later.--I suppose it was natural that we should have alloverslept ourselves, for the day was a busy one, and the night had no restat all.Even Mina must have felt its exhaustion, for though I slept till thesun was high, I was awake before her, and had to call two or three timesbefore she awoke.Indeed, she was so sound asleep that for a few secondsshe did not recognize me, but looked at me with a sort of blank terror, asone looks who has been waked out of a bad dream.She complained a littleof being tired, and I let her rest till later in the day.We now know oftwenty-one boxes having been removed, and if it be that several weretaken in any of these removals we may be able to trace them all.Suchwill, of course, immensely simplify our labor, and the sooner the matter isattended to the better.I shall look up Thomas Snelling today.DR.SEWARD'S DIARY1 October.--It was towards noon when I was awakened by the Professorwalking into my room.He was more jolly and cheerful than usual, an it isquite evident that last night's work has helped to take some of thebrooding weight off his mind.After going over the adventure of the night he suddenly said, "Yourpatient interests me much.May it be that with you I visit him thismorning? Or if that you are too occupy, I can go alone if it may be.It is anew experience to me to find a lunatic who talk philosophy, and reason sosound."I had some work to do which pressed, so I told him that if he would goalone I would be glad, as then I should not have to keep him waiting, so IPage 216 CHAPTER 19called an attendant and gave him the necessary instructions.Before theProfessor left the room I cautioned him against getting any falseimpression from my patient."But," he answered, "I want him to talk of himself and of his delusion asto consuming live things.He said to Madam Mina, as I see in your diaryof yesterday, that he had once had such a belief.Why do you smile, friendJohn?""Excuse me," I said, "but the answer is here." I laid my hand on thetypewritten matter."When our sane and learned lunatic made that verystatement of how he used to consume life, his mouth was actuallynauseous with the flies and spiders which he had eaten just before Mrs.Harker entered the room."Van Helsing smiled in turn."Good!" he said."Your memory is true,friend John.I should have remembered.And yet it is this very obliquityof thought and memory which makes mental disease such a fascinatingstudy.Perhaps I may gain more knowledge out of the folly of thismadman than I shall from the teaching of the most wise.Who knows?"I went on with my work, and before long was through that in hand.Itseemed that the time had been very short indeed, but there was VanHelsing back in the study."Do I interrupt?" he asked politely as he stood at the door."Not at all," I answered."Come in.My work is finished, and I am free.Ican go with you now, if you like.""It is needless, I have seen him!""Well?""I fear that he does not appraise me at much.Our interview was short.When I entered his room he was sitting on a stool in the center, with hiselbows on his knees, and his face was the picture of sullen discontent.Ispoke to him as cheerfully as I could, and with such a measure of respectas I could assume.He made no reply whatever.Don't you know me?' Iasked.His answer was not reassuring."I know you well enough, you arethe old fool Van Helsing.I wish you would take yourself and your idioticbrain theories somewhere else.Damn all thick-headed Dutchmen!' Not aword more would he say, but sat in his implacable sullenness asindifferent to me as though I had not been in the room at all.Thusdeparted for this time my chance of much learning from this so cleverlunatic, so I shall go, if I may, and cheer myself with a few happy wordswith that sweet soul Madam Mina.Friend John, it does rejoice meunspeakable that she is no more to be pained, no more to be worried withour terrible things.Though we shall much miss her help, it is better so."Page 217 CHAPTER 19"I agree with you with all my heart," I answered earnestly, for I did notwant him to weaken in this matter."Mrs.Harker is better out of it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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."So far," he said, "our night has been eminently successful.No harm hascome to us such as I feared might be and yet we have ascertained howmany boxes are missing.More than all do I rejoice that this, our first, andperhaps our most difficult and dangerous, step has been accomplishedwithout the bringing thereinto our most sweet Madam Mina or troublingher waking or sleeping thoughts with sights and sounds and smells ofhorror which she might never forget.One lesson, too, we have learned, ifit be allowable to argue a particulari, that the brute beasts which are to theCount's command are yet themselves not amenable to his spiritual power,for look, these rats that would come to his call, just as from his castle tophe summon the wolves to your going and to that poor mother's cry, thoughthey come to him, they run pell-mell from the so little dogs of my friendArthur.We have other matters before us, other dangers, other fears, andthat monster.He has not used his power over the brute world for theonly or the last time tonight.So be it that he has gone elsewhere.Good!It has given us opportunity to cry `check'in some ways in this chess game,which we play for the stake of human souls.And now let us go home.The dawn is close at hand, and we have reason to be content with our firstnight's work.It may be ordained that we have many nights and days tofollow, if full of peril, but we must go on, and from no danger shall weshrink."The house was silent when we got back, save for some poor creature whowas screaming away in one of the distant wards, and a low, moaningPage 215 CHAPTER 19sound from Renfield's room.The poor wretch was doubtless torturinghimself, after the manner of the insane, with needless thoughts of pain.I came tiptoe into our own room, and found Mina asleep, breathing sosoftly that I had to put my ear down to hear it.She looks paler than usual.I hope the meeting tonight has not upset her.I am truly thankful that sheis to be left out of our future work, and even of our deliberations.It is toogreat a strain for a woman to bear.I did not think so at first, but I knowbetter now.Therefore I am glad that it is settled.There may be thingswhich would frighten her to hear, and yet to conceal them from her mightbe worse than to tell her if once she suspected that there was anyconcealment.Henceforth our work is to be a sealed book to her, till atleast such time as we can tell her that all is finished, and the earth freefrom a monster of the nether world.I daresay it will be difficult to beginto keep silence after such confidence as ours, but I must be resolute, andtomorrow I shall keep dark over tonight's doings, and shall refuse to speakof anything that has happened.I rest on the sofa, so as not to disturb her.1 October, later.--I suppose it was natural that we should have alloverslept ourselves, for the day was a busy one, and the night had no restat all.Even Mina must have felt its exhaustion, for though I slept till thesun was high, I was awake before her, and had to call two or three timesbefore she awoke.Indeed, she was so sound asleep that for a few secondsshe did not recognize me, but looked at me with a sort of blank terror, asone looks who has been waked out of a bad dream.She complained a littleof being tired, and I let her rest till later in the day.We now know oftwenty-one boxes having been removed, and if it be that several weretaken in any of these removals we may be able to trace them all.Suchwill, of course, immensely simplify our labor, and the sooner the matter isattended to the better.I shall look up Thomas Snelling today.DR.SEWARD'S DIARY1 October.--It was towards noon when I was awakened by the Professorwalking into my room.He was more jolly and cheerful than usual, an it isquite evident that last night's work has helped to take some of thebrooding weight off his mind.After going over the adventure of the night he suddenly said, "Yourpatient interests me much.May it be that with you I visit him thismorning? Or if that you are too occupy, I can go alone if it may be.It is anew experience to me to find a lunatic who talk philosophy, and reason sosound."I had some work to do which pressed, so I told him that if he would goalone I would be glad, as then I should not have to keep him waiting, so IPage 216 CHAPTER 19called an attendant and gave him the necessary instructions.Before theProfessor left the room I cautioned him against getting any falseimpression from my patient."But," he answered, "I want him to talk of himself and of his delusion asto consuming live things.He said to Madam Mina, as I see in your diaryof yesterday, that he had once had such a belief.Why do you smile, friendJohn?""Excuse me," I said, "but the answer is here." I laid my hand on thetypewritten matter."When our sane and learned lunatic made that verystatement of how he used to consume life, his mouth was actuallynauseous with the flies and spiders which he had eaten just before Mrs.Harker entered the room."Van Helsing smiled in turn."Good!" he said."Your memory is true,friend John.I should have remembered.And yet it is this very obliquityof thought and memory which makes mental disease such a fascinatingstudy.Perhaps I may gain more knowledge out of the folly of thismadman than I shall from the teaching of the most wise.Who knows?"I went on with my work, and before long was through that in hand.Itseemed that the time had been very short indeed, but there was VanHelsing back in the study."Do I interrupt?" he asked politely as he stood at the door."Not at all," I answered."Come in.My work is finished, and I am free.Ican go with you now, if you like.""It is needless, I have seen him!""Well?""I fear that he does not appraise me at much.Our interview was short.When I entered his room he was sitting on a stool in the center, with hiselbows on his knees, and his face was the picture of sullen discontent.Ispoke to him as cheerfully as I could, and with such a measure of respectas I could assume.He made no reply whatever.Don't you know me?' Iasked.His answer was not reassuring."I know you well enough, you arethe old fool Van Helsing.I wish you would take yourself and your idioticbrain theories somewhere else.Damn all thick-headed Dutchmen!' Not aword more would he say, but sat in his implacable sullenness asindifferent to me as though I had not been in the room at all.Thusdeparted for this time my chance of much learning from this so cleverlunatic, so I shall go, if I may, and cheer myself with a few happy wordswith that sweet soul Madam Mina.Friend John, it does rejoice meunspeakable that she is no more to be pained, no more to be worried withour terrible things.Though we shall much miss her help, it is better so."Page 217 CHAPTER 19"I agree with you with all my heart," I answered earnestly, for I did notwant him to weaken in this matter."Mrs.Harker is better out of it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]