Chapter 22

by Bram Stoker

　　JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL3 October.--As I must do something or go mad, I write this diary.It is now six o'clock, and we are to meet in the study in half an hourand take something to eat, for Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. Seward are agreedthat if we do not eat we cannot work our best. Our best will be,God knows, required today. I must keep writing at every chance,for I dare not stop to think. All, big and little, must go down.Perhaps at the end the little things may teach us most.The teaching, big or little, could not have landed Mina or meanywhere worse than we are today. However, we must trust and hope.Poor Mina told me just now, with the tears running down her dear cheeks,that it is in trouble and trial that our faith is tested.That we must keep on trusting, and that God will aid us up to the end.The end! Oh my God! What end?. . . To work! To work!When Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. Seward had come back from seeing poor Renfield,we went gravely into what was to be done. First, Dr. Seward told us that whenhe and Dr. Van Helsing had gone down to the room below they had found Renfieldlying on the floor, all in a heap. His face was all bruised and crushed in,and the bones of the neck were broken.Dr. Seward asked the attendant who was on duty in the passage if he hadheard anything. He said that he had been sitting down, he confessedto half dozing, when he heard loud voices in the room, and then Renfieldhad called out loudly several times, "God! God! God!" After thatthere was a sound of falling, and when he entered the room he foundhim lying on the floor, face down, just as the doctors had seen him.Van Helsing asked if he had heard "voices" or "a voice," and he saidhe could not say. That at first it had seemed to him as if there were two,but as there was no one in the room it could have been only one.He could swear to it, if required, that the word "God" was spokenby the patient.Dr. Seward said to us, when we were alone, that he did not wish to gointo the matter. The question of an inquest had to be considered,and it would never do to put forward the truth, as no one would believe it.As it was, he thought that on the attendant's evidence he couldgive a certificate of death by misadventure in falling from bed.In case the coroner should demand it, there would be a formal inquest,necessarily to the same result.When the question began to be discussed as to what should be our next step,the very first thing we decided was that Mina should be in full confidence.That nothing of any sort, no matter how painful, should be kept from her.She herself agreed as to its wisdom, and it was pitiful to see her so braveand yet so sorrowful, and in such a depth of despair."There must be no concealment," she said. "Alas! We have had toomuch already. And besides there is nothing in all the world that cangive me more pain than I have already endured, than I suffer now!Whatever may happen, it must be of new hope or of new courage to me!"Van Helsing was looking at her fixedly as she spoke, and said,suddenly but quietly, "But dear Madam Mina, are you not afraid.Not for yourself, but for others from yourself, after what has happened?"Her face grew set in its lines, but her eyes shonewith the devotion of a martyr as she answered, "Ah no!For my mind is made up!""To what?" he asked gently, whilst we were all very still, for each in our ownway we had a sort of vague idea of what she meant.Her answer came with direct simplicity, as though she was simply statinga fact, "Because if I find in myself, and I shall watch keenly for it,a sign of harm to any that I love, I shall die!""You would not kill yourself?" he asked, hoarsely."I would. If there were no friend who loved me,who would save me such a pain, and so desperate an effort!"She looked at him meaningly as she spoke.He was sitting down, but now he rose and came closeto her and put his hand on her head as he said solemnly."My child, there is such an one if it were for your good.For myself I could hold it in my account with God to find suchan euthanasia for you, even at this moment if it were best.Nay, were it safe! But my child. . ."For a moment he seemed choked, and a great sob rose in his throat.He gulped it down and went on, "There are here some who wouldstand between you and death. You must not die. You must notdie by any hand, but least of all your own. Until the other,who has fouled your sweet life, is true dead you must not die.For if he is still with the quick Undead, your death wouldmake you even as he is. No, you must live! You must struggleand strive to live, though death would seem a boon unspeakable.You must fight Death himself, though he come to you in painor in joy. By the day, or the night, in safety or in peril!On your living soul I charge you that you do not die.Nay, nor think of death, till this great evil be past."The poor dear grew white as death, and shook and shivered,as I have seen a quicksand shake and shiver at the incomingof the tide. We were all silent. We could do nothing.At length she grew more calm and turning to him said sweetly,but oh so sorrowfully, as she held out her hand, "I promise you,my dear friend, that if God will let me live, I shall striveto do so. Till, if it may be in His good time, this horrormay have passed away from me."She was so good and brave that we all felt that our hearts were strengthenedto work and endure for her, and we began to discuss what we were to do.I told her that she was to have all the papers in the safe, and all the papersor diaries and phonographs we might hereafter use, and was to keep the recordas she had done before. She was pleased with the prospect of anything to do,if "pleased" could be used in connection with so grim an interest.As usual Van Helsing had thought ahead of everyone else,and was prepared with an exact ordering of our work."It is perhaps well," he said, "that at our meeting after our visit toCarfax we decided not to do anything with the earth boxes that lay there.Had we done so, the Count must have guessed our purpose, and woulddoubtless have taken measures in advance to frustrate such an effortwith regard to the others. But now he does not know our intentions.Nay, more, in all probability, he does not know that such a power existsto us as can sterilize his lairs, so that he cannot use them as of old."We are now so much further advanced in our knowledge as to theirdisposition that, when we have examined the house in Piccadilly, we may trackthe very last of them. Today then, is ours, and in it rests our hope.The sun that rose on our sorrow this morning guards us in its course.Until it sets tonight, that monster must retain whatever form he now has.He is confined within the limitations of his earthly envelope. He cannotmelt into thin air nor disappear through cracks or chinks or crannies.If he go through a doorway, he must open the door like a mortal.And so we have this day to hunt out all his lairs and sterilize them.So we shall, if we have not yet catch him and destroy him, drive himto bay in some place where the catching and the destroying shall be,in time, sure."Here I started up for I could not contain myself at the thought thatthe minutes and seconds so preciously laden with Mina's life and happinesswere flying from us, since whilst we talked action was impossible.But Van Helsing held up his hand warningly."Nay, friend Jonathan," he said, "in this, the quickest wayhome is the longest way, so your proverb say. We shall allact and act with desperate quick, when the time has come.But think, in all probable the key of the situation is in that housein Piccadilly. The Count may have many houses which he has bought.Of them he will have deeds of purchase, keys and other things.He will have paper that he write on. He will have his book of cheques.There are many belongings that he must have somewhere.Why not in this place so central, so quiet, where he come and go bythe front or the back at all hours, when in the very vast of the trafficthere is none to notice. We shall go there and search that house.And when we learn what it holds, then we do what our friend Arthur call,in his phrases of hunt `stop the earths' and so we run down ourold fox, so? Is it not?""Then let us come at once," I cried, "we are wastingthe precious, precious time!"The Professor did not move, but simply said, "And how are weto get into that house in Piccadilly?""Any way!" I cried. "We shall break in if need be.""And your police? Where will they be, and what will they say?"I was staggered, but I knew that if he wished to delay he had a good reasonfor it. So I said, as quietly as I could, "Don't wait more than need be.You know, I am sure, what torture I am in.""Ah, my child, that I do. And indeed there is no wish of meto add to your anguish. But just think, what can we do,until all the world be at movement. Then will come our time.I have thought and thought, and it seems to me that the simplestway is the best of all. Now we wish to get into the house,but we have no key. Is it not so?" I nodded."Now suppose that you were, in truth, the owner of that house, and could notstill get in. And think there was to you no conscience of the housebreaker,what would you do?""I should get a respectable locksmith, and set him to work to pickthe lock for me.""And your police, they would interfere, would they not?""Oh no! Not if they knew the man was properly employed.""Then," he looked at me as keenly as he spoke, "all that is in doubtis the conscience of the employer, and the belief of your policemenas to whether or not that employer has a good conscience or a bad one.Your police must indeed be zealous men and clever, oh so clever,in reading the heart, that they trouble themselves in such matter.No, no, my friend Jonathan, you go take the lock off a hundredempty houses in this your London, or of any city in the world,and if you do it as such things are rightly done, and atthe time such things are rightly done, no one will interfere.I have read of a gentleman who owned a so fine house in London,and when he went for months of summer to Switzerland and lock uphis house, some burglar come and broke window at back and got in.Then he went and made open the shutters in front and walk outand in through the door, before the very eyes of the police.Then he have an auction in that house, and advertise it,and put up big notice. And when the day come he sell off by agreat auctioneer all the goods of that other man who own them.Then he go to a builder, and he sell him that house, making an agreementthat he pull it down and take all away within a certain time.And your police and other authority help him all they can.And when that owner come back from his holiday in Switzerlandhe find only an empty hole where his house had been.This was all done en regle, and in our work we shall be en regle too.We shall not go so early that the policemen who have then littleto think of, shall deem it strange. But we shall go after teno'clock, when there are many about, and such things would be donewere we indeed owners of the house."I could not but see how right he was and the terribledespair of Mina's face became relaxed in thought.There was hope in such good counsel.Van Helsing went on, "When once within that house we may find more clues.At any rate some of us can remain there whilst the rest find the other placeswhere there be more earth boxes, at Bermondsey and Mile End."Lord Godalming stood up. "I can be of some use here," he said."I shall wire to my people to have horses and carriages where theywill be most convenient.""Look here, old fellow," said Morris, "it is a capital idea to haveall ready in case we want to go horse backing, but don't you thinkthat one of your snappy carriages with its heraldic adornments in a bywayof Walworth or Mile End would attract too much attention for our purpose?It seems to me that we ought to take cabs when we go south or east.And even leave them somewhere near the neighborhood we are going to.""Friend Quincey is right!" said the Professor."His head is what you call in plane with the horizon.It is a difficult thing that we go to do, and we do not wantno peoples to watch us if so it may."Mina took a growing interest in everything and I was rejoicedto see that the exigency of affairs was helping her toforget for a time the terrible experience of the night.She was very, very pale, almost ghastly, and so thin that her lipswere drawn away, showing her teeth in somewhat of prominence.I did not mention this last, lest it should give her needless pain,but it made my blood run cold in my veins to think of what hadoccurred with poor Lucy when the Count had sucked her blood.As yet there was no sign of the teeth growing sharper,but the time as yet was short, and there was time for fear.When we came to the discussion of the sequence of our efforts andof the disposition of our forces, there were new sources of doubt.It was finally agreed that before starting for Piccadilly we should destroythe Count's lair close at hand. In case he should find it out too soon,we should thus be still ahead of him in our work of destruction.And his presence in his purely material shape, and at his weakest,might give us some new clue.A s to the disposal of forces, it was suggested by theProfessor that, after our visit to Carfax, we should allenter the house in Piccadilly. That the two doctors and Ishould remain there, whilst Lord Godalming and Quincey foundthe 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 goingwas concerned, for I said that I intended to stay and protect Mina.I thought that my mind was made up on the subject, but Minawould not listen to my objection. She said that theremight be some law matter in which I could be useful.That amongst the Count's papers might be some clue which Icould understand out of my experience in Transylvania.And that, as it was, all the strength we could muster wasrequired 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 shouldall work together."As for me," she said, "I have no fear. Things have beenas bad as they can be. And whatever may happen must havein it some element of hope or comfort. Go, my husband!God can, if He wishes it, guard me as well alone as withany 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 earlierthan 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 nighthe banqueted heavily, and will sleep late?"Did I forget! Shall I ever. . .can I ever! Can any of usever forget that terrible scene! Mina struggled hard to keepher brave countenance, but the pain overmastered her and she puther 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 affairin his intellectual effort.When it struck him what he said, he was horrified at his thoughtlessnessand 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 anythingso forgetful. These stupid old lips of mine and this stupid oldhead 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 andencourage 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 quitesafe here until the sunset. And before then we shall return.. .if. . .We shall return! But before we go let me see you armedagainst 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 touch this piece of Sacred Wafer in the nameof 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 whitehot metal.My poor darling's brain had told her the significance of the fact asquickly as her nerves received the pain of it, and the two so overwhelmedher that her overwrought nature had its voice in that dreadful scream.But the words to her thought came quickly. The echo of the screamhad 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 oldhis mantle, she wailed out."Unclean! Unclean! Even the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh!I must bear this mark of shame upon my forehead untilthe Judgement Day."They all paused. I had thrown myself beside her in an agonyof 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 rantears silently. Then Van Helsing turned and said gravely.So gravely that I could not help feeling that he was in someway inspired, and was stating things outside himself."It may be that you may have to bear that mark till God himselfsee fit, as He most surely shall, on the Judgement Day,to redress all wrongs of the earth and of His children that Hehas 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 Godsees right to lift the burden that is hard upon us. Till thenwe 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 stripesand 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 oldman's hands and bent over and kissed it. Then without a word we all kneltdown 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 ofher whom, each in his own way, we loved. And we prayed for help and guidancein 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 forgetto our dying day, and we set out.To one thing I have made up my mind. If we find out that Mina must bea vampire in the end, then she shall not go into that unknown and terribleland 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 holiestlove was the recruiting sergeant for their ghastly ranks.We entered Carfax without trouble and found all thingsthe same as on the first occasion. It was hard to believethat amongst so prosaic surroundings of neglect and dust anddecay there was any ground for such fear as already we knew.Had not our minds been made up, and had there not been terriblememories 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 hadseen 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, that he has brought from a far distant landfor 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 seemto mind, for our attention was concentrated on the Professor.Taking from his box a piece of the Scared Wafer he laid itreverently on the earth, and then shutting down the lid beganto 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 doorbehind 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'sforehead all white as ivory and with no stain!"As we passed across the lawn on our way to the stationto catch our train we could see the front of the asylum.I looked eagerly, and in the window of my own room saw Mina.I waved my hand to her, and nodded to tell that our work therewas successfully accomplished. She nodded in reply to show thatshe 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 caughtthe 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 StreetLord 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 breakinto an empty house. But you are a solicitor and the Incorporated LawSociety 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 policemanthat may come along. You had better go with Jack and the Professorand stay in the Green Park. Somewhere in sight of the house, and when yousee the door opened and the smith has gone away, do you all 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 strolledinto the Green Park. My heart beat as I saw the house on which so muchof our hope was centered, looming up grim and silent in its desertedcondition amongst its more lively and spruce-looking neighbors.We sat down on a bench within good view , and began to smokecigars so as to attract as little attention as possible.The minutes seemed to pass with leaden feet as we waited for the comingof 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 descendeda 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 pointedout what he wanted done. The workman took off his coat leisurelyand hung it on one of the spikes of the rail, saying somethingto a policeman who just then sauntered along. The policeman noddedacquiescence, and the man kneeling down placed his bag beside him.After searching through it, he took out a selection of toolswhich he proceeded to lay beside him in orderly fashion.Then he stood up, looked in the keyhole, blew into it, and turningto 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 handedto 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 knockedat the door. It was immediately opened by Quincey Morris, beside whomstood Lord Godalming lighting a cigar."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 usthat the Count had been using the place pretty freely.We moved to explore the house, all keeping together in caseof 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 bein the house.In the dining room, which lay at the back of the hall, we found eightboxes 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 foundthe missing box.First we opened the shutters of the window which looked out acrossa narrow stone flagged yard at the blank face of a stable,pointed to look like the front of a miniature house. There wereno windows in it, so we were not afraid of being overlooked.We did not lose any time in examining the chests. With the toolswhich 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.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 whichmight 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 upin thin wrapping paper to keep them from the dust. There werealso 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 QuinceyMorris taking accurate notes of the various addresses of thehouses in the East and the South, took with them the keys in agreat 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.