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see how we are going to get in unless that agency duck can find us a key
of some sort; perhaps we shall know when you get his letter in the
morning." Lord Godalming's brows contracted, and he stood up and walked
about the room. By-and-by he stopped and said, turning from one to
another of us:--
"Quincey's head is level. This burglary business is getting serious; we
got off once all right; but we have now a rare job on hand--unless we
can find the Count's key basket."
As nothing could well be done before morning, and as it would be at
least advisable to wait till Lord Godalming should hear from Mitchell's,
we decided not to take any active step before breakfast time. For a good
while we sat and smoked, discussing the matter in its various lights and
bearings; I took the opportunity of bringing this diary right up to the
moment. I am very sleepy and shall go to bed....
Just a line. Mina sleeps soundly and her breathing is regular. Her
forehead is puckered up into little wrinkles, as though she thinks even
in her sleep. She is still too pale, but does not look so haggard as she
did this morning. To-morrow will, I hope, mend all this; she will be
herself at home in Exeter. Oh, but I am sleepy!
_Dr. Seward's Diary._
_1 October._--I am puzzled afresh about Renfield. His moods change so
rapidly that I find it difficult to keep touch of them, and as they
always mean something more than his own well-being, they form a more
than interesting study. This morning, when I went to see him after his
repulse of Van Helsing, his manner was that of a man commanding destiny.
He was, in fact, commanding destiny--subjectively. He did not really
care for any of the things of mere earth; he was in the clouds and
looked down on all the weaknesses and wants of us poor mortals. I
thought I would improve the occasion and learn something, so I asked
him:--
"What about the flies these times?" He smiled on me in quite a superior
sort of way--such a smile as would have become the face of Malvolio--as
he answered me:--
"The fly, my dear sir, has one striking feature; its wings are typical
of the aërial powers of the psychic faculties. The ancients did well
when they typified the soul as a butterfly!"
I thought I would push his analogy to its utmost logically, so I said
quickly:--
"Oh, it is a soul you are after now, is it?" His madness foiled his
reason, and a puzzled look spread over his face as, shaking his head
with a decision which I had but seldom seen in him, he said:--
"Oh, no, oh no! I want no souls. Life is all I want." Here he brightened
up; "I am pretty indifferent about it at present. Life is all right; I
have all I want. You must get a new patient, doctor, if you wish to
study zoöphagy!"
This puzzled me a little, so I drew him on:--
"Then you command life; you are a god, I suppose?" He smiled with an
ineffably benign superiority.
"Oh no! Far be it from me to arrogate to myself the attributes of the
Deity. I am not even concerned in His especially spiritual doings. If I
may state my intellectual position I am, so far as concerns things
purely terrestrial, somewhat in the position which Enoch occupied
spiritually!" This was a poser to me. I could not at the moment recall
Enoch's appositeness; so I had to ask a simple question, though I felt
that by so doing I was lowering myself in the eyes of the lunatic:--
"And why with Enoch?"
"Because he walked with God." I could not see the analogy, but did not
like to admit it; so I harked back to what he had denied:--
"So you don't care about life and you don't want souls. Why not?" I put
my question quickly and somewhat sternly, on purpose to disconcert him.
The effort succeeded; for an instant he unconsciously relapsed into his
old servile manner, bent low before me, and actually fawned upon me as
he replied:--
"I don't want any souls, indeed, indeed! I don't. I couldn't use them if
I had them; they would be no manner of use to me. I couldn't eat them
or----" He suddenly stopped and the old cunning look spread over his
face, like a wind-sweep on the surface of the water. "And doctor, as to
life, what is it after all? When you've got all you require, and you
know that you will never want, that is all. I have friends--good
friends--like you, Dr. Seward"; this was said with a leer of
inexpressible cunning. "I know that I shall never lack the means of
life!"
I think that through the cloudiness of his insanity he saw some
antagonism in me, for he at once fell back on the last refuge of such as
he--a dogged silence. After a short time I saw that for the present it
was useless to speak to him. He was sulky, and so I came away.
Later in the day he sent for me. Ordinarily I would not have come
without special reason, but just at present I am so interested in him
that I would gladly make an effort. Besides, I am glad to have anything
to help to pass the time. Harker is out, following up clues; and so are