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attitude and state of the patient, and noted the horrible pool on the |
floor, he said softly:-- |
"My God! what has happened to him? Poor, poor devil!" I told him |
briefly, and added that we expected he would recover consciousness after |
the operation--for a short time, at all events. He went at once and sat |
down on the edge of the bed, with Godalming beside him; we all watched |
in patience. |
"We shall wait," said Van Helsing, "just long enough to fix the best |
spot for trephining, so that we may most quickly and perfectly remove |
the blood clot; for it is evident that the hæmorrhage is increasing." |
The minutes during which we waited passed with fearful slowness. I had a |
horrible sinking in my heart, and from Van Helsing's face I gathered |
that he felt some fear or apprehension as to what was to come. I dreaded |
the words that Renfield might speak. I was positively afraid to think; |
but the conviction of what was coming was on me, as I have read of men |
who have heard the death-watch. The poor man's breathing came in |
uncertain gasps. Each instant he seemed as though he would open his eyes |
and speak; but then would follow a prolonged stertorous breath, and he |
would relapse into a more fixed insensibility. Inured as I was to sick |
beds and death, this suspense grew, and grew upon me. I could almost |
hear the beating of my own heart; and the blood surging through my |
temples sounded like blows from a hammer. The silence finally became |
agonising. I looked at my companions, one after another, and saw from |
their flushed faces and damp brows that they were enduring equal |
torture. There was a nervous suspense over us all, as though overhead |
some dread bell would peal out powerfully when we should least expect |
it. |
At last there came a time when it was evident that the patient was |
sinking fast; he might die at any moment. I looked up at the Professor |
and caught his eyes fixed on mine. His face was sternly set as he |
spoke:-- |
"There is no time to lose. His words may be worth many lives; I have |
been thinking so, as I stood here. It may be there is a soul at stake! |
We shall operate just above the ear." |
Without another word he made the operation. For a few moments the |
breathing continued to be stertorous. Then there came a breath so |
prolonged that it seemed as though it would tear open his chest. |
Suddenly his eyes opened, and became fixed in a wild, helpless stare. |
This was continued for a few moments; then it softened into a glad |
surprise, and from the lips came a sigh of relief. He moved |
convulsively, and as he did so, said:-- |
"I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait-waistcoat. I |
have had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannot |
move. What's wrong with my face? it feels all swollen, and it smarts |
dreadfully." He tried to turn his head; but even with the effort his |
eyes seemed to grow glassy again so I gently put it back. Then Van |
Helsing said in a quiet grave tone:-- |
"Tell us your dream, Mr. Renfield." As he heard the voice his face |
brightened, through its mutilation, and he said:-- |
"That is Dr. Van Helsing. How good it is of you to be here. Give me some |
water, my lips are dry; and I shall try to tell you. I dreamed"--he |
stopped and seemed fainting, I called quietly to Quincey--"The |
brandy--it is in my study--quick!" He flew and returned with a glass, |
the decanter of brandy and a carafe of water. We moistened the parched |
lips, and the patient quickly revived. It seemed, however, that his poor |
injured brain had been working in the interval, for, when he was quite |
conscious, he looked at me piercingly with an agonised confusion which I |
shall never forget, and said:-- |
"I must not deceive myself; it was no dream, but all a grim reality." |
Then his eyes roved round the room; as they caught sight of the two |
figures sitting patiently on the edge of the bed he went on:-- |
"If I were not sure already, I would know from them." For an instant his |
eyes closed--not with pain or sleep but voluntarily, as though he were |
bringing all his faculties to bear; when he opened them he said, |
hurriedly, and with more energy than he had yet displayed:-- |
"Quick, Doctor, quick. I am dying! I feel that I have but a few minutes; |
and then I must go back to death--or worse! Wet my lips with brandy |
again. I have something that I must say before I die; or before my poor |
crushed brain dies anyhow. Thank you! It was that night after you left |
me, when I implored you to let me go away. I couldn't speak then, for I |
felt my tongue was tied; but I was as sane then, except in that way, as |
I am now. I was in an agony of despair for a long time after you left |
me; it seemed hours. Then there came a sudden peace to me. My brain |
seemed to become cool again, and I realised where I was. I heard the |
dogs bark behind our house, but not where He was!" As he spoke, Van |
Helsing's eyes never blinked, but his hand came out and met mine and |
gripped it hard. He did not, however, betray himself; he nodded slightly |
and said: "Go on," in a low voice. Renfield proceeded:-- |
"He came up to the window in the mist, as I had seen him often before; |
but he was solid then--not a ghost, and his eyes were fierce like a |
man's when angry. He was laughing with his red mouth; the sharp white |
teeth glinted in the moonlight when he turned to look back over the belt |
of trees, to where the dogs were barking. I wouldn't ask him to come in |
at first, though I knew he wanted to--just as he had wanted all along. |
Then he began promising me things--not in words but by doing them." He |
was interrupted by a word from the Professor:-- |
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