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it not, and to guard himself have even cut himself off from his
knowledge of our where. We, however, are not selfish, and we believe
that God is with us through all this blackness, and these many dark
hours. We shall follow him; and we shall not flinch; even if we peril
ourselves that we become like him. Friend John, this has been a great
hour; and it have done much to advance us on our way. You must be scribe
and write him all down, so that when the others return from their work
you can give it to them; then they shall know as we do."
And so I have written it whilst we wait their return, and Mrs. Harker
has written with her typewriter all since she brought the MS. to us.
CHAPTER XXVI
DR. SEWARD'S DIARY
_29 October._--This is written in the train from Varna to Galatz. Last
night we all assembled a little before the time of sunset. Each of us
had done his work as well as he could; so far as thought, and endeavour,
and opportunity go, we are prepared for the whole of our journey, and
for our work when we get to Galatz. When the usual time came round Mrs.
Harker prepared herself for her hypnotic effort; and after a longer and
more serious effort on the part of Van Helsing than has been usually
necessary, she sank into the trance. Usually she speaks on a hint; but
this time the Professor had to ask her questions, and to ask them pretty
resolutely, before we could learn anything; at last her answer came:--
"I can see nothing; we are still; there are no waves lapping, but only a
steady swirl of water softly running against the hawser. I can hear
men's voices calling, near and far, and the roll and creak of oars in
the rowlocks. A gun is fired somewhere; the echo of it seems far away.
There is tramping of feet overhead, and ropes and chains are dragged
along. What is this? There is a gleam of light; I can feel the air
blowing upon me."
Here she stopped. She had risen, as if impulsively, from where she lay
on the sofa, and raised both her hands, palms upwards, as if lifting a
weight. Van Helsing and I looked at each other with understanding.
Quincey raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at her intently, whilst
Harker's hand instinctively closed round the hilt of his Kukri. There
was a long pause. We all knew that the time when she could speak was
passing; but we felt that it was useless to say anything. Suddenly she
sat up, and, as she opened her eyes, said sweetly:--
"Would none of you like a cup of tea? You must all be so tired!" We
could only make her happy, and so acquiesced. She bustled off to get
tea; when she had gone Van Helsing said:--
"You see, my friends. _He_ is close to land: he has left his
earth-chest. But he has yet to get on shore. In the night he may lie
hidden somewhere; but if he be not carried on shore, or if the ship do
not touch it, he cannot achieve the land. In such case he can, if it be
in the night, change his form and can jump or fly on shore, as he did
at Whitby. But if the day come before he get on shore, then, unless he
be carried he cannot escape. And if he be carried, then the customs men
may discover what the box contain. Thus, in fine, if he escape not on
shore to-night, or before dawn, there will be the whole day lost to him.
We may then arrive in time; for if he escape not at night we shall come
on him in daytime, boxed up and at our mercy; for he dare not be his
true self, awake and visible, lest he be discovered."
There was no more to be said, so we waited in patience until the dawn;
at which time we might learn more from Mrs. Harker.
Early this morning we listened, with breathless anxiety, for her
response in her trance. The hypnotic stage was even longer in coming
than before; and when it came the time remaining until full sunrise was
so short that we began to despair. Van Helsing seemed to throw his whole
soul into the effort; at last, in obedience to his will she made
reply:--
"All is dark. I hear lapping water, level with me, and some creaking as
of wood on wood." She paused, and the red sun shot up. We must wait till
to-night.
And so it is that we are travelling towards Galatz in an agony of
expectation. We are due to arrive between two and three in the morning;
but already, at Bucharest, we are three hours late, so we cannot
possibly get in till well after sun-up. Thus we shall have two more
hypnotic messages from Mrs. Harker; either or both may possibly throw
more light on what is happening.
* * * * *
_Later._--Sunset has come and gone. Fortunately it came at a time when
there was no distraction; for had it occurred whilst we were at a
station, we might not have secured the necessary calm and isolation.
Mrs. Harker yielded to the hypnotic influence even less readily than
this morning. I am in fear that her power of reading the Count's
sensations may die away, just when we want it most. It seems to me that
her imagination is beginning to work. Whilst she has been in the trance
hitherto she has confined herself to the simplest of facts. If this goes
on it may ultimately mislead us. If I thought that the Count's power
over her would die away equally with her power of knowledge it would be
a happy thought; but I am afraid that it may not be so. When she did
speak, her words were enigmatical:--