Now I know well that you medical men speak in camera, and that a man must not expect to know what they consult about in privateBut this is no common matter, and whatever it is, I have done my partIs not that so?" "That's so," I said, and he went on "I take it that both you and Van Helsing had done already what I did todayIs not that so?" "That's so "And I guess Art was in it tooWhen I saw him four days ago down at his own place he looked queerI have not seen anything pulled down so quick since I was on the Pampas and had a mare that I was fond of go to grass all in a nightOne of those big bats that they call vampires had got at her in the night, and what with his gorge and the vein left open, there wasn't enough blood in her to let her stand up, and I had to put a bullet through her as she layJack, if you may tell me without betraying confidence, Arthur was the first, is not that so?" As he spoke the poor fellow looked terribly anxiousHe was in a torture of suspense regarding the woman he loved, and his utter ignorance of the terrible mystery which seemed to surround her intensified his painHis very heart was bleeding, and it took all the manhood of him, and there was a royal lot of it, too, to keep him from breaking downI paused before answering, for I felt that I must not betray anything which the Professor wished kept secret, but already he knew so much, and guessed so much, that there could be no reason for not answering, so I answered in the same phrase "And how long has this been going on?" "About ten days "Ten days! Then I guess, Jack Seward, that that poor pretty creature that we all love has had put into her veins within that time the blood of four strong menMan alive, her whole body wouldn't hold it Then coming close to me, he spoke in a fierce half-whisper"What took it out?" I shook my head"That," I said, "is the cruxVan Helsing is simply frantic about it, and I am at my wits' endI can't even hazard a guessThere has been a series of little circumstances which have thrown out all our calculations as to Lucy being properly watchedBut these shall not occur againHere we stay until all be well, or ill Quincey held out his hand"Count me in," he said"You and the Dutchman will tell me what to do, and I'll do it When she woke late in the afternoon, Lucy's first movement was to feel in her breast, and to my surprise, produced the paper which Van Helsing had given me to readThe careful Professor had replaced it where it had come from, lest on waking she should be alarmedHer eyes then lit on Van Helsing and on me too, and gladdenedThen she looked round the room, and seeing where she was, shudderedShe gave a loud cry, and put her poor thin hands before her pale face We both understood what was meant, that she had realized to the full her mother's deathSo we tried what we could to comfort herDoubtless sympathy eased her somewhat, but she was very low in thought and spirit, and wept silently and weakly for a long timeWe told her that either or both of us would now remain with her all the time, and that seemed to comfort herTowards dusk she fell into a dozeHere a very odd thing occurredWhilst still asleep she took the paper from her breast and tore it in twoVan Helsing stepped over and took the pieces from shop her

?O, that?s what troubles me, papaYou want me to live so happy, and never to have any pain,?never suffer anything,?not even hear a sad story, when other poor creatures have nothing but pain and sorrow, an their lives;?it seems selfishI ought to know such things, I ought to feel about them! Such things always sunk into my heart; they went down deep; I?ve thought and thought about themPapa, isn?t there any way to have all slaves made free?? ?That?s a difficult question, dearestThere?s no doubt that this way is a very bad one; a great many people think so; I do myself I heartily wish that there were not a slave in the land; but, then, I don?t know what is to be done about it!? ?Papa, you are such a good man, and so noble, and kind, and you always have a way of saying things that is so pleasant, couldn?t you go all round and try to persuade people to do right about this? When I am dead, papa, then you will think of me, and do it for my sakeI would do it, if I could ?When you are dead, Eva,? said St?O, child, don?t talk to me so! You are all I have on earth ?Poor old Prue?s child was all that she had,?and yet she had to hear it crying, and she couldn?t help it! Papa, these poor creatures love their children as much as you do meO! do something for them! There?s poor Mammy loves her children; I?ve seen her cry when she talked about themAnd Tom loves his children; and it?s dreadful, papa, that such things are happening, all the time!? ?There, there, darling,? said StClare, soothingly; ?only don?t distress yourself, don?t talk of dying, and I will do anything you wish ?And promise me, dear father, that Tom shall have his freedom as soon as??she stopped, and said, in a hesitating tone??I am gone!? ?Yes, dear, I will do anything in the world,?anything you could ask me to ?Dear papa,? said the child, laying her burning cheek against his, ?how I wish we could go together!? ?Where, dearest?? said St ?To our Saviour?s home; it?s so sweet and peaceful there?it is all so loving there!? The child spoke unconsciously, as of a place where she had often been?Don?t you want to go, papa?? she saidClare drew her closer to him, but was silent ?You will come to me,? said the child, speaking in a voice of calm certainty which she often used unconsciously ?I shall come after youI shall not forget you The shadows of the solemn evening closed round them deeper and deeper, as StClare sat silently holding the little frail form to his bosomHe saw no more the deep eyes, but the voice came over him as a spirit voice, and, as in a sort of judgment vision, his whole past life rose in a moment before his eyes: his mother?s prayers and hymns; his own early yearnings and aspirings for good; and, between them and this hour, years of worldliness and scepticism, and what man calls respectable livingWe can think much, very much, in a momentClare saw and felt many things, but spoke nothing; and, as it grew darker, he took his child to her bed-room; and, when she was prepared for rest; he sent away the attendants, and rocked her in his arms, and sung to her till she was asleep Chapter 25 The Little Evangelist It was Sunday afternoonClare was stretched on a bamboo lounge in the verandah, solacing himself with a cigarMarie lay reclined on a sofa, opposite the window opening on the verandah, closely secluded, under an awning of transparent gauze, from the outrages of the mosquitos, and languidly holding in her hand an elegantly bound prayer-bookShe was holding it because it was Sunday, and she imagined she had been reading it,?though, in fact, she had been only taking a succession of short naps, with it open in her hand Miss Ophelia, who, after some rummaging, had hunted up a small Methodist meeting within riding distance, had gone out, with Tom as driver, to attend it; and Eva had accompanied them ?I say, Augustine,? said Marie after dozing a while, ?I must send to the city after my old Doctor Posey; I?m sure I?ve got the complaint of the heart ?Well; why need you send for him? This doctor that attends Eva seems skilful ?I would not trust him in a critical case,? said Marie; ?and I think I may say mine is becoming so! I?ve been thinking of it, these two or three nights past; I have such distressing pains, and such strange feelings ?O, Marie, you are blue; I don?t believe it?s heart complaint ?I dare say you don?t,? said Marie; ?I was prepared to expect thatYou can be alarmed enough, if Eva coughs, or has the least thing the matter with her; but you never think of me ?If it?s particularly agreeable to you to have heart disease, why, I?ll try and maintain you have it,? said StClare; ?I didn?t know it was ?Well, I only hope you won?t be sorry for this, when it?s too late!? said Marie; ?but, believe it or not, my distress about Eva, and the exertions I have made with that dear child, have developed what I have long suspected What the exertions were which Marie referred to, it would have been difficult to shop state

The kitchen was full of all his compeers, who had hurried and crowded in, from the various cabins, to hear the termination of the day?s exploitsNow was Sam?s hour of gloryThe story of the day was rehearsed, with all kinds of ornament and varnishing which might be necessary to heighten its effect; for Sam, like some of our fashionable dilettanti, never allowed a story to lose any of its gilding by passing through his handsRoars of laughter attended the narration, and were taken up and prolonged by all the smaller fry, who were lying, in any quantity, about on the floor, or perched in every cornerIn the height of the uproar and laughter, Sam, however, preserved an immovable gravity, only from time to time rolling his eyes up, and giving his auditors divers inexpressibly droll glances, without departing from the sententious elevation of his oratory ?Yer see, fellow-countrymen,? said Sam, elevating a turkey?s leg, with energy, ?yer see, now what dis yer chile ?s up ter, for fendin? yer all,?yes, all on yerFor him as tries to get one o? our people is as good as tryin? to get all; yer see the principle ?s de same,?dat ar?s clarAnd any one o? these yer drivers that comes smelling round arter any our people, why, he?s got me in his way; I?m the feller he?s got to set in with,?I?m the feller for yer all to come to, bredren,?I?ll stand up for yer rights,?I?ll fend ?em to the last breath!? ?Why, but Sam, yer telled me, only this mornin?, that you?d help this yer Mas?r to cotch Lizy; seems to me yer talk don?t hang together,? said Andy ?I tell you now, Andy,? said Sam, with awful superiority, ?don?t yer be a talkin? ?bout what yer don?t know nothin? on; boys like you, Andy, means well, but they can?t be spected to collusitate the great principles of action Andy looked rebuked, particularly by the hard word collusitate, which most of the youngerly members of the company seemed to consider as a settler in the case, while Sam proceeded ?Dat ar was conscience, Andy; when I thought of gwine arter Lizy, I railly spected Mas?r was sot dat wayWhen I found Missis was sot the contrar, dat ar was conscience more yet,?cause fellers allers gets more by stickin? to Missis? side,?so yer see I ?s persistent either way, and sticks up to conscience, and holds on to principlesYes, principles,? said Sam, giving an enthusiastic toss to a chicken?s neck,??what?s principles good for, if we isn?t persistent, I wanter know? Thar, Andy, you may have dat ar bone,?tan?t picked quite clean Sam?s audience hanging on his words with open mouth, he could not but proceed ?Dis yer matter ?bout persistence, feller-niggers,? said Sam, with the air of one entering into an abstruse subject, ?dis yer ?sistency ?s a thing what an?t seed into very clar, by most anybodyNow, yer see, when a feller stands up for a thing one day and night, de contrar de next, folks ses (and nat?rally enough dey ses), why he an?t persistent,?hand me dat ar bit o? corn-cake, AndyBut let?s look inter itI hope the gen?lmen and der fair sex will scuse my usin? an or?nary sort o? ?parisonHere! I?m a trying to get top o? der hayWal, I puts up my larder dis yer side; ?tan?t no go;?den, cause I don?t try dere no more, but puts my larder right de contrar side, an?t I persistent? I?m persistent in wantin? to get up which ary side my larder is; don?t you see, all on yer?? ?It?s the only thing ye ever was persistent in, Lord knows!? muttered Aunt Chloe, who was getting rather restive; the merriment of the evening being to her somewhat after the Scripture comparison,?like ?vinegar upon nitre ?Yes, indeed!? said Sam, rising, full of supper and glory, for a closing effort?Yes, my feller-citizens and ladies of de other sex in general, I has principles,?I?m proud to ?oon ?em,?they ?s perquisite to dese yer times, and ter all timesI has principles, and I sticks to ?em like forty,?jest anything that I thinks is principle, I goes in to ?t;?I wouldn?t mind if dey burnt me ?live,?I?d walk right up to de stake, I would, and say, here I comes to shed my last blood fur my principles, fur my country, fur de gen?l interests of society ?Well,? said Aunt Chloe, ?one o? yer principles will have to be to get to bed some time tonight, and not be a keepin? everybody up till mornin?; now, every one of you young uns that don?t want to be cracked, had better be scase, mighty sudden ?Niggers! all on yer,? said Sam, waving his palm-leaf with benignity, ?I give yer my blessin?; go to bed now, and be good boys And, with this pathetic benediction, the assembly dispersed Chapter 9 In Which It Appears That a Senator Is But a Man The light of the cheerful fire shone on the rug and carpet of a cosey parlor, and glittered on the sides of the tea-cups and well-brightened tea-pot, as Senator Bird was drawing off his boots, preparatory to inserting his feet in a pair of new handsome slippers, which his wife had been working for him while away on his senatorial tourBird, looking the very picture of delight, was superintending the arrangements of the table, ever and anon mingling admonitory remarks to a number of frolicsome juveniles, who were effervescing in all those modes of untold gambol and mischief that have astonished mothers ever since the flood ?Tom, let the door-knob alone,?there?s a man! Mary! Mary! don?t pull the cat?s tail,?poor pussy! Jim, you mustn?t climb on that table,?no, no!?You don?t know, my dear, what a surprise it is to us all, to see you here tonight!? said she, at last, when she found a space to say something to her husband ?Yes, yes, I thought I?d just make a run down, spend the night, and have a little comfort at homeI?m tired to death, and my head aches!? MrsBird cast a glance at a camphor-bottle, which stood in the half-open closet, and appeared to meditate an approach to it, but her husband interposed ?No, no, Mary, no doctoring! a cup of your good hot tea, and some of our good home living, is what I wantIt?s a tiresome business, this legislating!? And the senator smiled, as if he rather liked the idea of considering himself a sacrifice to his country ?Well,? said his wife, after the business of the tea-table was getting rather slack, ?and what have they been doing in the Senate?? Now, it was a very unusual thing for gentle little MrsBird ever to trouble her head with what was going on in the house of the state, very wisely considering that she had enough to do to mind her ownBird, therefore, opened his eyes in surprise, and said, ?Not very much of importance ?Well; but is it true that they have been passing a law forbidding people to give meat and drink to those poor colored folks that come along? I heard they were talking of some such law, but I didn?t think any Christian legislature would pass it!? ?Why, Mary, you are getting to be a politician, all at once ?No, nonsense! I wouldn?t give a fip for all your politics, generally, but I think this is something downright cruel and unchristianI hope, my dear, no such law has been shop passed

?You find virgin soil there, Cousin; put in your own ideas,?you won?t find many to pull up Miss Ophelia?s ideas of education, like all her other ideas, were very set and definite; and of the kind that prevailed in New England a century ago, and which are still preserved in some very retired and unsophisticated parts, where there are no railroadsAs nearly as could be expressed, they could be comprised in very few words: to teach them to mind when they were spoken to; to teach them the catechism, sewing, and reading; and to whip them if they told liesAnd though, of course, in the flood of light that is now poured on education, these are left far away in the rear, yet it is an undisputed fact that our grandmothers raised some tolerably fair men and women under this regime, as many of us can remember and testifyAt all events, Miss Ophelia knew of nothing else to do; and, therefore, applied her mind to her heathen with the best diligence she could command The child was announced and considered in the family as Miss Ophelia?s girl; and, as she was looked upon with no gracious eye in the kitchen, Miss Ophelia resolved to confine her sphere of operation and instruction chiefly to her own chamberWith a self-sacrifice which some of our readers will appreciate, she resolved, instead of comfortably making her own bed, sweeping and dusting her own chamber,?which she had hitherto done, in utter scorn of all offers of help from the chambermaid of the establishment,?to condemn herself to the martyrdom of instructing Topsy to perform these operations,?ah, woe the day! Did any of our readers ever do the same, they will appreciate the amount of her self-sacrifice Miss Ophelia began with Topsy by taking her into her chamber, the first morning, and solemnly commencing a course of instruction in the art and mystery of bed-making Behold, then, Topsy, washed and shorn of all the little braided tails wherein her heart had delighted, arrayed in a clean gown, with well-starched apron, standing reverently before Miss Ophelia, with an expression of solemnity well befitting a funeral ?Now, Topsy, I?m going to show you just how my bed is to be madeI am very particular about my bedYou must learn exactly how to do it ?Yes, ma?am,? says Topsy, with a deep sigh, and a face of woful earnestness ?Now, Topsy, look here;?this is the hem of the sheet,?this is the right side of the sheet, and this is the wrong;?will you remember?? ?Yes, ma?am,? says Topsy, with another sigh ?Well, now, the under sheet you must bring over the bolster,?so?and tuck it clear down under the mattress nice and smooth,?so,?do you see?? ?Yes, ma?am,? said Topsy, with profound attention ?But the upper sheet,? said Miss Ophelia, ?must be brought down in this way, and tucked under firm and smooth at the foot,?so,?the narrow hem at the foot ?Yes, ma?am,? said Topsy, as before;?but we will add, what Miss Ophelia did not see, that, during the time when the good lady?s back was turned in the zeal of her manipulations, the young disciple had contrived to snatch a pair of gloves and a ribbon, which she had adroitly slipped into her sleeves, and stood with her hands dutifully folded, as before ?Now, Topsy, let?s see you do this,? said Miss Ophelia, pulling off the clothes, and seating herself Topsy, with great gravity and adroitness, went through the exercise completely to Miss Ophelia?s satisfaction; smoothing the sheets, patting out every wrinkle, and exhibiting, through the whole process, a gravity and seriousness with which her instructress was greatly edifiedBy an unlucky slip, however, a fluttering fragment of the ribbon hung out of one of her sleeves, just as she was finishing, and caught Miss Ophelia?s attentionInstantly, she pounced upon it?What?s this? You naughty, wicked child,?you?ve been stealing this!? The ribbon was pulled out of Topsy?s own sleeve, yet was she not in the least disconcerted; she only looked at it with an air of the most surprised and unconscious innocence ?Laws! why, that ar?s Miss Feely?s ribbon, an?t it? How could it a got caught in my sleeve? ?Topsy, you naughty girl, don?t you tell me a lie,?you stole that ribbon!? ?Missis, I declar for ?t, I didn?t;?never seed it till dis yer blessed minnit ?Topsy,? said Miss Ophelia, ?don?t you now it?s wicked to tell lies?? ?I never tell no lies, Miss Feely,? said Topsy, with virtuous gravity; ?it?s jist the truth I?ve been a tellin now, and an?t nothin else ?Topsy, I shall have to whip you, if you tell lies so ?Laws, Missis, if you?s to whip all day, couldn?t say no other way,? said Topsy, beginning to blubber?I never seed dat ar,?it must a got caught in my sleeveMiss Feeley must have left it on the bed, and it got caught in the clothes, and so got in my sleeve Miss Ophelia was so indignant at the barefaced lie, that she caught the child and shook her ?Don?t you tell me that again!? The shake brought the glove on to the floor, from the other sleeve ?There, you!? said Miss Ophelia, ?will you tell me now, you didn?t steal the ribbon?? Topsy now confessed to the gloves, but still persisted in denying the ribbon ?Now, Topsy,? said Miss Ophelia, ?if you?ll confess all about it, I won?t whip you this time Thus adjured, Topsy confessed to the ribbon and gloves, with woful protestations of penitenceI know you must have taken other things since you have been in the house, for I let you run about all day yesterdayNow, tell me if you took anything, and I shan?t whip you ?Laws, Missis! I took Miss Eva?s red thing she wars on her neck ?You did, you naughty child!?Well, what else?? ?I took Rosa?s yer-rings,?them red ones ?Go bring them to me this minute, both of ?em ?Laws, Missis! I can?t,?they ?s burnt up!? ?Burnt up!?what a story! Go get ?em, or I?ll whip you Topsy, with loud protestations, and tears, and groans, declared that she could shop not

Which is the way to the chapel?" I had an idea of its direction, though on my former visit I had not been able to get admission to it, so I led the way, and after a few wrong turnings found myself opposite a low, arched oaken door, ribbed with iron bands "This is the spot," said the Professor as he turned his lamp on a small map of the house, copied from the file of my original correspondence regarding the purchaseWith a little trouble we found the key on the bunch and opened the doorWe were prepared for some unpleasantness, for as we were opening the door a faint, malodorous air seemed to exhale through the gaps, but none of us ever expected such an odour as we encounteredNone of the others had met the Count at all at close quarters, and when I had seen him he was either in the fasting stage of his existence in his rooms or, when he was bloated with fresh blood, in a ruined building open to the air, but here the place was small and close, and the long disuse had made the air stagnant and foulThere was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came through the fouler airBut as to the odour itself, how shall I describe it? It was not alone that it was composed of all the ills of mortality and with the pungent, acrid smell of blood, but it seemed as though corruption had become itself corruptFaugh! It sickens me to think of itEvery breath exhaled by that monster seemed to have clung to the place and intensified its loathsomeness Under ordinary circumstances such a stench would have brought our enterprise to an end, but this was no ordinary case, and the high and terrible purpose in which we were involved gave us a strength which rose above merely physical considerationsAfter the involuntary shrinking consequent on the first nauseous whiff, we one and all set about our work as though that loathsome place were a garden of roses We made an accurate examination of the place, the Professor saying as we began, "The first thing is to see how many of the boxes are left, we must then examine every hole and corner and cranny and see if we cannot get some clue as to what has become of the rest A glance was sufficient to show how many remained, for the great earth chests were bulky, and there was no mistaking them There were only twenty-nine left out of the fifty! Once I got a fright, for, seeing Lord Godalming suddenly turn and look out of the vaulted door into the dark passage beyond, I looked too, and for an instant my heart stood stillSomewhere, looking out from the shadow, I seemed to see the high lights of the Count's evil face, the ridge of the nose, the red eyes, the red lips, the awful pallorIt was only for a moment, for, as Lord Godalming said, "I thought I saw a face, but it was only the shadows," and resumed his inquiry, I turned my lamp in the direction, and stepped into the passageThere was no sign of anyone, and as there were no corners, no doors, no aperture of any kind, but only the solid walls of the passage, there could be no hiding place even for himI took it that fear had helped imagination, and said nothing A few minutes later I saw Morris step suddenly back from a corner, which he was examiningWe all followed his movements with our eyes, for undoubtedly some nervousness was growing on us, and we saw a whole mass of phosphorescence, which twinkled like starsWe all instinctively drew backThe whole place was becoming alive with rats For a moment or two we stood appalled, all save Lord Godalming, who was seemingly prepared for such an emergencyRushing over to the great iron-bound oaken door, which DrSeward had described from the outside, and which I had seen myself, he turned the key in the lock, drew the huge bolts, and swung the door openThen, taking his little silver whistle from his pocket, he blew a low, shrill callIt was answered from behind DrSeward's house by the yelping of dogs, and after about a minute three terriers came dashing round the corner of the houseUnconsciously we had all moved towards the door, and as we moved I noticed that the dust had been much disturbedThe boxes which had been taken out had been brought this wayBut even in the minute that had elapsed the number of the rats had vastly increasedThey seemed to swarm over the place all at once, till the lamplight, shining on their moving dark bodies and glittering, baleful eyes, made the place look like a bank of earth set with firefliesThe dogs dashed on, but at the threshold suddenly stopped and snarled, and then, simultaneously lifting their noses, began to howl in most lugubrious fashionThe rats were multiplying in thousands, and we moved out Lord Godalming lifted one of the dogs, and carrying him in, placed him on the floorThe instant his feet touched the ground he seemed to recover his courage, and rushed at his natural enemiesThey fled before him so fast that before he had shaken the life out of a score, the other dogs, who had by now been lifted in the same manner, had but small prey ere the whole mass had vanished With their going it seemed as if some evil presence had departed, for the dogs frisked about and barked merrily as they made sudden darts at their prostrate foes, and turned them over and over and tossed them in the air with vicious shakesWe all seemed to find our spirits riseWhether it was the purifying of the deadly atmosphere by the opening of the chapel door, or the relief which we experienced by finding ourselves in the open I know not, but most certainly the shadow of dread seemed to slip from us like a robe, and the occasion of our coming lost something of its grim significance, though we did not slacken a whit in our shop resolution