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Around the time I'd felt that urge to draw "Did... 307 [Feb. 13th, 2010|03:02 am] Around the time I'd felt that urge to draw "Did she want anything besides a cigarette?" "She asked for foodBut before that, she asked to go to the China VillageShe wanted her chinas, Edgar! Do you know how long it's been?" I did, actuallyAnd it was good to hear him excited on her behalf "She started to fade after I got her there, though She looked around and asked me where Percy was 640 She said she wanted Percy, that Percy needed to go in the cookie-tin I looked at my paintingIt was mine now, all rightI licked my lips, which suddenly felt leatheryThe way they always link post comment

He had spent the rest period debating whether he... 359 [Feb. 12th, 2010|02:54 am] He had spent the rest period debating whether he would have time to clean his rifle, and he had decided he could never do the job properly in ten minutesThe rifle was wet and muddy, and would rust if he couldn't take care of it soonShoot, Ridges said to himself, a man never has time to do one thing, when they ain't cussin' for him to do somethin' elseHe felt pleasantly spiteful at the stupidity of the Army, and yet guilty tooHe was taking poor care of a valuable piece of property, which bothered his sense of honestyThe gov'ment give me that M-one 'cause they figgered Ah'd watch over it, an' Ah ain't doin' itThe rifle must be worth a hundred dollars, Ridges thought, and that was a vast sum to himAh gotta clean it, but what ifen they don't gimme time? It was too much for him to resolveHe sighed, picked up his machete, and began to workIn a few seconds Goldstein had joined him The platoon reached the end of the jungle after five hours of cutting trailThe jungle was bordered by another stream, and on the other side yellow hills covered only with kunai grass or an occasional grove of shrubbery rolled away toward the northThe link post comment

"It's hot in here, even with the air... 250 [Feb. 11th, 2010|02:45 am] "It's hot in here, even with the air conditioningBut Edgar?" "Yes?" "Save the ship paintings for the lastAfter them I'll need a drinkPerhaps in the officeJust one, but something stiffer than Co'-Cola "You've got it," I said, and edged my way back to the rear of the chair "Ten minutes," Wireman whispered in my earI'd want to get her out before Gene Hadlock shows up, if possibleHe sees her, he's going to shit a brickAnd you know who he'll throw it at "Ten," I said, and rolled Elizabeth into the buffet room to look at the paintings in thereThe crowd was still followingMary Ire had begun taking notesIlse link post comment

His fear had to ebb after a timeFor perhaps half... 843 [Feb. 10th, 2010|03:16 am] His fear had to ebb after a timeFor perhaps half an hour he had been waiting for the noises to develop into something, and when nothing occurred, his confidence began to come backHe did not reason that if there were Japs they might spend two hours in advancing fifty yards toward him link post comment

It was the biggest battle of the campaign to... 467 [Feb. 5th, 2010|03:15 am] It was the biggest battle of the campaign to date, and the most successfulBy late afternoon of that day the Japanese striking force was shattered, and the survivors disappeared into the jungle again, and were either pinched off one by one during the week that followed or succeeded in making their way back across the river to their own linesThis was the second time the General had routed a force which had penetrated his lines, and he gave Hearn a little lecture about it"This kind of thing is what I call my dinner-table tacticsI'm the little lady who allows the lecher beside me to get his hand way up under my dress before I cut off his wrist Tag ends of the battle spouted for a few days, and there were many local fire fights and patrol clashes, but the General, with what Hearn had to admit was unerring instinct, had cut through the subsidiary clashes, the confusing and contradictory patrol reports, to understand that the battle as far as Toyaku was concerned was over after his smash at the middle of the line had been absorbedThe General spent the next day in re-establishing the hole in his lines, and diverting again his reserve to its work on the roadTwo or three days later, after a lot of link post comment

There was now enough to lean against two walls... 703 [Feb. 4th, 2010|03:12 am] There was now enough to lean against two walls and part of a third link post comment

"Take it easy, Wilson, and I'll tell that goddam... 265 [Feb. 3rd, 2010|03:18 am] "Take it easy, Wilson, and I'll tell that goddam engineer to take it easy with this boat over the bumps Their pilot was a man from an engineer company"I'll tell him to set you down easy Red's voice was sarcastic with a touch of disgust Hearn realized that Valsen hadn't said a word directly to him since he had begun talking to themAnd why was Wilson telling him all this? As an alibi? But Hearn didn't think soAll the time Wilson had been talking his voice had been a little abstracted as though explaining something to himselfWilson was unconscious of him, and Valsen seemed to resent him Well, then, the hell with itHe wouldn't force himself on themHe stretched, yawned a little, and said, "Take it easy, men "Yeah, Lootenant," Wilson murmuredHis link post comment

The twins couldn't understandBut Nan Melda began... 515 [Feb. 2nd, 2010|03:26 am] The twins couldn't understandBut Nan Melda began to suspect, and I flipped back and looked at the little girl with the finger on her lips She's listening, so shhhhIf you talk, she'll hear, so shhhhBad things can happen, and worse things are waitingTerrible things in the Gulf, waiting to drown you and take you to a ship where you'll live something that's not lifeAnd if I 999 try to tell? Then the bad things may happen to all of us, and all at once Wireman was perfectly still beside meOnly his eyes moved, sometimes looking at Noveen, link post comment

Never did cypress, or yew, or juniper so seem the... 312 [Jan. 31st, 2010|02:45 am] Never did cypress, or yew, or juniper so seem the embodiment of funeral gloomNever did tree or grass wave or rustle so ominouslyNever did bough creak so mysteriously, and never did the far-away howling of dogs send such a woeful presage through the night There was a long spell of silence, big, aching, void, and then from the Professor a keen "S-s-s-s!" He pointed, and far down the avenue of yews we saw a white figure advance, a dim white figure, which held something dark at its breastThe figure stopped, and at the moment a ray of moonlight fell upon the masses of driving clouds, and showed in startling prominence a dark-haired woman, dressed in the cerements of the graveWe could not see the face, for it was bent down over what we saw to be a fair-haired childThere was a pause and a sharp little cry, such as a child gives in sleep, or a dog as it lies before the fire and dreamsWe were starting forward, but the Professor's warning hand, seen by us as he stood behind a yew tree, kept us backAnd then as we looked the white figure moved forwards againIt was now near enough for us to see clearly, and the moonlight still heldMy own heart grew cold as ice, and I could hear the gasp of Arthur, as we recognized the features of Lucy WestenraLucy Westenra, but yet how changedThe sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness Van Helsing stepped out, and obedient to his gesture, we all advanced tooThe four of us ranged in a line before the door of the tombVan Helsing raised his lantern and drew the slideBy the concentrated light that fell on Lucy's face we could see that the lips were crimson with fresh blood, and that the stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death-robe We shuddered with horrorI could see by the tremulous light that even Van Helsing's iron nerve had failedArthur was next to me, and if I had not seized his arm and held him up, he would have fallen When Lucy, I call the thing that was before us Lucy because it bore her shape, saw us she drew back with an angry snarl, such as a cat gives when taken unawares, then her eyes ranged over usLucy's eyes in form and colour, but Lucy's eyes unclean and full of hell fire, instead of the pure, gentle orbs we knewAt that moment the remnant of my love passed into hate and loathingHad she then to be killed, I could have done it with savage delightAs she looked, her eyes blazed with unholy light, and the face became wreathed with a voluptuous smileOh, God, how it made me shudder to see it! With a careless motion, she flung to the ground, callous as a devil, the child that up to now she had clutched strenuously to her breast, growling over it as a dog growls over a boneThe child gave a sharp cry, and lay there moaningThere was a cold-bloodedness in the act which wrung a groan from ArthurWhen she advanced to him with outstretched arms and a wanton smile he fell back and hid his face in his hands She still advanced, however, and with a languorous, voluptuous grace, said, "Come to me, ArthurLeave these others and come to meMy arms are hungry for youCome, and we can rest togetherCome, my husband, come!" There was something diabolically sweet in her tones, something of the tinkling of glass when struck, which rang through the brains even of us who heard the words addressed to another As for Arthur, he seemed under a spell, moving his hands from his face, he opened wide his armsShe was leaping for them, when Van Helsing sprang forward and held between them his little golden crucifixShe recoiled from it, and, with a suddenly distorted face, full of rage, dashed past him as if to enter the tomb When within a foot or two of the door, however, she stopped, as if arrested by some irresistible forceThen she turned, and her face was shown in the clear burst of moonlight and by the lamp, which had now no quiver from Van Helsing's nervesNever did I see such baffled malice on a face, and never, I trust, shall such ever be seen again by mortal link post comment

Harker grew ghastly white, so that the scar on... 750 [Jan. 30th, 2010|02:34 am] Harker grew ghastly white, so that the scar on her forehead seemed to burn, but she folded her hands meekly and looked up in prayerHarker smiled, actually smiled, the dark, bitter smile of one who is without hope, but at the same time his action belied his words, for his hands instinctively sought the hilt of the great Kukri knife and rested there "When does the next train start for Galatz?" said Van Helsing to us generally "At 6:30 tomorrow morning!" We all started, for the answer came from Mrs "How on earth do you know?" said Art "You forget, or perhaps you do not know, though Jonathan does and so does DrVan Helsing, that I am the train fiendAt home in Exeter I always used to make up the time tables, so as to be helpful to my husbandI found it so useful sometimes, that I always make a study of the time tables nowI knew that if anything were to take us to Castle Dracula we should go by Galatz, or at any rate through Bucharest, so I learned the times very carefullyUnhappily there are not many to learn, as the only train tomorrow leaves as I say "Wonderful woman!" murmured the Professor "Can't we get a special?" asked Lord Godalming Van Helsing shook his head, "I fear notThis land is very different from yours or mineEven if we did have a special, it would probably not arrive as soon as our regular trainMoreover, we have something to prepareYou, friend Arthur, go to the train and get the tickets and arrange that all be ready for us to go in the morningDo you, friend Jonathan, go to the agent of the ship and get from him letters to the agent in Galatz, with authority to make a search of the ship just as it was hereQuincey Morris, you see the Vice Consul, and get his aid with his fellow in Galatz and all he can do to make our way smooth, so that no times be lost when over the DanubeJohn will stay with Madam Mina and me, and we shall consultFor so if time be long you may be delayedAnd it will not matter when the sun set, since I am here with Madam to make report "And I," said MrsHarker brightly, and more like her old self than she had been for many a long day, "shall try to be of use in all ways, and shall think and write for you as I used to doSomething is shifting from me in some strange way, and I feel freer than I have been of late!" The three younger men looked happier at the moment as they seemed to realize the significance of her wordsBut Van Helsing and I, turning to each other, met each a grave and troubled glanceWe said nothing at the time, however When the three men had gone out to their tasks Van Helsing asked MrsHarker to look up the copy of the diaries and find him the part of Harker's journal at the CastleShe went away to get it When the door was shut upon her he said to me, "We mean the same! Speak out!" "Here is some changeIt is a hope that makes me sick, for it may deceive usDo you know why I asked her to get the manuscript?" "No!" said I, "unless it was to get an opportunity of seeing me alone "You are in part right, friend John, but only in partI want to tell you somethingAnd oh, my friend, I am taking a great, a terrible, riskBut I believe it is rightIn the moment when Madam Mina said those words that arrest both our understanding, an inspiration came to meIn the trance of three days ago the Count sent her his spirit to read her link post comment

What else have we to hope for, except the pity of... 705 [Jan. 28th, 2010|02:19 am] What else have we to hope for, except the pity of the good God?" Lord Godalming had slipped away for a few minutes, but now he returnedHe held up a little silver whistle as he remarked, "That old place may be full of rats, and if so, I've got an antidote on call Having passed the wall, we took our way to the house, taking care to keep in the shadows of the trees on the lawn when the moonlight shone outWhen we got to the porch the Professor opened his bag and took out a lot of things, which he laid on the step, sorting them into four little groups, evidently one for each "My friends, we are going into a terrible danger, and we need arms of many kindsOur enemy is not merely spiritualRemember that he has the strength of twenty men, and that, though our necks or our windpipes are of the common kind, and therefore breakable or crushable, his are not amenable to mere strengthA stronger man, or a body of men more strong in all than him, can at certain times hold him, but they cannot hurt him as we can be hurt by himWe must, therefore, guard ourselves from his touchKeep this near your heart As he spoke he lifted a little silver crucifix and held it out to me, I being nearest to him, "put these flowers round your neck," here he handed to me a wreath of withered garlic blossoms, "for other enemies more mundane, this revolver and this knife, and for aid in all, these so small electric lamps, which you can fasten to your breast, and for all, and above all at the last, this, which we must not desecrate needless This was a portion of Sacred Wafer, which he put in an envelope and handed to meEach of the others was similarly equipped "Now," he said, "friend John, where are the skeleton keys? If so that we can open the door, we need not break house by the window, as before at Miss Lucy'sSeward tried one or two skeleton keys, his mechanical dexterity as a surgeon standing him in good steadPresently he got one to suit, after a little play back and forward the bolt yielded, and with a rusty clang, shot backWe pressed on the door, the rusty hinges creaked, and it slowly openedIt was startlingly like the image conveyed to me in DrSeward's diary of the opening of Miss Westenra's tomb, I fancy that the same idea seemed to strike the others, for with one accord they shrank backThe Professor was the first to move forward, and stepped into the open door "In manus tuas, Domine!" he said, crossing himself as he passed over the thresholdWe closed the door behind us, lest when we should have lit our lamps we should possibly attract attention from the roadThe Professor carefully tried the lock, lest we might not be able to open it from within should we be in a hurry making our exitThen we all lit our lamps and proceeded on our search The light from the tiny lamps fell in all sorts of odd forms, as the rays crossed each other, or the opacity of our bodies threw great shadowsI could not for my life get away from the feeling that there was someone else amongst usI suppose it was the recollection, so powerfully brought home to me by the grim surroundings, of that terrible experience in TransylvaniaI think the feeling was common to us all, for I noticed that the others kept looking over their shoulders at every sound and every new shadow, just as I felt myself doing The whole place was thick with dustThe floor was seemingly inches deep, except where there were recent footsteps, in which on holding down my lamp I could see marks of hobnails where the dust was crackedThe walls were fluffy and heavy with dust, and in the corners were masses of spider's webs, whereon the dust had gathered till they looked like old tattered rags as the weight had torn them partly downOn a table in the hall was a great bunch of keys, with a time-yellowed label on eachThey had been used several times, for on the table were several similar rents in the blanket of dust, similar to that exposed when the Professor lifted them He turned to me and said, "You know this place, JonathanYou have copied maps of it, and you know it at least more than we doWhich 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 link post comment

His hand actually seemed like a steel vice that... 80 [Jan. 27th, 2010|02:14 am] His hand actually seemed like a steel vice that could have crushed mine if he had chosenThen he took my traps, and placed them on the ground beside me as I stood close to a great door, old and studded with large iron nails, and set in a projecting doorway of massive stoneI could see even in the dim light that the stone was massively carved, but that the carving had been much worn by time and weatherAs I stood, the driver jumped again into his seat and shook the reinsThe horses started forward, and trap and all disappeared down one of the dark openings I stood in silence where I was, for I did not know what to doOf bell or knocker there was no signThrough these frowning walls and dark window openings it was not likely that my voice could penetrateThe time I waited seemed endless, and I felt doubts and fears crowding upon meWhat sort of place had I come to, and among what kind of people? What sort of grim adventure was it on which I had embarked? Was this a customary incident in the life of a solicitor's clerk sent out to explain the purchase of a London estate to a foreigner? Solicitor's clerk! Mina would not like thatSolicitor, for just before leaving London I got word that my examination was successful, and I am now a full-blown solicitor! I began to rub my eyes and pinch myself to see if I were awakeIt all seemed like a horrible nightmare to me, and I expected that I should suddenly awake, and find myself at home, with the dawn struggling in through the windows, as I had now and again felt in the morning after a day of overworkBut my flesh answered the pinching test, and my eyes were not to be deceivedI was indeed awake and among the CarpathiansAll I could do now was to be patient, and to wait the coming of morning Just as I had come to this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great door, and saw through the chinks the gleam of a coming lightThen there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn backA key was turned with the loud grating noise of long disuse, and the great door swung back Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhereHe held in his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without a chimney or globe of any kind, throwing long quivering shadows as it flickered in the draught of the open doorThe old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent English, but with a strange intonation "Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own free will!" He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stoneThe instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed cold as ice, more like the hand of a dead than a living manAgain he said, "Welcome to my house! Enter freelyGo safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring!" The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speakingSo to make sure, I said interrogatively, "Count Dracula?" He bowed in a courtly way as he replied, "I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome, MrCome in, the night air is chill, and you must need to eat and rest As he was speaking, he put the lamp on a bracket on the wall, and stepping out, took my luggageHe had carried it in before I could forestall himI protested, but he insisted "Nay, sir, you are my guestIt is late, and my people are not availableLet me see to your comfort myself He insisted on carrying my traps along the passage, and then up a great winding stair, and along another great passage, on whose stone floor our steps rang heavilyAt the end of this he threw open a heavy door, and I rejoiced to see within a well-lit room in which a table was spread for supper, and on whose mighty hearth a great fire of logs, freshly replenished, flamed and flared The Count halted, putting down my bags, closed the door, and crossing the room, opened another door, which led into a small octagonal room lit by a single lamp, and seemingly without a window of any sortPassing through this, he opened another door, and motioned me to enterIt was a welcome sightFor here was a great bedroom well lighted and warmed with another log fire, also added to but lately, for the top logs were fresh, which sent a hollow roar up the wide chimneyThe Count himself left my luggage inside and withdrew, saying, before he closed the link post comment

Hello, my account friends 986 [Jan. 26th, 2010|11:52 am] Welcome to my first blog link post comment

Do not answer this, as I shall take it that, if I... 423 [Jan. 26th, 2010|11:52 am] Do not answer this, as I shall take it that, if I do not hear, you will come to breakfast "Believe me, "Your faithful and grateful friend, "Mina Harker JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 26 September-I thought never to write in this diary again, but the time has comeWhen I got home last night Mina had supper ready, and when we had supped she told me of Van Helsing's visit, and of her having given him the two diaries copied out, and of how anxious she has been about meShe showed me in the doctor's letter that all I wrote down was trueIt seems to have made a new man of meIt was the doubt as to the reality of the whole thing that knocked me overI felt impotent, and in the dark, and distrustfulBut, now that I know, I am not afraid, even of the CountHe has succeeded after all, then, in his design in getting to London, and it was he I sawHe has got younger, and how? Van Helsing is the man to unmask him and hunt him out, if he is anything like what Mina saysWe sat late, and talked it overMina is dressing, and I shall call at the hotel in a few minutes and bring him over He was, I think, surprised to see meWhen I came into the room where he was, and introduced myself, he took me by the shoulder, and turned my face round to the light, and said, after a sharp scrutiny, "But Madam Mina told me you were ill, that you had had a shock It was so funny to hear my wife called 'Madam Mina' by this kindly, strong-faced old manI smiled, and said, "I was ill, I have had a shock, but you have cured me already "And how?" "By your letter to Mina last nightI was in doubt, and then everything took a hue of unreality, and I did not know what to trust, even the evidence of my own sensesNot knowing what to trust, I did not know what to do, and so had only to keep on working in what had hitherto been the groove of my lifeThe groove ceased to avail me, and I mistrusted myselfDoctor, you don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourselfNo, you don't, you couldn't with eyebrows like yours He seemed pleased, and laughed as he said, "So! You are a physiognomistI learn more here with each hourI am with so much pleasure coming to you to breakfast, and, oh, sir, you will pardon praise from an old man, but you are blessed in your wife I would listen to him go on praising Mina for a day, so I simply nodded and stood silent "She is one of God's women, fashioned by His own hand to show us men and other women that there is a heaven where we can enter, and that its light can be here on earthSo true, so sweet, so noble, so little an egoist, and that, let me tell you, is much in this age, so sceptical and selfishAnd you, sir? I have read all the letters to poor Miss Lucy, and some of them speak of you, so I know you since some days from the knowing of others, but I have seen your true self since last nightYou will give me your hand, will you not? And let us be friends for all our lives We shook hands, and he was so earnest and so kind that it made me quite choky "And now," he said, "may I ask you for some more help? I have a great task to do, and at the beginning it is to knowCan you tell me what went before your going to Transylvania? Later on I may ask more help, and of a different kind, but at first this will do "Look here, Sir," I said, "does what you have to do concern the Count?" "It does," he said solemnly "Then I am with you heart and soulAs you go by the 10:30 train, you will not have time to read them, but I shall get the bundle of papersYou can take them with you and read them in the train After breakfast I saw him to the link post comment

Putin Wishes for 'Changes for Better' in 2010 [Jan. 26th, 2010|10:06 am] "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday wished Russia ""substantial and grand"" success and ""changes for the better"" in 2010 in a televised New Year speech. ""We always look forward to the New Year. We look forward to it because our New Year's expectations are, at the very least, expectations of changes for the better, if not miracles,"" he said. Life will bring people a sense of satisfaction when they overcome difficulties and move toward success, Putin said. He hoped that the temporary difficulties would lead to ""substantial and grand"" success and Russians would live a better life next year. Putin had said on the previous day that the government had by and large implemented its anti-crisis measures for the outgoing year and predicted that Russia's economy would grow by three percent in 2010. However, according to Putin, the growth was not yet robust and relies heavily on commodities, which means the government must shift its priorities to exploiting new industrial potential and developing an innovative economy. " link post comment

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