| My legs are not so quick to run as onceAnd I am... 486 |
[Jan. 28th, 2010|02:12 am] |
My legs are not so quick to run as onceAnd I am not used to ride so long or to pursue as need be, or to fight with lethal weaponsBut I can be of other serviceI can fight in other wayAnd I can die, if need be, as well as younger menNow let me say that what I would is thisWhile you, my Lord Godalming and friend Jonathan go in your so swift little steamboat up the river, and whilst John and Quincey guard the bank where perchance he might be landed, I will take Madam Mina right into the heart of the enemy's countryWhilst the old fox is tied in his box, floating on the running stream whence he cannot escape to land, where he dares not raise the lid of his coffin box lest his Slovak carriers should in fear leave him to perish, we shall go in the track where Jonathan went, from Bistritz over the Borgo, and find our way to the Castle of DraculaHere, Madam Mina's hypnotic power will surely help, and we shall find our way, all dark and unknown otherwise, after the first sunrise when we are near that fateful placeThere is much to be done, and other places to be made sanctify, so that that nest of vipers be obliterated
Here Jonathan interrupted him hotly, "Do you mean to say, Professor Van Helsing, that you would bring Mina, in her sad case and tainted as she is with that devil's illness, right into the jaws of his deathtrap? Not for the world! Not for Heaven or Hell!"
He became almost speechless for a minute, and then went on, "Do you know what the place is? Have you seen that awful den of hellish infamy, with the very moonlight alive with grisly shapes, and every speck of dust that whirls in the wind a devouring monster in embryo? Have you felt the Vampire's lips upon your throat?"
Here he turned to me, and as his eyes lit on my forehead he threw up his arms with a cry, "Oh, my God, what have we done to have this terror upon us?" and he sank down on the sofa in a collapse of misery
The Professor's voice, as he spoke in clear, sweet tones, which seemed to vibrate in the air, calmed us all
"Oh, my friend, it is because I would save Madam Mina from that awful place that I would goGod forbid that I should take her into that placeThere is work, wild work, to be done before that place can be purifyRemember that we are in terrible straitsIf the Count escape us this time, and he is strong and subtle and cunning, he may choose to sleep him for a century, and then in time our dear one," he took my hand, "would come to him to keep him company, and would be as those others that you, Jonathan, sawYou have told us of their gloating lipsYou heard their ribald laugh as they clutched the moving bag that the Count threw to themYou shudder, and well may it beForgive me that I make you so much pain, but it is necessaryMy friend, is it not a dire need for that which I am giving, possibly my life? If it were that any one went into that place to stay, it is I who would have to go to keep them company
"Do as you will," said Jonathan, with a sob that shook him all over, "we are in the hands of God!"
Later-Oh, it did me good to see the way that these brave men workedHow can women help loving men when they are so earnest, and so true, and so brave! And, too, it made me think of the wonderful power of money! What can it not do when basely usedI felt so thankful that Lord Godalming is rich, and both he and MrMorris, who also has plenty of money, are willing to spend it so freelyFor if they did not, our little expedition could not start, either so promptly or so well equipped, as it will within another hourIt is not three hours since it was arranged what part each of us was to doAnd now Lord Godalming and Jonathan have a lovely steam launch, with steam up ready to start at a moment's noticeMorris have half a dozen good horses, well appointedWe have all the maps and appliances of various kinds that can be hadProfessor Van Helsing and I are to leave by the 11:40 train tonight for Veresti, where we are to get a carriage to drive to the Borgo PassWe are bringing a good deal of ready money, as we are to buy a carriage and horsesWe shall drive ourselves, for we have no one whom we can trust in the matterThe Professor knows something of a great many languages, so we shall get on all rightWe have all got arms, even for me a large bore revolverJonathan would not be happy unless I was armed like the restAlas! I cannot carry one arm that the rest do, the scar on my forehead forbids thatVan Helsing comforts me by telling me that I am fully armed as there may be |
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