| -It was late in the afternoon when the Professor... 767 |
[Jan. 26th, 2010|11:45 am] |
-It was late in the afternoon when the Professor and I took our way towards the east whence I knew Jonathan was comingWe did not go fast, though the way was steeply downhill, for we had to take heavy rugs and wraps with usWe dared not face the possibility of being left without warmth in the cold and the snowWe had to take some of our provisions too, for we were in a perfect desolation, and so far as we could see through the snowfall, there was not even the sign of habitationWhen we had gone about a mile, I was tired with the heavy walking and sat down to restThen we looked back and saw where the clear line of Dracula's castle cut the skyFor we were so deep under the hill whereon it was set that the angle of perspective of the Carpathian mountains was far below itWe saw it in all its grandeur, perched a thousand feet on the summit of a sheer precipice, and with seemingly a great gap between it and the steep of the adjacent mountain on any sideThere was something wild and uncanny about the placeWe could hear the distant howling of wolvesThey were far off, but the sound, even though coming muffled through the deadening snowfall, was full of terrorI knew from the way DrVan Helsing was searching about that he was trying to seek some strategic point, where we would be less exposed in case of attackThe rough roadway still led downwardsWe could trace it through the drifted snow
In a little while the Professor signalled to me, so I got up and joined himHe had found a wonderful spot, a sort of natural hollow in a rock, with an entrance like a doorway between two bouldersHe took me by the hand and drew me in
"See!" he said, "here you will be in shelterAnd if the wolves do come I can meet them one by one
He brought in our furs, and made a snug nest for me, and got out some provisions and forced them upon meBut I could not eat, to even try to do so was repulsive to me, and much as I would have liked to please him, I could not bring myself to the attemptHe looked very sad, but did not reproach meTaking his field glasses from the case, he stood on the top of the rock, and began to search the horizon
Suddenly he called out, "Look! Madam Mina, look! Look!"
I sprang up and stood beside him on the rockHe handed me his glasses and pointedThe snow was now falling more heavily, and swirled about fiercely, for a high wind was beginning to blowHowever, there were times when there were pauses between the snow flurries and I could see a long way roundFrom the height where we were it was possible to see a great distanceAnd far off, beyond the white waste of snow, I could see the river lying like a black ribbon in kinks and curls as it wound its wayStraight in front of us and not far off, in fact so near that I wondered we had not noticed before, came a group of mounted men hurrying alongIn the midst of them was a cart, a long leiter wagon which swept from side to side, like a dog's tail wagging, with each stern inequality of the roadOutlined against the snow as they were, I could see from the men's clothes that they were peasants or gypsies of some kind
On the cart was a great square chestMy heart leaped as I saw it, for I felt that the end was comingThe evening was now drawing close, and well I knew that at sunset the Thing, which was till then imprisoned there, would take new freedom and could in any of many forms elude pursuitIn fear I turned to the ProfessorTo my consternation, however, he was not thereAn instant later, I saw him below meRound the rock he had drawn a circle, such as we had found shelter in last |
|
|
