| See, I lift you so that to swallow is easy She... 15 |
[Jan. 29th, 2010|07:31 am] |
See, I lift you so that to swallow is easy She had made the effort with success
It astonished me how long the drug took to actThis, in fact, marked the extent of her weaknessThe time seemed endless until sleep began to flicker in her eyelidsAt last, however, the narcotic began to manifest its potency, and she fell into a deep sleepWhen the Professor was satisfied, he called Arthur into the room, and bade him strip off his coatThen he added, "You may take that one little kiss whiles I bring over the tableFriend John, help to me!" So neither of us looked whilst he bent over her
Van Helsing, turning to me, said, "He is so young and strong, and of blood so pure that we need not defibrinate it
Then with swiftness, but with absolute method, Van Helsing performed the operationAs the transfusion went on, something like life seemed to come back to poor Lucy's cheeks, and through Arthur's growing pallor the joy of his face seemed absolutely to shineAfter a bit I began to grow anxious, for the loss of blood was telling on Arthur, strong man as he wasIt gave me an idea of what a terrible strain Lucy's system must have undergone that what weakened Arthur only partially restored her
But the Professor's face was set, and he stood watch in hand, and with his eyes fixed now on the patient and now on ArthurI could hear my own heart beatPresently, he said in a soft voice, "Do not stir an instant
When all was over, I could see how much Arthur was weakenedI dressed the wound and took his arm to bring him away, when Van Helsing spoke without turning round, the man seems to have eyes in the back of his head, "The brave lover, I think, deserve another kiss, which he shall have presently And as he had now finished his operation, he adjusted the pillow to the patient's headAs he did so the narrow black velvet band which she seems always to wear round her throat, buckled with an old diamond buckle which her lover had given her, was dragged a little up, and showed a red mark on her throat
Arthur did not notice it, but I could hear the deep hiss of indrawn breath which is one of Van Helsing's ways of betraying emotionHe said nothing at the moment, but turned to me, saying, "Now take down our brave young lover, give him of the port wine, and let him lie down a whileHe must then go home and rest, sleep much and eat much, that he may be recruited of what he has so given to his loveHe must not stay hereHold a moment! I may take it, sir, that you are anxious of resultThen bring it with you, that in all ways the operation is successfulYou have saved her life this time, and you can go home and rest easy in mind that all that can be isI shall tell her all when she is wellShe shall love you none the less for what you have done
When Arthur had gone I went back to the roomLucy was sleeping gently, but her breathing was strongerI could see the counterpane move as her breast heavedBy the bedside sat Van Helsing, looking at her intentlyThe velvet band again covered the red markI asked the Professor in a whisper, "What do you make of that mark on her throat?"
"What do you make of it?"
"I have not examined it yet," I answered, and then and there proceeded to loose the bandJust over the external jugular vein there were two punctures, not large, but not wholesome lookingThere was no sign of disease, but the edges were white and worn looking, as if by some triturationIt at once occurred to me that that this wound, or whatever it was, might be the means of that manifest loss of bloodBut I abandoned the idea as soon as it formed, for such a thing could not |
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