CHAPTER IV
JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL―continued
I AWOKE in my own bed. If it be that I had not dreamt,
the Count must have carried me here. I tried to satisfy
myself on the subject, but could not arrive at any unques-
tionable result. To be sure, there were certain small evi-
dences, such as that my clothes were folded and laid by in
a manner which was not my habit. My watch was still un-
wound, and I am rigorously accustomed to wind it the last
thing before going to bed, and many such details. But these
things are no proof, for they may have been evidences that
my mind was not as usual, and, from some cause or an-
other, I had certainly been much upset. I must watch for
proof. Of one thing I am glad : if it was that the Count
carried me here and undressed me, he must have been
hurried in his task, for my pockets are intact. I am sure
this diary would have been a mystery to him which he
would not have brooked . He would have taken or de-
stroyed it. As I look round this room, although it has been
to me so full of fear, it is now a sort of sanctuary, for
nothing can be more dreadful than those awful women,
who were who are-waiting to suck my blood.
18 May. I have been down to look at that room again
in daylight, for I must know the truth. When I got to the
doorway at the top of the stairs I found it closed . It had
been so forcibly driven against the jamb that part of the
woodwork was splintered. I could see that the bolt of the
lock had not been shot, but the door is fastened from the
inside. I fear it was no dream, and must act on this sur-
mise.
-
19 May. I am surely in the toils . Last night the Count
asked me in the suavest tones to write three letters, one
44JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 45
saying that my work here was nearly done, and that I
should start for home within a few days, another that I
was starting on the next morning from the time of the
letter, and the third that I had left the castle and arrived
at Bistritz . I would fain have rebelled , but felt that in the
present state of things it would be madness to quarrel
openly with the Count whilst I am so absolutely in his
power ; and to refuse would be to excite his suspicion and
to arouse his anger. He knows that I know too much, and
that I must not live , lest I be dangerous to him ; my only
chance is to prolong my opportunities. Something may
occur which will give me a chance to escape. I saw in his
eyes something of that gathering wrath which was mani-
fest when he hurled that fair woman from him. He ex-
plained to me that posts were few and uncertain, and that
my writing now would ensure ease of mind to my friends ;
and he assured me with so much impressiveness that he
would countermand the later letters , which would be held
over at Bistritz until due time in case chance would admit
of my prolonging my stay, that to oppose him would have
been to create new suspicion. I therefore pretended to fall
in with his views, and asked him what dates I should put
on the letters. He calculated a minute, and then said :-
"The first should be June 12, the second June 19, and
the third June 29."
I know now the span of my life . God help me !
28 May. There is a chance of escape, or at any rate
of being able to send word home. A band of Szgany have
come to the castle, and are encamped in the courtyard.
These Szgany are gipsies ; I have notes of them in my
book. They are peculiar to this part of the world, though
allied to the ordinary gipsies all the world over. There are
thousands of them in Hungary and Transylvania, who
are almost outside all law. They attach themselves as a rule
to some great noble or boyar, and call themselves by his
name. They are fearless and without religion, save super-
stition, and they talk only their own varieties of the Ro-
many tongue.
I shall write some letters home, and shall try to get them46
DRACULA
to have them posted. I have already spoken them through
my window to begin acquaintanceship. They took their
hats off and made obeisance and many signs, which, how-
ever, I could not understand any more than I could their
spoken language. . . .
I have written the letters. Mina's is in shorthand, and I
simply ask Mr. Hawkins to communicate with her. To her
I have explained my situation, but without the horrors
which I may only surmise. It would shock and frighten
her to death were I to expose my heart to her. Should the
letters not carry, then the Count shall not yet know my
secret or the extent of my knowledge. . . .
I have given the letters ; I threw them through the bars
of my window with a gold piece, and made what signs I
could to have them posted. The man who took them
pressed them to his heart and bowed, and then put them in
his cap. I could do no more. I stole back to the study, and
began to read. As the Count did not come in, I have writ-
ten here....
The Count has come. He sat down beside me, and said
in his smoothest voice as he opened two letters ;-
" The Szgany has given me these, of which, though I
know not whence they come, I shall, of course, take care.
See ! " he must have looked at it-"one is from you, and
to my friend Peter Hawkins ; the other"-here he caught
sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope,
and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed
wickedly "the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon
friendship and hospitality ! It is not signed. Well ! so it
cannot matter to us." And he calmly held letter and enve-
lope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed.
Then he went on : -
" The letter to Hawkins-that I shall, of course, send
on, since it is yours. Your letters are sacred to me. Your
pardon, my friend, that unknowingly I did break the seal.
Will you not cover it again ?" He held out the letter to
me, and with a courteous bow handed me a clean enve-JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 47
lope. I could only redirect it and hand it to him in silence.
When he went out of the room I could hear the key turn
softly. A minute later I went over and tried it, and the
door was locked.
When, an hour or two after, the Count came quietly in-
to the room, his coming awakened me, for I had gone to
sleep on the sofa. He was very courteous and very cheery
in his manner, and seeing that I had been sleeping, he
said : -
" So, my friend, you are tired ? Get to bed. There is the
surest rest. I may not have the pleasure to talk to-night,
since there are many labours to me ; but you will sleep, I
pray." I passed to my room and went to bed, and, strange
to say, slept without dreaming. Despair has it own calms.
31 May. This morning when I woke I thought I would
provide myself with some paper and envelopes from my
bag and keep them in my pocket, so that I might write in
case I should get an opportunity, but again a surprise,
again a shock !
Every scrap of paper was gone, and with it all my
notes, my memoranda, relating to railways and travel, my
letter of credit, in fact all that might be useful to me were
I once outside the castle. I sat and pondered awhile, and
then some thought occurred to me, and I made search of
my portmanteau and in the wardrobe where I had placed
my clothes.
The suit in which I had travelled was gone, and also my
overcoat and rug ; I could find no trace of them anywhere.
This looked like some new scheme of villainy. . . .
17 June.―This morning, as I was sitting on the edge of
my bed cudgelling my brains, I heard without a cracking of
whips and pounding and scraping of horses' feet up the
rocky path beyond the courtyard. With joy I hurried to
the window, and saw drive into the yard two great leiter
wagons, each drawn by eight sturdy horses, and at the
head of each pair a Slovak, with his wide hat, great nail-
studded belt, dirty sheepskin, and high boots. They had
also their long staves in hand. I ran to the door, intending48
DRACULA
to descend and try and join them through the main hall ,
as I thought that way might be opened for them. Again
a shock : my door was fastened on the outside.
Then I ran to the window and cried to them. They
looked up at me stupidly and pointed, but just then the
" hetman" of the Szgany came out, and seeing them point-
ing to my window, said something, at which they laughed.
Henceforth no effort of mine, no piteous cry or agonised
entreaty, would make them even look at me. They reso-
lutely turned away. The leiter-wagons contained great,
square boxes, with handles of thick rope ; these were evi-
dently empty by the ease with which the Slovaks handled
them, and by their resonance as they were roughly moved.
When they were all unloaded and packed in a great heap
in one corner of the yard , the Slovaks were given some
money by the Szgany, and spitting on it for luck, lazily
went each to his horse's head. Shortly afterwards, I heard
the cracking of their whips die away in the distance.
24 June, before morning.-Last night the Count left .
me early, and locked himself into his own room. As soon
as I dared I ran up the winding stair, and looked out of
the window, which opened south. I thought I would watch
for the Count, for there is something going on. The
Szgany are quartered somewhere in the castle and are do-
ing work of some kind . I know it, for now and then I
hear a far-away muffled sound as of mattock and spade,
and, whatever it is, it must be the end of some ruthless
villainy.
I had been at the window somewhat less than half an
hour, when I saw something coming out of the Count's
window. I drew back and watched carefully, and saw the
whole man emerge. It was a new shock to me to find that
he had on the suit of clothes which I had worn whilst
travelling here, and slung over his shoulder the terrible
bag which I had seen the women take away. There could be
no doubt as to his quest, and in my garb, too ! This, then,
is his new scheme of evil : that he will allow others to see
me, as they think, so that he may both leave evidence thatJONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 49
I have been seen in the towns or villages posting my own
letters, and that any wickedness which he may do shall by
the local people be attributed to me.
It makes me rage to think that this can go on, and whilst
I am shut up here, a veritable prisoner, but without that
protection of the law which is even a criminal's right and,
consolation.
I thought I would watch for the Count's return, and for
a long time sat doggedly at the window. Then I began to
notice that there were some quaint little specks floating
in the rays of the moonlight. They were like the tiniest
grains of dust, and they whirled round and gathered in
clusters in a nebulous sort of way. I watched them with a
sense of soothing, and a sort of calm stole over me. I
leaned back in the embrasure in a more comfortable posi-
tion, so that I could enjoy more fully the aërial gambol-
ling.
Something made me start up, a low, piteous howling of
dogs somewhere far below in the valley, which was hidden
from my sight. Louder it seemed to ring in my ears, and
the floating motes of dust to take new shapes to the sound
as they danced in the moonlight. I felt myself struggling
to awake to some call of my instincts ; nay, my very soul
was struggling, and my half- remembered sensibilities were
striving to answer the call. I was becoming hypnotised !
Quicker and quicker danced the dust ; the moonbeams
seemed to quiver as they went by me into the mass of
gloom beyond. More and more they gathered till they
seemed to take dim phantom shapes. And then I started,
broad awake and in full possession of my senses, and ran
screaming from the place. The phantom shapes, which were
becoming gradually materialised from the moonbeams,
were those of the three ghostly women to whom I was
doomed. I fled, and felt somewhat safer in my own room ,
where there was no moonlight and where the lamp was
burning brightly.
When a couple of hours had passed I heard something
stirring in the Count's room, something like a sharp wail
quickly suppressed ; and then there was silence, deep, aw-
ful silence , which chilled me. With a beating heart, I tried50 DRACULA
the door ; but I was locked in my prison, and could do
nothing. I sat down and simply cried.
As I sat I heard a sound in the courtyard without-the
agonised cry of a woman. I rushed to the window, and
throwing it up, peered out between the bars. There, in-
deed, was a woman with dishevelled hair, holding her
hands over her heart as one distressed with running. She
was leaning against a corner of the gateway. When she
saw my face at the window she threw herself forward,
and shouted in a voice laden with menace :—
"Monster, give me my child ! "
She threw herself on her knees, and raising up her
hands, cried the same words in tones which wrung my
heart. Then she tore her hair and beat her breast, and
abandoned herself to all the violences of extravagant
emotion. Finally, she threw herself forward, and, though
I could not see her, I could hear the beating of her naked
hands against the door.
Somewhere high overhead, probably on the tower, I
heard the voice of the Count calling in his harsh, metallic
whisper. His call seemed to be answered from far and wide
by the howling of wolves. Before many minutes had
passed a pack of them poured, like a pent-up dam when
liberated, through the wide entrance into the courtyard.
There was no cry from the woman, and the howling of
the wolves was but short. Before long they streamed away
singly, licking their lips.
I could not pity her, for I knew now what had become
of her child, and she was better dead.
What shall I do ? what can I do ? How can I escape from
this dreadful thing of night and gloom and fear ?
25 June, morning.-No man knows till he has suffered
from the night how sweet and how dear to his heart and
eye the morning can be. When the sun grew so high this
morning that it struck the top of the great gateway oppo-
site my window, the high spot which it touched seemed
to me as if the dove from the ark had lighted there. My
fear fell from me as if it had been a vaporous garment
which dissolved in the warmth. I must take action of some' JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 51
sort whilst the courage of the day is upon me. Last night
one of my post-dated letters went to post, the first of that
fatal series which is to blot out the very traces of my
existence from the earth.
Let me not think of it. Action !
It has always been at night-time that I have been
molested or threatened , or in some way in danger or in
fear. I have not yet seen the Count in the daylight. Can
it be that he sleeps when others wake, that he may be
awake whilst they sleep ? If I could only get into his
room ! But there is no possible way. The door is always
locked, no way for me.
Yes, there is a way, if one dares to take it. Where his
body has gone why may not another body go ? I have
seen him myself crawl from his window. Why should not
I imitate him, and go in by his window ? The chances are
desperate, but my need is more desperate still. I shall risk
it. At the worst it can only be death ; and a man's death
is not a calf's, and the dreaded Hereafter may still be open
to me. God help me in my task ! Good- bye, Mina, if I fail ;
good-bye, my faithful friend and second father ; good-
bye, all, and last of all Mina !
Same day, later. -I have made the effort, and, God help-
ing me, have come safely back to this room. I must put
down every detail in order. I went whilst my courage was
fresh straight to the window on the south side, and at once
got outside on the narrow ledge of stone which runs
around the building on this side. The stones are big and
roughly cut, and the mortar has by process of time been
washed away between them. I took off my boots, and ven-
tured out on the desperate way. I looked down once, so
as to make sure that a sudden glimpse of the awful depth
would not overcome me, but after that kept my eyes away
from it. I knew pretty well the direction and distance of
the Count's window, and made for it as well as I could,
having regard to the opportunities available. I did not feel
dizzy-I suppose I was too excited-and the time seemed
ridiculously short till I found myself standing on the
window-sill and trying to raise up the sash. I was filled52 DRACULA
with agitation, however, when I bent down and slid feet
foremost in through the window. Then I looked around
for the Count, but, with surprise and gladness, made a
discovery. The room was empty ! It was barely furnished
with odd things, which seemed to have never been used ;
the furniture was something the same style as that in the
south rooms, and was covered with dust. I looked for the
key, but it was not in the lock, and I could not find it any-
where. The only thing I found was a great heap of gold
in one corner-gold of all kinds, Roman, and British, and
Austrian, and Hungarian, and Greek and Turkish money,
covered with a film of dust, as though it had lain long in
the ground. None of it that I noticed was less than three
hundred years old. There were also chains and ornaments,
some jewelled, but all of them old and stained .
At one corner of the room was a heavy door. I tried it,
for, since I could not find the key of the room or the key
of the outer door, which was the main object of my search,
I must make further examination, or all my efforts would
be in vain. It was open, and led through a stone passage
to a circular stairway, which went steeply down. I de-
scended, minding carefully where I went, for the stairs
were dark, being only lit by loopholes in the heavy
masonry. At the bottom there was a dark, tunnel- like pas-
sage, through which came a deathly, sickly odour, the
odour of old earth newly turned . As I went through the
passage the smell grew closer and heavier. At last I pulled
open a heavy door which stood ajar, and found myself in
an old, ruined chapel, which had evidently been used as a
graveyard. The roof was broken, and in two places were
steps leading to vaults, but the ground had recently been
dug over, and the earth placed in great wooden boxes,
manifestly those which had been brought by the Slovaks.
There was nobody about, and I made search for any
further outlet, but there was none. Then I went over
every inch of the ground, so as not to lose a chance. I
went down even into the vaults, where the dim light strug-
gled, although to do so was a dread to my very soul. Into
two of these I went, but saw nothing except fragmentsJONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 53
of old coffins and piles of dust ; in the third, however, I
made a discovery.
There, in one of the great boxes, of which there were
fifty in all, on a pile of newly dug earth, lay the Count!
He was either dead or asleep, I could not say which-for
the eyes were open and stony, but without the glassiness
of death-and the cheeks had the warmth of life through
all their pallor ; the lips were as red as ever. But there
was no sign of movement, no pulse, no breath, no beating
of the heart. I bent over him, and tried to find any sign
of life, but in vain. He could not have lain there long, for
the earthy smell would have passed away in a few hours.
By the side of the box was its cover, pierced with holes
here and there. I thought he might have the keys on him,
but when I went to search I saw the dead eyes, and in
them, dead though they were, such a look of hate, though
unconscious of me or my presence, that I fled from the
place, and leaving the Count's room by the window,
crawled again up the castle wall. Regaining my room, I
threw myself panting upon the bed and tried to think. ...
29 June. -To-day is the date of my last letter, and the
Count has taken steps to prove that it was genuine, for
again I saw him leave the castle by the same window, and
in my clothes. As he went down the wall, lizard fashion , I
wished I had a gun or some lethal weapon, that I might
destroy him; but I fear that no weapon wrought alone
by man's hand would have any effect on him. I dared not
wait to see him return, for I feared to see those weird sis-
ters. I came back to the library, and read there till I fell
asleep.
I was awakened by the Count, who looked at me as
grimly as a man can look as he said : -
"To-morrow, my friend, we must part. You return to
your beautiful England, I to some work which may have
such an end that we may never meet. Your letter home
has been despatched ; to-morrow I shall not be here, but
all shall be ready for your journey. In the morning come
the Szgany, who have some labours of their own here, and
also come some Slovaks. When they have gone, my car-54 DRACULA
riage shall come for you, and shall bear you to the Borgo
Pass to meet the diligence from Bukovina to Bistritz. But
I am in hopes that I shall see more of you at Castle
Dracula. " I suspected him, and determined to test his
sincerity. Sincerity ! It seems like a profanation of the
word to write it in connection with such a monster, so
asked him point -blank : -
" Why may I not go to-night ?"
"Because, dear sir, my coachman and horses are away
on a mission. "
"But I would walk with pleasure. I want to get away at
once." He smiled, such a soft, smooth, diabolical smile
that I knew there was some trick behind his smoothness.
He said : -
"And your baggage ?"
"I do not care about it. I can send for it some other
time."
The Count stood up, and said, with a sweet courtesy
which made me rub my eyes, it seemed so real : —
"You English have a saying which is close to my heart,
for its spirit is that which rules our boyars: ' Welcome the
coming ; speed the parting guest. ' Come with me, my dear
young friend. Not an hour shall you wait in my house
against your will , though sad am I at your going, and that
you so suddenly desire it. Come ! " With a stately gravity,
he, with the lamp, preceded me down the stairs and along
the hall. Suddenly he stopped.
"Hark! "
Close at hand came the howling of many wolves. It was
almost as if the sound sprang up at the rising of his hand,
just as the music of a great orchestra seems to leap under
the bâton of the conductor. After a pause of a moment, he
proceeded, in his stately way, to the door, drew back the
ponderous bolts, unhooked the heavy chains , and began
to draw it open.
To my intense astonishment I saw that it was unlocked .
Suspiciously, I looked all round , but could see no key of
any kind.
As the door began to open, the howling of the wolves
without grew louder and angrier ; their red jaws, withJONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 55
champing teeth, and their blunt -clawed feet as they leaped,
came in through the opening door. I knew then that to
struggle at the moment against the Count was useless.
With such allies as these at his command, I could do noth-
ing. But still the door continued slowly to open, and only
the Count's body stood in the gap. Suddenly it struck me
that this might be the moment and means of my doom ; I
was to be given to the wolves , and at my own instigation.
There was a diabolical wickedness in the idea great enough
for the Count, and as a last chance I cried out :--
"Shut the door ; I shall wait till morning! " and covered
my face with my hands to hide my tears of bitter disap-
pointment. With one sweep of his powerful arm , the
Count threw the door shut, and the great bolts clanged
and echoed through the hall as they shot back into their
places.
In silence we returned to the library, and after a min-
ute or two I went to my own room. The last I saw of
Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me ; with a red
light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas
in hell might be proud of.
When I was in my room and about to lie down, I
thought I heard a whispering at my door. I went to it
softly and listened . Unless my ears deceived me, I heard
the voice of the Count : -
"Back, back, to your own place ! Your time is not yet
come. Wait ! Have patience ! To-night is mine. To- morrow
night is yours ! " There was a low, sweet ripple of laughter,
and in a rage I threw open the door, and saw without the
three terrible women licking their lips . As I appeared they
all joined in a horrible laugh, and ran away.
I came back to my room and threw myself on my knees.
It is then so near the end ? To-morrow ! to-morrow !
Lord, help me, and those to whom I am dear !
30 June, morning.-These may be the last words I ever
write in this diary. I slept till just before the dawn, and
when I woke threw myself on my knees, for I determined
that if Death came he should find me ready.
At last I felt that subtle change in the air, and knew that56
DRACULA
the morning had come. Then came the welcome cock-
crow, and I felt that I was safe. With a glad heart, I
opened my door and ran down to the hall. I had seen that
the door was unlocked, and now escape was before me.
With hands that trembled with eagerness, I unhooked the
chains and drew back the massive bolts.
But the door would not move. Despair seized me. I
pulled, and pulled, at the door, and shook it till , massive as
it was, it rattled in its casement. I could see the bolt shot.
It had been locked after I left the Count.
Then a wild desire took me to obtain that key at any
risk, and I determined then and there to scale the wall
again and gain the Count's room. He might kill me, but
death now seemed the happier choice of evils . Without a
pause I rushed up to the east window, and scrambled down
the wall, as before, into the Count's room. It was empty,
but that was as I expected. I could not see a key any-
where, but the heap of gold remained . I went through the
door in the corner and down the winding stair and along
the dark passage to the old chapel . I knew now well enough
where to find the monster I sought.
The great box was in the same place, close against the
wall, but the lid was laid on it, not fastened down, but
with the nails ready in their places to be hammered home.
I knew I must reach the body for the key, so I raised the
lid, and laid it back against the wall ; and then I saw some-
thing which filled my very soul with horror. There lay the
Count, but looking as if his youth had been half renewed.
for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark
iron-grey ; the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin
seemed ruby-red underneath ; the mouth was redder than
ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which
trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the
chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set
amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches under-
neath were bloated . It seemed as if the whole awful crea-
ture were simply gorged with blood . He lay like a filthy
leech, exhausted with his repletion. I shuddered as I bent
over to touch him, and every sense in me revolted at the
contact ; but I had to search, or I was lost. The comingJONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 57
night might see my own body a banquet in a similar way
to those horrid three. I felt all over the body, but no sign
could I find of the key. Then I stopped and looked at the
Count. There was a mocking smile on the bloated face
which seemed to drive me mad. This was the being I was
helping to transfer to London, where, perhaps, for cen-
turies to come he might, amongst its teeming millions,
satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-
widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless.
The very thought drove me mad. A terrible desire came
upon me to rid the world of such a monster. There was no
lethal weapon at hand, but I seized a shovel which the
workmen had been using to fill the cases, and lifting it
high, struck, with the edge downward, at the hateful face.
But as I did so the head turned, and the eyes fell full upon
me, with all their blaze of basilisk horror. The sight seemed
to paralyse me, and the shovel turned in my hand and
glanced from the face, merely making a deep gash above
the forehead. The shovel fell from my hand across the
box, and as I pulled it away the flange of the blade caught
the edge of the lid which fell over again, and hid the hor-
rid thing from my sight. The last glimpse I had was of the
bloated face, blood-stained and fixed with a grin of malice
which would have held its own in the nethermost hell.
I thought and thought what should be my next move,
but my brain seemed on fire , and I waited with a despair-
ing feeling growing over me. As I waited I heard in the
distance a gipsy song sung by merry voices coming closer,
and through their song the rolling of heavy wheels and the
cracking of whips ; the Szgany and the Slovaks of whom
the Count had spoken were coming. With a last look
around and at the box which contained the vile body, I
ran from the place and gained the Count's room, deter-
mined to rush out at the moment the door should be
opened. With strained ears , I listened, and heard down-
stairs the grinding of the key in the great lock and the fall-
ing back of the heavy door. There must have been some
other means of entry, or some one had a key for one of the
locked doors. Then there came the sound of many feet
tramping and dying away in some passage which sent up aDRACULA
58
clanging echo. I turned to run down again towards the
vault, where I might find the new entrance ; but at the
moment there seemed to come a violent puff of wind, and
the door to the winding stair blew to with a shock that set
the dust from the lintels flying. When I ran to push it
open, I found that it was hopelessly fast. I was again a
prisoner, and the net of doom was closing round me more
closely.
As I write there is in the passage below a sound of many
tramping feet and the crash of weights being set down
heavily, doubtless the boxes, with their freight of earth.
There is a sound of hammering ; it is the box being nailed
down. Now I can hear the heavy feet tramping again along
the hall, with many other idle feet coming behind them.
The door is shut, and the chains rattle ; there is a grind-
ing of the key in the lock ; I can hear the key withdrawn :
then another door opens and shuts ; I hear the creaking of
lock and bolt.
Hark ! in the courtyard and down the rocky way the roll
of heavy wheels, the crack of whips, and the chorus of the
Szgany as they pass into the distance.
I am alone in the castle with those awful women. Faugh !
Mina is a woman, and there is nought in common. They
are devils of the Pit !.
I shall not remain alone with them ; I shall try to scale
the castle wall farther than I have yet attempted . I shall
take some of the gold with me, lest I want it later. I may
find a way from this dreadful place.
And then away for home ! away to the quickest and
nearest train ! away from this cursed spot, from this
cursed land, where the devil and his children still walk
with earthly feet !
At least God's mercy is better than that of these mon-
sters, and the precipice is steep and high. At its foot a man
may sleep as a man. Good-bye, all ! Mina !