I suppose I must have fallen asleepI hope so, but I fear, for all that followed was startlingly real, so real that now sitting here in the broad, full sunlight of the morning, I cannot in the least believe that it was all sleepThe room was the same, unchanged in any way since I came into itI could see along the floor, in the brilliant moonlight, my own footsteps marked where I had disturbed the long accumulation of dustIn the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and mannerI thought at the time that I must be dreaming when I saw them, they threw no shadow on the floorThey came close to me, and looked at me for some time, and then whispered togetherTwo were dark, and had high aquiline noses, like the Count, and great dark, piercing eyes, that seemed to be almost red when contrasted with the pale yellow moonThe other was fair, as fair as can be, with great masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphiresI seemed somehow to know her face, and to know it in connection with some dreamy fear, but I could not recollect at the moment how or whereAll three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lipsThere was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fearI felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lipsIt is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina's eyes and cause her pain, but it is the truthThey whispered together, and then they all three laughed, such a silvery, musical laugh, but as hard as though the sound never could have come through the softness of human lipsIt was like the intolerable, tingling sweetness of waterglasses when played on by a cunning handThe fair girl shook her head coquettishly, and the other two urged her on One said, "Go on! You are first, and we shall followYours is the right to begin The other added, "He is young and strongThere are kisses for us all I lay quiet, looking out from under my eyelashes in an agony of delightful anticipationThe fair girl advanced and bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon meSweet it was in one sense, honey-sweet, and sent the same tingling through the nerves as her voice, but with a bitter underlying the sweet, a bitter offensiveness, as one smells in blood I was afraid to raise my eyelids, but looked out and saw perfectly under the lashesThe girl went on her knees, and bent over me, simply gloatingThere was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teethLower and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin and seemed to fasten on my throatThen she paused, and I could hear the churning sound of her tongue as it licked her teeth and lips, and I could feel the hot breath on my neckThen the skin of my throat began to tingle as one's flesh does when the hand that is to tickle it approaches nearer, nearerI could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing thereI closed my eyes in languorous ecstasy and waited, waited with beating heart But at that instant, another sensation swept through me as quick as lightningI was conscious of the presence of the Count, and of his being as if lapped in a storm of furyAs my eyes opened involuntarily I saw his strong hand grasp the slender neck of the fair woman and with giant's power draw it back, the blue eyes transformed with fury, the white teeth champing with rage, and the fair cheeks blazing red with passionBut the Count! Never did I imagine such wrath and fury, even to the demons of the pitHis eyes were positively blazingThe red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell fire blazed behind themHis face was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard like drawn wiresThe thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white-hot shop metal

Tom put up his hand, and held it close to his heart ?Now, I tell ye what, Tom,? said Haley, as he came up to the wagon, and threw in the handcuffs, ?I mean to start fa?r with ye, as I gen?ally do with my niggers; and I?ll tell ye now, to begin with, you treat me fa?r, and I?ll treat you fa?r; I an?t never hard on my niggersCalculates to do the best for ?em I canNow, ye see, you?d better jest settle down comfortable, and not be tryin? no tricks; because nigger?s tricks of all sorts I?m up to, and it?s no useIf niggers is quiet, and don?t try to get off, they has good times with me; and if they don?t, why, it?s thar fault, and not mine Tom assured Haley that he had no present intentions of running offIn fact, the exhortation seemed rather a superfluous one to a man with a great pair of iron fetters on his feetHaley had got in the habit of commencing his relations with his stock with little exhortations of this nature, calculated, as he deemed, to inspire cheerfulness and confidence, and prevent the necessity of any unpleasant scenes And here, for the present, we take our leave of Tom, to pursue the fortunes of other characters in our story 1 A slightly inaccurate quotation from Hamlet, Act III, scene I, lines 369-370 Chapter 11 In Which Property Gets into an Improper State of Mind It was late in a drizzly afternoon that a traveler alighted at the door of a small country hotel, in the village of N??, in KentuckyIn the barroom he found assembled quite a miscellaneous company, whom stress of weather had driven to harbor, and the place presented the usual scenery of such reunionsGreat, tall, raw-boned Kentuckians, attired in hunting-shirts, and trailing their loose joints over a vast extent of territory, with the easy lounge peculiar to the race,?rifles stacked away in the corner, shot-pouches, game-bags, hunting-dogs, and little negroes, all rolled together in the corners,?were the characteristic features in the pictureAt each end of the fireplace sat a long-legged gentleman, with his chair tipped back, his hat on his head, and the heels of his muddy boots reposing sublimely on the mantel-piece,?a position, we will inform our readers, decidedly favorable to the turn of reflection incident to western taverns, where travellers exhibit a decided preference for this particular mode of elevating their understandings Mine host, who stood behind the bar, like most of his country men, was great of stature, good-natured and loose-jointed, with an enormous shock of hair on his head, and a great tall hat on the top of that In fact, everybody in the room bore on his head this characteristic emblem of man?s sovereignty; whether it were felt hat, palm-leaf, greasy beaver, or fine new chapeau, there it reposed with true republican independenceIn truth, it appeared to be the characteristic mark of every individualSome wore them tipped rakishly to one side?these were your men of humor, jolly, free-and-easy dogs; some had them jammed independently down over their noses?these were your hard characters, thorough men, who, when they wore their hats, wanted to wear them, and to wear them just as they had a mind to; there were those who had them set far over back?wide-awake men, who wanted a clear prospect; while careless men, who did not know, or care, how their hats sat, had them shaking about in all directionsThe various hats, in fact, were quite a Shakespearean study Divers negroes, in very free-and-easy pantaloons, and with no redundancy in the shirt line, were scuttling about, hither and thither, without bringing to pass any very particular results, except expressing a generic willingness to turn over everything in creation generally for the benefit of Mas?r and his guestsAdd to this picture a jolly, crackling, rollicking fire, going rejoicingly up a great wide chimney,?the outer door and every window being set wide open, and the calico window-curtain flopping and snapping in a good stiff breeze of damp raw air,?and you have an idea of the jollities of a Kentucky tavern Your Kentuckian of the present day is a good illustration of the doctrine of transmitted instincts and pecularitiesHis fathers were mighty hunters,?men who lived in the woods, and slept under the free, open heavens, with the stars to hold their candles; and their descendant to this day always acts as if the house were his camp,?wears his hat at all hours, tumbles himself about, and puts his heels on the tops of chairs or mantelpieces, just as his father rolled on the green sward, and put his upon trees and logs,?keeps all the windows and doors open, winter and summer, that he may get air enough for his great lungs,?calls everybody ?stranger,? with nonchalant bonhommie, and is altogether the frankest, easiest, most jovial creature living Into such an assembly of the free and easy our traveller enteredHe was a short, thick-set man, carefully dressed, with a round, good-natured countenance, and something rather fussy and particular in his appearanceHe was very careful of his valise and umbrella, bringing them in with his own hands, and resisting, pertinaciously, all offers from the various servants to relieve him of themHe looked round the barroom with rather an anxious air, and, retreating with his valuables to the warmest corner, disposed them under his chair, sat down, and looked rather apprehensively up at the worthy whose heels illustrated the end of the mantel-piece, who was spitting from right to left, with a courage and energy rather alarming to gentlemen of weak nerves and particular habits ?I say, stranger, how are ye?? said the aforesaid gentleman, firing an honorary salute of tobacco-juice in the direction of the new arrival ?Well, I reckon,? was the reply of the other, as he dodged, with some alarm, the threatening honor ?Any news?? said the respondent, taking out a strip of tobacco and a large hunting-knife from his pocket ?Not that I know of,? said the man ?Chaw?? said the first speaker, handing the old gentleman a bit of his tobacco, with a decidedly brotherly air ?No, thank ye?it don?t agree with me,? said the little man, edging off ?Don?t, eh?? said the other, easily, and stowing away the morsel in his own mouth, in order to keep up the supply of tobacco-juice, for the general benefit of society The old gentleman uniformly gave a little start whenever his long-sided brother fired in his direction; and this being observed by his companion, he very good-naturedly turned his artillery to another quarter, and proceeded to storm one of the fire-irons with a degree of military talent fully sufficient to take a city ?What?s that?? said the old gentleman, observing some of the company formed in a group around a large handbill ?Nigger advertised!? said one of the company, brieflyWilson, for that was the old gentleman?s name, rose up, and, after carefully adjusting his valise and umbrella, proceeded deliberately to take out his spectacles and fix them on his nose; and, this operation being performed, read as follows: ?Ran away from the subscriber, my mulatto boy, GeorgeSaid George six feet in height, a very light mulatto, brown curly hair; is very intelligent, speaks handsomely, can read and write, will probably try to pass for a white man, is deeply scarred on his back and shoulders, has been branded in his right hand with the letter H ?I will give four hundred dollars for him alive, and the same sum for satisfactory proof that he has been shop killed

1 October, later-I suppose it was natural that we should have all overslept ourselves, for the day was a busy one, and the night had no rest at allEven Mina must have felt its exhaustion, for though I slept till the sun was high, I was awake before her, and had to call two or three times before she awokeIndeed, she was so sound asleep that for a few seconds she did not recognize me, but looked at me with a sort of blank terror, as one looks who has been waked out of a bad dreamShe complained a little of being tired, and I let her rest till later in the dayWe now know of twenty-one boxes having been removed, and if it be that several were taken in any of these removals we may be able to trace them allSuch will, of course, immensely simplify our labor, and the sooner the matter is attended to the betterI shall look up Thomas Snelling todaySEWARD'S DIARY 1 October-It was towards noon when I was awakened by the Professor walking into my roomHe was more jolly and cheerful than usual, and it is quite evident that last night's work has helped to take some of the brooding weight off his mind After going over the adventure of the night he suddenly said, "Your patient interests me muchMay it be that with you I visit him this morning? Or if that you are too occupy, I can go alone if it may beIt is a new experience to me to find a lunatic who talk philosophy, and reason so sound I had some work to do which pressed, so I told him that if he would go alone I would be glad, as then I should not have to keep him waiting, so I called an attendant and gave him the necessary instructionsBefore the Professor left the room I cautioned him against getting any false impression from my patient "But," he answered, "I want him to talk of himself and of his delusion as to consuming live thingsHe said to Madam Mina, as I see in your diary of yesterday, that he had once had such a beliefWhy do you smile, friend John?" "Excuse me," I said, "but the answer is here I laid my hand on the typewritten matter"When our sane and learned lunatic made that very statement of how he used to consume life, his mouth was actually nauseous with the flies and spiders which he had eaten just before MrsHarker entered the room Van Helsing smiled in turn"Your memory is true, friend JohnI should have rememberedAnd yet it is this very obliquity of thought and memory which makes mental disease such a fascinating studyPerhaps I may gain more knowledge out of the folly of this madman than I shall from the teaching of the most wiseWho knows?" I went on with my work, and before long was through that in handIt seemed that the time had been very short indeed, but there was Van Helsing back in the study "Do I interrupt?" he asked politely as he stood at the door "Not at all," I answeredMy work is finished, and I am freeI can go with you now, if you like "It is needless, I have seen him!" "Well?" "I fear that he does not appraise me at muchOur interview was shortWhen I entered his room he was sitting on a stool in the centre, with his elbows on his knees, and his face was the picture of sullen discontentI spoke to him as cheerfully as I could, and with such a measure of respect as I could assumeHe made no reply whatever'Don't you know me?' I askedHis answer was not reassuring: 'I know you well enough; you are the old fool Van shop Helsing

?One cook lost a young ?un last week,?got drownded in a washtub, while she was a hangin? out the clothes,?and I reckon it would be well enough to set her to raisin? this yer Haley and the stranger smoked a while in silence, neither seeming willing to broach the test question of the interviewAt last the man resumed: ?You wouldn?t think of wantin? more than ten dollars for that ar chap, seeing you must get him off yer hand, any how?? Haley shook his head, and spit impressively ?That won?t do, no ways,? he said, and began his smoking again ?Well, stranger, what will you take?? ?Well, now,? said Haley, ?I could raise that ar chap myself, or get him raised; he?s oncommon likely and healthy, and he?d fetch a hundred dollars, six months hence; and, in a year or two, he?d bring two hundred, if I had him in the right spot; I shan?t take a cent less nor fifty for him now ?O, stranger! that?s rediculous, altogether,? said the man ?Fact!? said Haley, with a decisive nod of his head ?I?ll give thirty for him,? said the stranger, ?but not a cent more ?Now, I?ll tell ye what I will do,? said Haley, spitting again, with renewed decision?I?ll split the difference, and say forty-five; and that?s the most I will do ?Well, agreed!? said the man, after an interval?Where do you land?? ?At Louisville,? said the man ?Louisville,? said Haley?Very fair, we get there about duskChap will be asleep,?all fair,?get him off quietly, and no screaming,?happens beautiful,?I like to do everything quietly,?I hates all kind of agitation and fluster And so, after a transfer of certain bills had passed from the man?s pocket-book to the trader?s, he resumed his cigar It was a bright, tranquil evening when the boat stopped at the wharf at LouisvilleThe woman had been sitting with her baby in her arms, now wrapped in a heavy sleepWhen she heard the name of the place called out, she hastily laid the child down in a little cradle formed by the hollow among the boxes, first carefully spreading under it her cloak; and then she sprung to the side of the boat, in hopes that, among the various hotel-waiters who thronged the wharf, she might see her husbandIn this hope, she pressed forward to the front rails, and, stretching far over them, strained her eyes intently on the moving heads on the shore, and the crowd pressed in between her and the child ?Now?s your time,? said Haley, taking the sleeping child up, and handing him to the stranger?Don?t wake him up, and set him to crying, now; it would make a devil of a fuss with the gal The man took the bundle carefully, and was soon lost in the crowd that went up the wharf When the boat, creaking, and groaning, and puffing, had loosed from the wharf, and was beginning slowly to strain herself along, the woman returned to her old seatThe trader was sitting there,?the child was gone! ?Why, why,?where?? she began, in bewildered surprise ?Lucy,? said the trader, ?your child?s gone; you may as well know it first as lastYou see, I know?d you couldn?t take him down south; and I got a chance to sell him to a first-rate family, that?ll raise him better than you can The trader had arrived at that stage of Christian and political perfection which has been recommended by some preachers and politicians of the north, lately, in which he had completely overcome every humane weakness and prejudiceHis heart was exactly where yours, sir, and mine could be brought, with proper effort and cultivationThe wild look of anguish and utter despair that the woman cast on him might have disturbed one less practised; but he was used to itHe had seen that same look hundreds of timesYou can get used to such things, too, my friend; and it is the great object of recent efforts to make our whole northern community used to them, for the glory of the UnionSo the trader only regarded the mortal anguish which he saw working in those dark features, those clenched hands, and suffocating breathings, as necessary incidents of the trade, and merely calculated whether she was going to scream, and get up a commotion on the boat; for, like other supporters of our peculiar institution, he decidedly disliked agitation But the woman did not screamThe shot had passed too straight and direct through the heart, for cry or tear Dizzily she sat downHer slack hands fell lifeless by her sideHer eyes looked straight forward, but she saw nothingAll the noise and hum of the boat, the groaning of the machinery, mingled dreamily to her bewildered ear; and the poor, dumb-stricken heart had neither cry not tear to show for its utter misery The trader, who, considering his advantages, was almost as humane as some of our politicians, seemed to feel called on to administer such consolation as the case admitted shop of

There was a smile on her face, and it was evident that no bad dreams had come to disturb her peace of mind In the early morning her maid came, and I left her in her care and took myself back home, for I was anxious about many thingsI sent a short wire to Van Helsing and to Arthur, telling them of the excellent result of the operationMy own work, with its manifold arrears, took me all day to clear offIt was dark when I was able to inquire about my zoophagous patientHe had been quite quiet for the past day and nightA telegram came from Van Helsing at Amsterdam whilst I was at dinner, suggesting that I should be at Hillingham tonight, as it might be well to be at hand, and stating that he was leaving by the night mail and would join me early in the morning-I was pretty tired and worn out when I got to HillinghamFor two nights I had hardly had a wink of sleep, and my brain was beginning to feel that numbness which marks cerebral exhaustionLucy was up and in cheerful spiritsWhen she shook hands with me she looked sharply in my face and said, "No sitting up tonight for youI am quite well againIndeed, I am, and if there is to be any sitting up, it is I who will sit up with you I would not argue the point, but went and had my supperLucy came with me, and, enlivened by her charming presence, I made an excellent meal, and had a couple of glasses of the more than excellent portThen Lucy took me upstairs, and showed me a room next her own, where a cozy fire was burningI shall leave this door open and my door tooYou can lie on the sofa for I know that nothing would induce any of you doctors to go to bed whilst there is a patient above the horizonIf I want anything I shall call out, and you can come to me at once I could not but acquiesce, for I was dog tired, and could not have sat up had I triedSo, on her renewing her promise to call me if she should want anything, I lay on the sofa, and forgot all about everything LUCY WESTENRA'S DIARY 9 September-I feel so happy tonightI have been so miserably weak, that to be able to think and move about is like feeling sunshine after a long spell of east wind out of a steel skySomehow Arthur feels very, very close to meI seem to feel his presence warm about meI suppose it is that sickness and weakness are selfish things and turn our inner eyes and sympathy on ourselves, whilst health and strength give love rein, and in thought and feeling he can wander where he willsI know where my thoughts areIf only Arthur knew! My dear, my dear, your ears must tingle as you sleep, as mine do wakingOh, the blissful rest of last night! How I slept, with that dear, good DrAnd tonight I shall not fear to sleep, since he is close at hand and within callThank everybody for being so good to meThank God! Goodnight ArthurSEWARD'S DIARY 10 September-I was conscious of the Professor's hand on my head, and started awake all in a secondThat is one of the things that we learn in an asylum, at any rate "And how is our patient?" "Well, when I left her, or rather when she left me," I answered "Come, let us see," he saidAnd together we went into the room The blind was down, and I went over to raise it gently, whilst Van Helsing stepped, with his soft, cat-like tread, over to the shop bed