Under the efforts of both men the lid began to yieldThe nails drew with a screeching sound, and the top of the box was thrown back By this time the gypsies, seeing themselves covered by the Winchesters, and at the mercy of Lord Godalming and DrSeward, had given in and made no further resistanceThe sun was almost down on the mountain tops, and the shadows of the whole group fell upon the snowI saw the Count lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over himHe was deathly pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew so well As I looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in them turned to triumph But, on the instant, came the sweep and flash of Jonathan's great knifeI shrieked as I saw it shear through the throatWhilst at the same moment MrMorris's bowie knife plunged into the heart It was like a miracle, but before our very eyes, and almost in the drawing of a breath, the whole body crumbled into dust and passed from our sight I shall be glad as long as I live that even in that moment of final dissolution, there was in the face a look of peace, such as I never could have imagined might have rested there The Castle of Dracula now stood out against the red sky, and every stone of its broken battlements was articulated against the light of the setting sun The gypsies, taking us as in some way the cause of the extraordinary disappearance of the dead man, turned, without a word, and rode away as if for their livesThose who were unmounted jumped upon the leiter wagon and shouted to the horsemen not to desert themThe wolves, which had withdrawn to a safe distance, followed in their wake, leaving us aloneMorris, who had sunk to the ground, leaned on his elbow, holding his hand pressed to his sideThe blood still gushed through his fingersI flew to him, for the Holy circle did not now keep me back; so did the two doctorsJonathan knelt behind him and the wounded man laid back his head on his shoulderWith a sigh he took, with a feeble effort, my hand in that of his own which was unstained He must have seen the anguish of my heart in my face, for he smiled at me and said, "I am only too happy to have been of service! Oh, God!" he cried suddenly, struggling to a sitting posture and pointing to me"It was worth for this to die! Look! Look!" The sun was now right down upon the mountain top, and the red gleams fell upon my face, so that it was bathed in rosy lightWith one impulse the men sank on their knees and a deep and earnest "Amen" broke from all as their eyes followed the pointing of his finger The dying man spoke, "Now God be thanked that all has not been in vain! See! The snow is not more stainless than her forehead! The curse has passed away!" And, to our bitter grief, with a smile and in silence, he died, a gallant gentleman NOTE Seven years ago we all went through the flamesAnd the happiness of some of us since then is, we think, well worth the pain we enduredIt is an added joy to Mina and to me that our boy's birthday is the same day as that on which Quincey Morris diedHis mother holds, I know, the secret belief that some of our brave friend's spirit has passed into himHis bundle of names links all our little band of men togetherBut we call him Quincey In the summer of this year we made a journey to Transylvania, and went over the old ground which was, and is, to us so full of vivid and terrible memoriesIt was almost impossible to believe that the things which we had seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears were living truthsEvery trace of all that had been was blotted outThe castle stood as before, reared high above a waste of desolation When we got home we were talking of the old time, which we could all look back on without despair, for Godalming and Seward are both happily marriedI took the papers from the safe where they had been ever since our return so long agoWe were struck with the fact, that in all the mass of material of which the record is composed, there is hardly one authentic shop document

When I got on the coach, the driver had not taken his seat, and I saw him talking to the landlady They were evidently talking of me, for every now and then they looked at me, and some of the people who were sitting on the bench outside the door--came and listened, and then looked at me, most of them pityinglyI could hear a lot of words often repeated, queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd, so I quietly got my polyglot dictionary from my bag and looked them out I must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were "Ordog"--Satan, "Pokol"--hell, "stregoica"--witch, "vrolok" and "vlkoslak"--both mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either werewolf or vampire I must ask the Count about these superstitions When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers towards me With some difficulty, I got a fellow passenger to tell me what they meantHe would not answer at first, but on learning that I was English, he explained that it was a charm or guard against the evil eye This was not very pleasant for me, just starting for an unknown place to meet an unknown manBut everyone seemed so kind-hearted, and so sorrowful, and so sympathetic that I could not but be touched I shall never forget the last glimpse which I had of the inn yard and its crowd of picturesque figures, all crossing themselves, as they stood round the wide archway, with its background of rich foliage of oleander and orange trees in green tubs clustered in the centre of the yard Then our driver, whose wide linen drawers covered the whole front of the boxseat,--"gotza" they call them--cracked his big whip over his four small horses, which ran abreast, and we set off on our journey I soon lost sight and recollection of ghostly fears in the beauty of the scene as we drove along, although had I known the language, or rather languages, which my fellow-passengers were speaking, I might not have been able to throw them off so easilyBefore us lay a green sloping land full of forests and woods, with here and there steep hills, crowned with clumps of trees or with farmhouses, the blank gable end to the roadThere was everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit blossom--apple, plum, pear, cherryAnd as we drove by I could see the green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petalsIn and out amongst these green hills of what they call here the "Mittel Land" ran the road, losing itself as it swept round the grassy curve, or was shut out by the straggling ends of pine woods, which here and there ran down the hillsides like tongues of flameThe road was rugged, but still we seemed to fly over it with a feverish hasteI could not understand then what the haste meant, but the driver was evidently bent on losing no time in reaching Borgo PrundI was told that this road is in summertime excellent, but that it had not yet been put in order after the winter snowsIn this respect it is different from the general run of roads in the Carpathians, for it is an old tradition that they are not to be kept in too good orderOf old the Hospadars would not repair them, lest the Turk should think that they were preparing to bring in foreign troops, and so hasten the war which was always really at loading point Beyond the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land rose mighty slopes of forest up to the lofty steeps of the Carpathians themselvesRight and left of us they towered, with the afternoon sun falling full upon them and bringing out all the glorious colours of this beautiful range, deep blue and purple in the shadows of the peaks, green and brown where grass and rock mingled, and an endless perspective of jagged rock and pointed crags, till these were themselves lost in the distance, where the snowy peaks rose grandlyHere and there seemed mighty rifts in the mountains, through which, as the sun began to sink, we saw now and again the white gleam of falling waterOne of my companions touched my arm as we swept round the base of a hill and opened up the lofty, snow-covered peak of a mountain, which seemed, as we wound on our serpentine way, to be right before us "Look! Isten szek!"--"God's seat!"--and he crossed himself reverently As we wound on our endless way, and the sun sank lower and lower behind us, the shadows of the evening began to creep round usThis was emphasized by the fact that the snowy mountain-top still held the sunset, and seemed to glow out with a delicate cool pinkHere and there we passed Cszeks and slovaks, all in picturesque attire, but I noticed that goitre was painfully prevalentBy the roadside were many crosses, and as we swept by, my companions all crossed themselvesHere and there was a peasant man or woman kneeling before a shrine, who did not even turn round as we approached, but seemed in the self-surrender of devotion to have neither eyes nor ears for the outer worldThere were many things new to meFor instance, hay-ricks in the trees, and here and there very beautiful masses of weeping birch, their white stems shining like silver through the delicate green of the leaves Now and again we passed a leiter-wagon--the ordinary peasants's cart--with its long, snakelike vertebra, calculated to suit the inequalities of the roadOn this were sure to be seated quite a group of homecoming peasants, the Cszeks with their white, and the Slovaks with their coloured sheepskins, the latter carrying lance-fashion their long staves, with axe at endAs the evening fell it began to get very cold, and the growing twilight seemed to merge into one dark mistiness the gloom of the trees, oak, beech, and pine, though in the valleys which ran deep between the spurs of the hills, as we ascended through the Pass, the dark firs stood out here and there against the background of late-lying snowSometimes, as the road was cut through the pine woods that seemed in the darkness to be closing down upon us, great masses of greyness which here and there bestrewed the trees, produced a peculiarly weird and solemn effect, which carried on the thoughts and grim fancies engendered earlier in the evening, when the falling sunset threw into strange relief the ghost-like clouds which amongst the Carpathians seem to wind ceaselessly through the valleysSometimes the hills were so steep that, despite our driver's haste, the horses could only go slowlyI wished to get down and walk up them, as we do at home, but the driver would not hear of shop it

-How good they all are to meI quite love that dear DrI wonder why he was so anxious about these flowersHe positively frightened me, he was so fierceAnd yet he must have been right, for I feel comfort from them alreadySomehow, I do not dread being alone tonight, and I can go to sleep without fearI shall not mind any flapping outside the windowOh, the terrible struggle that I have had against sleep so often of late, the pain of sleeplessness, or the pain of the fear of sleep, and with such unknown horrors as it has for me! How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads, to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreamsWell, here I am tonight, hoping for sleep, and lying like Ophelia in the play, with 'virgin crants and maiden strewments' I never liked garlic before, but tonight it is delightful! There is peace in its smellI feel sleep coming alreadySEWARD'S DIARY 13 September-Called at the Berkeley and found Van Helsing, as usual, up to timeThe carriage ordered from the hotel was waitingThe Professor took his bag, which he always brings with him now Let all be put down exactlyVan Helsing and I arrived at Hillingham at eight o'clockIt was a lovely morningThe bright sunshine and all the fresh feeling of early autumn seemed like the completion of nature's annual workThe leaves were turning to all kinds of beautiful colours, but had not yet begun to drop from the treesWhen we entered we met MrsWestenra coming out of the morning roomShe is always an early riserShe greeted us warmly and said, "You will be glad to know that Lucy is betterThe dear child is still asleepI looked into her room and saw her, but did not go in, lest I should disturb her The Professor smiled, and looked quite jubilantHe rubbed his hands together, and said, "Aha! I thought I had diagnosed the caseMy treatment is working To which she replied, "You must not take all the credit to yourself, doctorLucy's state this morning is due in part to me "How do you mean, ma'am?" asked the Professor "Well, I was anxious about the dear child in the night, and went into her roomShe was sleeping soundly, so soundly that even my coming did not wake herBut the room was awfully stuffyThere were a lot of those horrible, strong-smelling flowers about everywhere, and she had actually a bunch of them round her neckI feared that the heavy odour would be too much for the dear child in her weak state, so I took them all away and opened a bit of the window to let in a little fresh airYou will be pleased with her, I am sure She moved off into her boudoir, where she usually breakfasted earlyAs she had spoken, I watched the Professor's face, and saw it turn ashen shop gray

No wonder sleep was called the land of dark sweetnessHe then thought of Miss Pao's dark skin and sweet smile; later when he saw her he'd call her "Dark Sweetness," making him think of dark, sweet chocolate Too bad that French chocolate wasn't any good and that the weather was too hot for eating it, for otherwise he would treat her to a boxJust as he was loafing in bed thinking of that nonsense, Miss Pao tapped on the outside of his cabin, called him "Lazybones," and told him to hurry and get up so they could go ashore and have fun When he finished combing his hair and washing up, he went to her cabin and waited outside a long while before she finally finished dressingBreakfast had already been served in the dining room, so they ordered and paid for two extra servingsThe waiter who served them, Ah Lix, was the one in charge of Fang's cabinWhen they had finished eating and were about to leave, Ah Liu, instead of clearing away the things on the table, smiled at them gleefully and stretched out his handIn his palm were three hairpinsMouthing Cantonese Mandarin,22 he said in a jumbled roundabout way, "MrFang, I found these just now while making your bed Miss Pao flushed crimson and her big eyes seemed about to pop out of their socketsMortified, Fang cursed himself for being so stupid as not to have checked his bed when he got upHe pulled out three hundred francs from his pocket and said to Ah Lix, "Here! Now give me back those things Ah Lix thanked him, adding that he was most dependable and would certain ly keep his mouth shutMiss Pao looked elsewhere, pretending she knew nothing about it After they left the dining room, Fang gave the hairpins back to Miss Pao, apologizing as he did so She angrily flung them to the floor, saying, "Who wants them after they've been in the filthy hands of that wretch!" The incident ruined their luck for the whole day Everything went 19 wrongThe rickshaws took them to the wrong Place; they paid the wrong amount of money when they went shopping; neither one had any good luckFang wanted to go eat lunch at the Chinese restaurant where they went the evening before, but Miss Pao was set on eating Western food, saying she didn't want to meet anyone they knew from the shipThey then found a Western-type restaurant that looked respectable enough from the outside; but as it turned out, there wasn't a single thing edible from the cold dishes to the coffeeThe soup was cold, and the ice cream was warm The fish was like the Marine CorpsIt apparently had already been on land for several days; the meat was like submarine sailors, having been submerged in water for a long timeBesides the vinegar, the bread, the butter, and the red wine were all sourThey completely lost their appetites while eating and couldn't hit it off in their conversation eitherHe tried to amuse her by calling her the affectionate nicknames "Dark Sweetie" and "Miss Chocolate "Am I so dark then?" she asked heatedly Stubbornly trying to justify himself, he argued, "But I like your colorThis year in Spain I saw a famous beauty dancingHer skin was just a little lighter than a smoked ham "Maybe you like Miss Six's dead-fish-belly whiteYou yourself are as black as a chimney sweepJust take a look at yourself in the mirror," she answered him none too logicallyWith that she flashed a triumphant smile Having received a thorough blackening from Miss Pao, he could hardly go onThe waiter served the chicken There on the plate was a piece of meat that seemed to have been donated by the iron weathercock on a church steepleTry as she might, Miss Pao could not make a dent in shop it

O, let you alone for dat! Go way!? And, with that, aunty gave George a nudge with her finger, designed to be immensely facetious, and turned again to her griddle with great briskness ?Now for the cake,? said Mas?r George, when the activity of the griddle department had somewhat subsided; and, with that, the youngster flourished a large knife over the article in question ?La bless you, Mas?r George!? said Aunt Chloe, with earnestness, catching his arm, ?you wouldn?t be for cuttin? it wid dat ar great heavy knife! Smash all down?spile all de pretty rise of itHere, I?ve got a thin old knife, I keeps sharp a purposeDar now, see! comes apart light as a feather! Now eat away?you won?t get anything to beat dat ar ?Tom Lincon says,? said George, speaking with his mouth full, ?that their Jinny is a better cook than you ?Dem Lincons an?t much count, no way!? said Aunt Chloe, contemptuously; ?I mean, set along side our folksThey ?s ?spectable folks enough in a kinder plain way; but, as to gettin? up anything in style, they don?t begin to have a notion on ?tSet Mas?r Lincon, now, alongside Mas?r Shelby! Good Lor! and Missis Lincon,?can she kinder sweep it into a room like my missis,?so kinder splendid, yer know! O, go way! don?t tell me nothin? of dem Lincons!??and Aunt Chloe tossed her head as one who hoped she did know something of the world ?Well, though, I?ve heard you say,? said George, ?that Jinny was a pretty fair cook ?So I did,? said Aunt Chloe,??I may say datGood, plain, common cookin?, Jinny?ll do;?make a good pone o? bread,?bile her taters far,?her corn cakes isn?t extra, not extra now, Jinny?s corn cakes isn?t, but then they?s far,?but, Lor, come to de higher branches, and what can she do? Why, she makes pies?sartin she does; but what kinder crust? Can she make your real flecky paste, as melts in your mouth, and lies all up like a puff? Now, I went over thar when Miss Mary was gwine to be married, and Jinny she jest showed me de weddin? piesJinny and I is good friends, ye knowI never said nothin?; but go ?long, Mas?r George! Why, I shouldn?t sleep a wink for a week, if I had a batch of pies like dem arWhy, dey wan?t no ?count ?t all ?I suppose Jinny thought they were ever so nice,? said George ?Thought so!?didn?t she? Thar she was, showing em, as innocent?ye see, it?s jest here, Jinny don?t knowLor, the family an?t nothing! She can?t be spected to know! ?Ta?nt no fault o? hemAh, Mas?r George, you doesn?t know half ?your privileges in yer family and bringin? up!? Here Aunt Chloe sighed, and rolled up her eyes with emotion ?I?m sure, Aunt Chloe, I understand I my pie and pudding privileges,? said George?Ask Tom Lincon if I don?t crow over him, every time I meet him Aunt Chloe sat back in her chair, and indulged in a hearty guffaw of laughter, at this witticism of young Mas?r?s, laughing till the tears rolled down her black, shining cheeks, and varying the exercise with playfully slapping and poking Mas?r Georgey, and telling him to go way, and that he was a case?that he was fit to kill her, and that he sartin would kill her, one of these days; and, between each of these sanguinary predictions, going off into a laugh, each longer and stronger than the other, till George really began to think that he was a very dangerously witty fellow, and that it became him to be careful how he talked ?as funny as he could ?And so ye telled Tom, did ye? O, Lor! what young uns will be up ter! Ye crowed over Tom? O, Lor! Mas?r George, if ye wouldn?t make a hornbug laugh!? ?Yes,? said George, ?I says to him, ?Tom, you ought to see some of Aunt Chloe?s pies; they?re the right sort,? says I ?Pity, now, Tom couldn?t,? said Aunt Chloe, on whose benevolent heart the idea of Tom?s benighted condition seemed to make a strong impression?Ye oughter just ask him here to dinner, some o? these times, Mas?r George,? she added; ?it would look quite pretty of yeYe know, Mas?r George, ye oughtenter feel ?bove nobody, on ?count yer privileges, ?cause all our privileges is gi?n to us; we ought al?ays to ?member that,? said Aunt Chloe, looking quite serious ?Well, I mean to ask Tom here, some day next week,? said George; ?and you do your prettiest, Aunt Chloe, and we?ll make him stareWon?t we make him eat so he won?t get over it for a fortnight?? ?Yes, yes?sartin,? said Aunt Chloe, delighted; ?you?ll seeLor! to think of some of our dinners! Yer mind dat ar great chicken pie I made when we guv de dinner to General Knox? I and Missis, we come pretty near quarrelling about dat ar crustWhat does get into ladies sometimes, I don?t know; but, sometimes, when a body has de heaviest kind o? ?sponsibility on ?em, as ye may say, and is all kinder ?seris? and taken up, dey takes dat ar time to be hangin? round and kinder interferin?! Now, Missis, she wanted me to do dis way, and she wanted me to do dat way; and, finally, I got kinder sarcy, and, says I, ?Now, Missis, do jist look at dem beautiful white hands o? yourn with long fingers, and all a sparkling with rings, like my white lilies when de dew ?s on ?em; and look at my great black stumpin handsNow, don?t ye think dat de Lord must have meant me to make de pie-crust, and you to stay in de parlor? Dar! I was jist so sarcy, Mas?r George ?And what did mother say?? said George ?Say??why, she kinder larfed in her eyes?dem great handsome eyes o? hern; and, says she, ?Well, Aunt Chloe, I think you are about in the right on ?t,? says she; and she went off in de parlorShe oughter cracked me over de head for bein? so sarcy; but dar?s whar ?t is?I can?t do nothin? with ladies in de kitchen!? ?Well, you made out well with that dinner,?I remember everybody said so,? said George ?Didn?t I? And wan?t I behind de dinin?-room door dat bery day? and didn?t I see de General pass his plate three times for some more dat bery pie??and, says he, ?You must have an uncommon cook, Mrs Lor! I was fit to split myself ?And de Gineral, he knows what cookin? is,? said Aunt Chloe, drawing herself up with an air?Bery nice man, de Gineral! He comes of one of de bery fustest families in Old Virginny! He knows what?s what, now, as well as I do?de GineralYe see, there?s pints in all pies, Mas?r George; but tan?t everybody knows what they is, or as orter beBut the Gineral, he knows; I knew by his ?marks he shop made