Atlas Nightshade

Day 49

"Miss Lucy is dead; is it not so? Yes! Then there can be no wrong to

her. But if she be not dead----"

Arthur jumped to his feet.

"Good God!" he cried. "What do you mean? Has there been any mistake; has

she been buried alive?" He groaned in anguish that not even hope could

soften.

"I did not say she was alive, my child; I did not think it. I go no

further than to say that she might be Un-Dead."

"Un-Dead! Not alive! What do you mean? Is this all a nightmare, or what

is it?"

"There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they

may solve only in part. Believe me, we are now on the verge of one. But

I have not done. May I cut off the head of dead Miss Lucy?"

"Heavens and earth, no!" cried Arthur in a storm of passion. "Not for

the wide world will I consent to any mutilation of her dead body. Dr.

Van Helsing, you try me too far. What have I done to you that you should

torture me so? What did that poor, sweet girl do that you should want to

cast such dishonour on her grave? Are you mad to speak such things, or

am I mad to listen to them? Don't dare to think more of such a

desecration; I shall not give my consent to anything you do. I have a

duty to do in protecting her grave from outrage; and, by God, I shall do

it!"

Van Helsing rose up from where he had all the time been seated, and

said, gravely and sternly:--

"My Lord Godalming, I, too, have a duty to do, a duty to others, a duty

to you, a duty to the dead; and, by God, I shall do it! All I ask you

now is that you come with me, that you look and listen; and if when

later I make the same request you do not be more eager for its

fulfilment even than I am, then--then I shall do my duty, whatever it

may seem to me. And then, to follow of your Lordship's wishes I shall

hold myself at your disposal to render an account to you, when and where

you will." His voice broke a little, and he went on with a voice full of

pity:--

"But, I beseech you, do not go forth in anger with me. In a long life of

acts which were often not pleasant to do, and which sometimes did wring

my heart, I have never had so heavy a task as now. Believe me that if

the time comes for you to change your mind towards me, one look from

you will wipe away all this so sad hour, for I would do what a man can

to save you from sorrow. Just think. For why should I give myself so

much of labour and so much of sorrow? I have come here from my own land

to do what I can of good; at the first to please my friend John, and

then to help a sweet young lady, whom, too, I came to love. For her--I

am ashamed to say so much, but I say it in kindness--I gave what you

gave; the blood of my veins; I gave it, I, who was not, like you, her

lover, but only her physician and her friend. I gave to her my nights

and days--before death, after death; and if my death can do her good

even now, when she is the dead Un-Dead, she shall have it freely." He

said this with a very grave, sweet pride, and Arthur was much affected

by it. He took the old man's hand and said in a broken voice:--

"Oh, it is hard to think of it, and I cannot understand; but at least I

shall go with you and wait."

CHAPTER XVI

DR. SEWARD'S DIARY--_continued_

It was just a quarter before twelve o'clock when we got into the

churchyard over the low wall. The night was dark with occasional gleams

of moonlight between the rents of the heavy clouds that scudded across

the sky. We all kept somehow close together, with Van Helsing slightly

in front as he led the way. When we had come close to the tomb I looked

well at Arthur, for I feared that the proximity to a place laden with so

sorrowful a memory would upset him; but he bore himself well. I took it

that the very mystery of the proceeding was in some way a counteractant

to his grief. The Professor unlocked the door, and seeing a natural

hesitation amongst us for various reasons, solved the difficulty by

entering first himself. The rest of us followed, and he closed the door.

He then lit a dark lantern and pointed to the coffin. Arthur stepped

forward hesitatingly; Van Helsing said to me:--

"You were with me here yesterday. Was the body of Miss Lucy in that

coffin?"

"It was." The Professor turned to the rest saying:--

"You hear; and yet there is no one who does not believe with me." He

took his screwdriver and again took off the lid of the coffin. Arthur

looked on, very pale but silent; when the lid was removed he stepped

forward. He evidently did not know that there was a leaden coffin, or,

at any rate, had not thought of it. When he saw the rent in the lead,

the blood rushed to his face for an instant, but as quickly fell away

again, so that he remained of a ghastly whiteness; he was still silent.

Van Helsing forced back the leaden flange, and we all looked in and

recoiled.

The coffin was empty!

For several minutes no one spoke a word. The silence was broken by

Quincey Morris:--

"Professor, I answered for you. Your word is all I want. I wouldn't ask

such a thing ordinarily--I wouldn't so dishonour you as to imply a

doubt; but this is a mystery that goes beyond any honour or dishonour.

Is this your doing?"

"I swear to you by all that I hold sacred that I have not removed nor

touched her. What happened was this: Two nights ago my friend Seward and

I came here--with good purpose, believe me. I opened that coffin, which

was then sealed up, and we found it, as now, empty. We then waited, and

saw something white come through the trees. The next day we came here in

day-time, and she lay there. Did she not, friend John?"

"Yes."