CHAPTER TEN

Dr Seward's Diary

7 September—I met Van Helsing at the train station, and together, we immediately went to the Westenra's house. He had with him a bag full of medicine and medical tools. When I informed him of the specific changes in Lucy's health, his face became quite serious, but he did not make any comment.

When we entered Lucy's room, her appearance was much worse than ever before. Her skin was extremely white, even the color had left her mouth and she looked nearly twenty pounds thinner. We tried asking her how she felt, but she could not answer. She was too weak and her breathing, extremely difficult.

The professor then pulled me out of the room and said that Lucy needed blood right away. I offered to give my own. As we were preparing, a servant came and announced that Arthur had just arrived and was very eager to see Lucy. Just then, he rushed into the room. The professor and I had to stop him from going in to see her directly.

"I could tell from your letter that she was much worse. Please, tell me what I can do to help her. I'll do anything," he said to us.

Van Helsing smiled and took hold of Arthur's arm, "There's much you can do to help. We were just about to give her some of Dr Seward's blood. However, you seem to be much healthier than him. I would suggest using your blood instead."

"Of course," Arthur responded, "Right away."

Without hesitation, the procedure was carried out. As Arthur's blood entered Lucy's body, a little of her color seemed to return. Poor Arthur, however, soon turned very white and weak.

I was about to help Arthur out of the room when Van Helsing said to him, "You ought to give this beautiful young woman a kiss. I'm sure it would help her to feel better."

As the professor gently raised the pillow underneath Lucy's head to make her more comfortable, his arm accidentally moved the ribbon that was tied around the patient's neck. Right away, the professor and I noticed two red marks on her neck. At that moment, Van Helsing made a noise deep within his throat. Immediately, he ordered that Arthur be taken back to his home to rest.

After seeing Arthur off, I returned to Lucy's room, and found Van Helsing seated next to her bed, watching her very closely.

"What were those marks on her neck?" I asked, for I had never seen anything like them before.

"I must return to Holland," the professor said, turning to me. "In my library, there are books we'll be needing. Meanwhile, you must stay with her and watch her very closely. Do not leave her side and do not sleep. As soon as I return, we shall start our work. If you care for her at all, you will not sleep even for a second."

8 September—After watching Lucy all night long, I was happy to see her looking better when she finally awakened. She appreciated my staying with her and was very sweet toward me the whole day. I did notice, however, that her eyes often grew heavy and that she would have to fight to stay awake.

"What's wrong, Lucy? Why don't you rest some more?" I asked.

"I'm afraid of my dreams. They're so terrible!"

"But I'm here now. I promise to wake you if you seem to be having a bad dream."

She thanked me and then almost immediately fell asleep. Again, I watched her for the whole night. She seemed very much at peace. In the morning, after sunrise, I asked one of the servants to replace me by her bedside and I returned to the hospital. I was very happy to hear that patient Renfield had been quite calm for the past day and a half. Later on, I received a telegram from Van Helsing saying that he would be back in London by morning.

9 September—I was feeling extremely tired this evening. Lucy noticed this and, feeling pity for me, suggested that I rest on the sofa in her bedroom for a while. She has promised to wake me up if there is any problem. I really have no choice. I must rest for a short while.

10 September—I was awakened this morning by Professor Van Helsing.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Fine, since I last saw her," I answered.

We then entered her room together. Suddenly, that same sound, deep within Van Helsing's throat, came to my ears. I looked toward Lucy's bed and found her leaning halfway out of it. Her face was once again ghostly white and her heart was barely beating.

"Get my tools!" the Professor shouted, "We have no time to waste! You will have to give your blood this time!"

We did not use any drugs this time. There was no time. I rolled up my shirt and allowed the professor to place the needle into my arm. The feeling was terrible, but it helped me to know that my blood might save the woman I loved.

The operation did not last long. Van Helsing took the needle out of my arm and told me to go and get some rest. I could see that he was very disappointed in me; however, he did not say anything critical. After breakfast, when I was feeling a little stronger, I returned to Lucy's room.

Van Helsing asked me to replace him and watch the patient very carefully. He left the room, but did not tell me where he was going. The whole time I sat by her side, I wondered how her condition had so quickly changed. I looked again at those two strange red marks on her neck. They were much too small to be the reason for her loss of blood. And where was the blood going? Surely we would see it on her clothing or on the bed. But there was nothing.

A little while later, Van Helsing returned and ordered me to go home and eat and rest for the night. He would stay with Lucy and watch over her.

11 September—I found the Professor quite happy this morning. Lucy, too, was looking much better. Along with my arrival, came a package for the professor. He opened it immediately and pulled from it many long strings of garlic. He brought them over to Lucy and held them out towards her, as if a gift.

"These are for you, dear," he said. "We shall decorate you and your room with them. And you must wear some like a necklace, as well. It will be very lovely!"

"But, Professor, you must be joking! Garlic?" Lucy said, while making a face to show she did not like the smell.

"Damn it! You will wear this around your neck if I tell you to!" Van Helsing suddenly shouted angrily. Then, seeing the fear on his patient's face, he calmed and said, "Please. Just wear them. You must trust my methods. It will help you a great deal."

The professor and I then began to hang the garlic in every corner of the room, especially the window. The professor placed one string around poor Lucy's neck, which she accepted very quietly. Once finished, we left Lucy alone to rest. Van Helsing was quite sure that she would be safe tonight without a guard.

12 September—This morning Mrs Westenra met us at the door to her home.

"Lucy is doing wonderfully!" she said in a cheerful voice.

This made Van Helsing happy, "Excellent! The garlic is working!" he said.

"Oh, that! Goodness!" said the old woman, "I had to open the window in her room last night; just to let some of that smell out! Why the whole room stank of garlic! Anyway, I think that she slept better because of the fresh air."

Van Helsing did his best to control his anger and surprise. He smiled and helped the ill woman back to her room. As soon as she was out of sight, however, his face turned red and he raised his fist as if to strike the table next to him very hard. However, in the end, he simply dropped himself into a chair and began to cry into his hands. A moment later, he raised his head and looked at me.

"This cannot happen again," he said very seriously, "From now on, you or I will remain to watch over her at night. Come, let's see if we can still help her."

We went up to Lucy's room and found her, once again, very white and breathing with difficulty. The professor got out his equipment and began to roll up his shirt.

"Today it's my blood that she'll receive. You're too weak now to give your own."

Later on, Lucy woke up looking about as good as she did the day before. I'm so confused by her condition. It breaks my heart.

Lucy Westenra's Diary

17 September—I feel so much better now that Professor Van Helsing has been staying with me at night. All of my fears have left me and I am regaining my strength. I've even gotten used to the garlic. Tonight I shall be alone once again, for the professor has to return to Amsterdam. However, I am not afraid. I'll sleep like a baby. I wasn't even afraid last night, when I heard something scratching at my window.

Newspaper article from "The Pall Mall Gazette", 18 September

The Missing Wolf

A wolf recently managed to run away from the town zoo. I met with the wolf keeper of the zoo at his home. Sitting in front of a warm fire, just after dinner, the wolf-keeper began to tell me his story of the missing animal.

"I remember the day before he left his cage, this wolf, named Bersicker, seemed quite upset. He was making all kinds of noise as if he were angry, or maybe even frightened. I went to check on him and saw that a tall man with a long, gray beard and red eyes was standing near Bersicker's cage. To my surprise, he placed his hand in the cage and gently stroked the animal's head. I cried out for the man to be careful, because Bersicker is not the nicest of our wolves, you know."

"'Oh, I'm not afraid,' the man replied."

"And Bersicker didn't do anything. He sat there like a well-trained dog. I couldn't believe my eyes. For the rest of the evening, Bersicker stayed quietly in his cage. Then, the next morning, I came to feed the wolves and found the bars of Bersicker's cage were bent and he gone."

"I guess that he's probably lost somewhere in the zoo. He's not used to feeding himself and he certainly doesn't know how to fight. No, I'm sure he's not far away."

Then, much to the wolf keeper's surprise, as we were talking together, Bersicker suddenly appeared at his door. The old man greeted the wolf as a man would to his long lost son. I, myself, was quite afraid of the animal. However, in the end, the wolf proved to be very gentle and friendly. The keeper found some broken glass in the wolf's side, as if he had tried to jump over a wall. Other than that, the wolf was fine and the keeper gave him a big piece of meat and put him back in his cage. Now, once again, our town is safe and secure.

Dr Seward's Diary

17 September—I was attacked in my own office today at the hospital. Patient Renfield suddenly ran through my door and swung at me with a dinner knife. He managed to cut my arm quite deeply. I quickly struck him with my fist and he fell to the floor and made no further efforts to harm me. Instead, he began with his tongue to lick my blood off the floor. I called my men in and they immediately took him back to his room. How he managed to get to my office, I do not know.

I am feeling very tired now. I haven't slept for quite some time. Also feeling very weak from all the blood I have lost lately. Tonight I will sleep very well.

18 September (After midnight)—No sleep for me. I have been ordered by Van Helsing to watch over Lucy this early morning. I now write this on the train heading into town. I will not arrive until very early morning.

Letter written by Lucy Westenra

17 September (Night)—This letter is being written in order to make clear what exactly happened this horrible night.

Lying in bed with Professor Van Helsing's garlic all around me, I found myself feeling frightened again. For some reason, Dr Seward was not here as the professor had promised he would be. Outside, that same bat was flying about and I could hear wild dogs crying all about town. I decided to try and stay awake.

A little later my mother came in to check on me. I asked her to stay with me for a while, so she climbed into bed and lay next to me. There then came a scratching sound at my window. My mother became frightened by it, but I told her it was nothing and that she should not pay any attention to it. Just then the glass in my window came crashing to the floor. My mother and I screamed and looked to see what had happened. There, in my window, was a large wolf looking straight at me. My poor mother cried out one final time and then dropped suddenly back down onto the bed. She was dead.

The servants came running to my door, and began to scream when they saw my mother. I ordered them to calm down by having a glass of wine. They did as I asked, but a few minutes later, would not come when I called for them. I went out to see where they had gone and found them all lying on the floor in the dining room. I smelled the bottle of wine and found that it had a strange odor, as if it had been poisoned. I ran back into my room, gathered my mother in my arms and began to write this. The wolf has gone and I now only see very small pieces of dust floating into my room from outside. I fear that these may be my last moments of life. Something is coming for me. I just know it.

(end of section)