It rose, in silent terrors, to the minds of the servants, who well knew the unfeeling, tyrannical character of the mistress in whose hands they were leftAll knew, very well, that the indulgences which had been accorded to them were not from their mistress, but from their master; and that, now he was gone, there would be no screen between them and every tyrannous infliction which a temper soured by affliction might devise It was about a fortnight after the funeral, that Miss Ophelia, busied one day in her apartment, heard a gentle tap at the doorShe opened it, and there stood Rosa, the pretty young quadroon, whom we have before often noticed, her hair in disorder, and her eyes swelled with crying ?O, Miss Feeley,? she said, falling on her knees, and catching the skirt of her dress, ?do, do go to Miss Marie for me! do plead for me! She?s goin? to send me out to be whipped?look there!? And she handed to Miss Ophelia a paper It was an order, written in Marie?s delicate Italian hand, to the master of a whipping-establishment to give the bearer fifteen lashes ?What have you been doing?? said Miss Ophelia ?You know, Miss Feely, I?ve got such a bad temper; it?s very bad of meI was trying on Miss Marie?s dress, and she slapped my face; and I spoke out before I thought, and was saucy; and she said that she?d bring me down, and have me know, once for all, that I wasn?t going to be so topping as I had been; and she wrote this, and says I shall carry itI?d rather she?d kill me, right out Miss Ophelia stood considering, with the paper in her hand ?You see, Miss Feely,? said Rosa, ?I don?t mind the whipping so much, if Miss Marie or you was to do it; but, to be sent to a man! and such a horrid man,?the shame of it, Miss Feely!? Miss Ophelia well knew that it was the universal custom to send women and young girls to whipping-houses, to the hands of the lowest of men,?men vile enough to make this their profession,?there to be subjected to brutal exposure and shameful correctionShe had known it before; but hitherto she had never realized it, till she saw the slender form of Rosa almost convulsed with distressAll the honest blood of womanhood, the strong New England blood of liberty, flushed to her cheeks, and throbbed bitterly in her indignant heart; but, with habitual prudence and self-control, she mastered herself, and, crushing the paper firmly in her hand, she merely said to Rosa, ?Sit down, child, while I go to your mistress ?Shameful! monstrous! outrageous!? she said to herself, as she was crossing the parlor She found Marie sitting up in her easy-chair, with Mammy standing by her, combing her hair; Jane sat on the ground before her, busy in chafing her feet ?How do you find yourself, today?? said Miss Ophelia A deep sigh, and a closing of the eyes, was the only reply, for a moment; and then Marie answered, ?O, I don?t know, Cousin; I suppose I?m as well as I ever shall be!? and Marie wiped her eyes with a cambric handkerchief, bordered with an inch deep of black ?I came,? said Miss Ophelia, with a short, dry cough, such as commonly introduces a difficult subject,??I came to speak with you about poor Rosa Marie?s eyes were open wide enough now, and a flush rose to her sallow cheeks, as she answered, sharply, ?Well, what about her?? ?She is very sorry for her fault ?She is, is she? She?ll be sorrier, before I?ve done with her! I?ve endured that child?s impudence long enough; and now I?ll bring her down,?I?ll make her lie in the dust!? ?But could not you punish her some other way,?some way that would be less shameful?? ?I mean to shame her; that?s just what I wantShe has all her life presumed on her delicacy, and her good looks, and her lady-like airs, till she forgets who she is;?and I?ll give her one lesson that will bring her down, I fancy!? ?But, Cousin, consider that, if you destroy delicacy and a sense of shame in a young girl, you deprave her very fast ?Delicacy!? said Marie, with a scornful laugh,??a fine word for such as she! I?ll teach her, with all her airs, that she?s no better than the raggedest black wench that walks the streets! She?ll take no more airs with me!? ?You will answer to God for such cruelty!? said Miss Ophelia, with energy ?Cruelty,?I?d like to know what the cruelty is! I wrote orders for only fifteen lashes, and told him to put them on lightlyI?m sure there?s no cruelty there!? ?No cruelty!? said Miss Ophelia?I?m sure any girl might rather be killed outright!? ?It might seem so to anybody with your feeling; but all these creatures get used to it; it?s the only way they can be kept in orderOnce let them feel that they are to take any airs about delicacy, and all that, and they?ll run all over you, just as my servants always haveI?ve begun now to bring them under; and I?ll have them all to know that I?ll send one out to be whipped, as soon as another, if they don?t mind themselves!? said Marie, looking around her decidedly Jane hung her head and cowered at this, for she felt as if it was particularly directed to herMiss Ophelia sat for a moment, as if she had swallowed some explosive mixture, and were ready to burstThen, recollecting the utter uselessness of contention with such a nature, she shut her lips resolutely, gathered herself up, and walked out of the room It was hard to go back and tell Rosa that she could do nothing for her; and, shortly after, one of the man-servants came to say that her mistress had ordered him to take Rosa with him to the whipping-house, whither she was hurried, in spite of her tears and entreaties A few days after, Tom was standing musing by the balconies, when he was joined by Adolph, who, since the death of his master, had been entirely crest-fallen and disconsolateAdolph knew that he had always been an object of dislike to Marie; but while his master lived he had paid but little attention to itNow that he was gone, he had moved about in daily dread and trembling, not knowing what might befall him nextMarie had held several consultations with her lawyer; after communicating with StClare?s brother, it was determined to sell the place, and all the servants, except her own personal property, and these she intended to take with her, and go back to her father?s plantation ?Do ye know, Tom, that we?ve all got to be sold?? said Adolph, and go back to her father?s plantation ?How did you hear that?? said Tom ?I hid myself behind the curtains when Missis was talking with the shop lawyer

They seemed to swarm over the place all at once, till the lamplight, shining on their moving dark bodies and glittering, baleful eyes, made the place look like a bank of earth set with firefliesThe dogs dashed on, but at the threshold suddenly stopped and snarled, and then, simultaneously lifting their noses, began to howl in most lugubrious fashionThe rats were multiplying in thousands, and we moved out Lord Godalming lifted one of the dogs, and carrying him in, placed him on the floorThe instant his feet touched the ground he seemed to recover his courage, and rushed at his natural enemiesThey fled before him so fast that before he had shaken the life out of a score, the other dogs, who had by now been lifted in the same manner, had but small prey ere the whole mass had vanished With their going it seemed as if some evil presence had departed, for the dogs frisked about and barked merrily as they made sudden darts at their prostrate foes, and turned them over and over and tossed them in the air with vicious shakesWe all seemed to find our spirits riseWhether it was the purifying of the deadly atmosphere by the opening of the chapel door, or the relief which we experienced by finding ourselves in the open I know not, but most certainly the shadow of dread seemed to slip from us like a robe, and the occasion of our coming lost something of its grim significance, though we did not slacken a whit in our resolutionWe closed the outer door and barred and locked it, and bringing the dogs with us, began our search of the houseWe found nothing throughout except dust in extraordinary proportions, and all untouched save for my own footsteps when I had made my first visitNever once did the dogs exhibit any symptom of uneasiness, and even when we returned to the chapel they frisked about as though they had been rabbit hunting in a summer wood The morning was quickening in the east when we emerged from the frontVan Helsing had taken the key of the hall door from the bunch, and locked the door in orthodox fashion, putting the key into his pocket when he had done "So far," he said, "our night has been eminently successfulNo harm has come to us such as I feared might be and yet we have ascertained how many boxes are missingMore than all do I rejoice that this, our first, and perhaps our most difficult and dangerous, step has been accomplished without the bringing thereinto our most sweet Madam Mina or troubling her waking or sleeping thoughts with sights and sounds and smells of horror which she might never forgetOne lesson, too, we have learned, if it be allowable to argue a particulari, that the brute beasts which are to the Count's command are yet themselves not amenable to his spiritual power, for look, these rats that would come to his call, just as from his castle top he summon the wolves to your going and to that poor mother's cry, though they come to him, they run pell-mell from the so little dogs of my friend ArthurWe have other matters before us, other dangers, other fears, and that monster? He has not used his power over the brute world for the only or the last time tonightSo be it that he has gone elsewhereGood! It has given us opportunity to cry 'check' in some ways in this chess game, which we play for the stake of human soulsAnd now let us go homeThe dawn is close at hand, and we have reason to be content with our first night's workIt may be ordained that we have many nights and days to follow, if full of peril, but we must go on, and from no danger shall we shrink The house was silent when we got back, save for some poor creature who was screaming away in one of the distant wards, and a low, moaning sound from Renfield's roomThe poor wretch was doubtless torturing himself, after the manner of the insane, with needless thoughts of pain I came tiptoe into our own room, and found Mina asleep, breathing so softly that I had to put my ear down to hear itShe looks paler than usualI hope the meeting tonight has not upset herI am truly thankful that she is to be left out of our future work, and even of our deliberationsIt is too great a strain for a woman to bearI did not think so at first, but I know better nowTherefore I am glad that it is settledThere may be things which would frighten her to hear, and yet to conceal them from her might be worse than to tell her if once she suspected that there was any concealmentHenceforth our work is to be a sealed book to her, till at least such time as we can tell her that all is finished, and the earth free from a monster of the nether worldI daresay it will be difficult to begin to keep silence after such confidence as ours, but I must be resolute, and tomorrow I shall keep dark over tonight's doings, and shall refuse to speak of anything that has happenedI rest on the sofa, so as not to disturb her 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 shop awoke

Harker was still and quiet; but over his face, as the awful narrative went on, came a grey look which deepened and deepened in the morning light, till when the first red streak of the coming dawn shot up, the flesh stood darkly out against the whitening hair We have arranged that one of us is to stay within call of the unhappy pair till we can meet together and arrange about taking action Of this I am sureThe sun rises today on no more miserable house in all the great round of its daily course CHAPTER 22 JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL 3 October-As I must do something or go mad, I write this diaryIt is now six o'clock, and we are to meet in the study in half an hour and take something to eat, for DrSeward are agreed that if we do not eat we cannot work our bestOur best will be, God knows, required todayI must keep writing at every chance, for I dare not stop to thinkAll, big and little, must go downPerhaps at the end the little things may teach us mostThe teaching, big or little, could not have landed Mina or me anywhere worse than we are todayHowever, we must trust and hopePoor Mina told me just now, with the tears running down her dear cheeks, that it is in trouble and trial that our faith is testedThat we must keep on trusting, and that God will aid us up to the endThe end! Oh my God! What end?? To work! To work! When DrSeward had come back from seeing poor Renfield, we went gravely into what was to be doneSeward told us that when he and DrVan Helsing had gone down to the room below they had found Renfield lying on the floor, all in a heapHis face was all bruised and crushed in, and the bones of the neck were brokenSeward asked the attendant who was on duty in the passage if he had heard anythingHe said that he had been sitting down, he confessed to half dozing, when he heard loud voices in the room, and then Renfield had called out loudly several times, "God! God! God!" After that there was a sound of falling, and when he entered the room he found him lying on the floor, face down, just as the doctors had seen himVan Helsing asked if he had heard "voices" or "a voice," and he said he could not sayThat at first it had seemed to him as if there were two, but as there was no one in the room it could have been only oneHe could swear to it, if required, that the word "God" was spoken by the patientSeward said to us, when we were alone, that he did not wish to go into the matterThe question of an inquest had to be considered, and it would never do to put forward the truth, as no one would believe itAs it was, he thought that on the attendant's evidence he could give a certificate of death by misadventure in falling from bedIn case the coroner should demand it, there would be a formal inquest, necessarily to the same result When the question began to be discussed as to what should be our next step, the very first thing we decided was that Mina should be in full confidenceThat nothing of any sort, no matter how painful, should be kept from herShe herself agreed as to its wisdom, and it was pitiful to see her so brave and yet so sorrowful, and in such a depth of despair "There must be no concealment," she said"Alas! We have had too much alreadyAnd besides there is nothing in all the world that can give me more pain than I have already endured, than I suffer now! Whatever may happen, it must be of new hope or of new courage to me!" Van Helsing was looking at her fixedly as she spoke, and said, suddenly but quietly, "But dear Madam Mina, are you not afraidNot for yourself, but for others from yourself, after what has happened?" Her face grew set in its lines, but her eyes shone with the devotion of a martyr as she answered, "Ah no! For my mind is made up!" "To what?" he asked gently, whilst we were all very still, for each in our own way we had a sort of vague idea of what she meant Her answer came with direct simplicity, as though she was simply stating a fact, "Because if I find in myself, and I shall watch keenly for it, a sign of harm to any that I love, I shall die!" "You would not kill yourself?" he asked, hoarselyIf there were no friend who loved me, who would save me such a pain, and so desperate an effort!" She looked at him meaningly as she spoke He was sitting down, but now he rose and came close to her and put his hand on her head as he said shop solemnly

She seemed, however, to know the situation without telling, though she was eager to know what she had toldThe Professor repeated the conversation, and she said, "Then there is not a moment to loseIt may not be yet too late!" MrMorris and Lord Godalming started for the door but the Professor's calm voice called them back "Stay, my friendsThat ship, wherever it was, was weighing anchor at the moment in your so great Port of LondonWhich of them is it that you seek? God be thanked that we have once again a clue, though whither it may lead us we know notWe have been blind somewhatBlind after the manner of men, since we can look back we see what we might have seen looking forward if we had been able to see what we might have seen! Alas, but that sentence is a puddle, is it not? We can know now what was in the Count's mind, when he seize that money, though Jonathan's so fierce knife put him in the danger that even he dreadHear me, ESCAPE! He saw that with but one earth box left, and a pack of men following like dogs after a fox, this London was no place for himHe have take his last earth box on board a ship, and he leave the landHe think to escape, but no! We follow himTally Ho! As friend Arthur would say when he put on his red frock! Our old fox is wilyOh! So wily, and we must follow with wileI, too, am wily and I think his mind in a little whileIn meantime we may rest and in peace, for there are between us which he do not want to pass, and which he could not if he wouldUnless the ship were to touch the land, and then only at full or slack tideSee, and the sun is just rose, and all day to sunset is usLet us take bath, and dress, and have breakfast which we all need, and which we can eat comfortably since he be not in the same land with us Mina looked at him appealingly as she asked, "But why need we seek him further, when he is gone away from us?" He took her hand and patted it as he replied, "Ask me nothing as yetWhen we have breakfast, then I answer all questions He would say no more, and we separated to dress After breakfast Mina repeated her questionHe looked at her gravely for a minute and then said sorrowfully, "Because my dear, dear Madam Mina, now more than ever must we find him even if we have to follow him to the jaws of Hell!" She grew paler as she asked faintly, "Why?" "Because," he answered solemnly, "he can live for centuries, and you are but mortal womanTime is now to be dreaded, since once he put that mark upon your throat I was just in time to catch her as she fell forward in a faint CHAPTER 24 DRSEWARD'S PHONOGRAPH DIARY SPOKEN BY VAN HELSING This to Jonathan Harker You are to stay with your dear Madam MinaWe shall go to make our search, if I can call it so, for it is not search but knowing, and we seek confirmation onlyBut do you stay and take care of her todayThis is your best and most holiest officeThis day nothing can find him here Let me tell you that so you will know what we four know already, for I have tell themHe, our enemy, have gone awayHe have gone back to his Castle in TransylvaniaI know it so well, as if a great hand of fire wrote it on the wallHe have prepare for this in some way, and that last earth box was ready to ship somewheresFor this he took the moneyFor this he hurry at the last, lest we catch him before the sun go shop down

?And now,? said Legree, ?come here, you TomYou see, I telled ye I didn?t buy ye jest for the common work; I mean to promote ye, and make a driver of ye; and tonight ye may jest as well begin to get yer hand inNow, ye jest take this yer gal and flog her; ye?ve seen enough on?t to know how I beg Mas?r?s pardon,? said Tom; ?hopes Mas?r won?t set me at thatIt?s what I an?t used to,?never did,?and can?t do, no way possible ?Ye?ll larn a pretty smart chance of things ye never did know, before I?ve done with ye!? said Legree, taking up a cowhide, and striking Tom a heavy blow cross the cheek, and following up the infliction by a shower of blows ?There!? he said, as he stopped to rest; ?now, will ye tell me ye can?t do it?? ?Yes, Mas?r,? said Tom, putting up his hand, to wipe the blood, that trickled down his face?I?m willin? to work, night and day, and work while there?s life and breath in me; but this yer thing I can?t feel it right to do;?and, Mas?r, I never shall do it,?never!? Tom had a remarkably smooth, soft voice, and a habitually respectful manner, that had given Legree an idea that he would be cowardly, and easily subduedWhen he spoke these last words, a thrill of amazement went through every one; the poor woman clasped her hands, and said, ?O Lord!? and every one involuntarily looked at each other and drew in their breath, as if to prepare for the storm that was about to burst Legree looked stupefied and confounded; but at last burst forth,??What! ye blasted black beast! tell me ye don?t think it right to do what I tell ye! What have any of you cussed cattle to do with thinking what?s right? I?ll put a stop to it! Why, what do ye think ye are? May be ye think ye?r a gentleman master, Tom, to be a telling your master what?s right, and what ain?t! So you pretend it?s wrong to flog the gal!? ?I think so, Mas?r,? said Tom; ?the poor crittur?s sick and feeble; ?t would be downright cruel, and it?s what I never will do, nor begin toMas?r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin any one here, I never shall,?I?ll die first!? Tom spoke in a mild voice, but with a decision that could not be mistakenLegree shook with anger; his greenish eyes glared fiercely, and his very whiskers seemed to curl with passion; but, like some ferocious beast, that plays with its victim before he devours it, he kept back his strong impulse to proceed to immediate violence, and broke out into bitter raillery ?Well, here?s a pious dog, at last, let down among us sinners!?a saint, a gentleman, and no less, to talk to us sinners about our sins! Powerful holy critter, he must be! Here, you rascal, you make believe to be so pious,?didn?t you never hear, out of yer Bible, ?Servants, obey yer masters?? An?t I yer master? Didn?t I pay down twelve hundred dollars, cash, for all there is inside yer old cussed black shell? An?t yer mine, now, body and soul?? he said, giving Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot; ?tell me!? In the very depth of physical suffering, bowed by brutal oppression, this question shot a gleam of joy and triumph through Tom?s soulHe suddenly stretched himself up, and, looking earnestly to heaven, while the tears and blood that flowed down his face mingled, he exclaimed, ?No! no! no! my soul an?t yours, Mas?r! You haven?t bought it,?ye can?t buy it! It?s been bought and paid for, by one that is able to keep it;?no matter, no matter, you can?t harm me!? ?I can?t!? said Legree, with a sneer; ?we?ll see,?we?ll see! Here, Sambo, Quimbo, give this dog such a breakin? in as he won?t get over, this month!? The two gigantic negroes that now laid hold of Tom, with fiendish exultation in their faces, might have formed no unapt personification of powers of darknessThe poor woman screamed with apprehension, and all rose, as by a general impulse, while they dragged him unresisting from the place Chapter 34 The Quadroon?s Story And behold the tears of such as are oppressed; and on the side of their oppressors there was powerWherefore I praised the dead that are already dead more than the living that are yet alive It was late at night, and Tom lay groaning and bleeding alone, in an old forsaken room of the gin-house, among pieces of broken machinery, piles of damaged cotton, and other rubbish which had there accumulated The night was damp and close, and the thick air swarmed with myriads of mosquitos, which increased the restless torture of his wounds; whilst a burning thirst?a torture beyond all others?filled up the uttermost measure of physical anguish ?O, good Lord! Do look down,?give me the victory!?give me the victory over all!? prayed poor Tom, in his anguish A footstep entered the room, behind him, and the light of a lantern flashed on his eyes ?Who?s there? O, for the Lord?s massy, please give me some water!? The woman Cassy?for it was she,?set down her lantern, and, pouring water from a bottle, raised his head, and gave him drinkAnother and another cup were drained, with feverish eagerness ?Drink all ye want,? she said; ?I knew how it would beIt isn?t the first time I?ve been out in the night, carrying water to such as you ?Thank you, Missis,? said Tom, when he had done drinking ?Don?t call me Missis! I?m a miserable slave, like yourself,?a lower one than you can ever be!? said she, bitterly; ?but now,? said she, going to the door, and dragging in a small pallaise, over which she had spread linen cloths wet with cold water, ?try, my poor fellow, to roll yourself on to this Stiff with wounds and bruises, Tom was a long time in accomplishing this movement; but, when done, he felt a sensible relief from the cooling application to his wounds The woman, whom long practice with the victims of brutality had made familiar with many healing arts, went on to make many applications to Tom?s wounds, by means of which he was soon somewhat relieved ?Now,? said the woman, when she had raised his head on a roll of damaged cotton, which served for a pillow, ?there?s the best I can do for you Tom thanked her; and the woman, sitting down on the floor, drew up her knees, and embracing them with her arms, looked fixedly before her, with a bitter and painful expression of countenanceHer bonnet fell back, and long wavy streams of black hair fell around her singular and melancholy-face ?It?s no use, my poor fellow!? she broke out, at last, ?it?s of no use, this you?ve been trying to doYou were a brave fellow,?you had the right on your side; but it?s all in vain, and out of the question, for you to struggleYou are in the devil?s hands;?he is the strongest, and you must give up!? Give up! and, had not human weakness and physical agony whispered that, before? Tom started; for the bitter woman, with her wild eyes and melancholy voice, seemed to him an embodiment of the temptation with which he had been wrestling ?O Lord! O Lord!? he groaned, ?how can I give up?? ?There?s no use calling on the Lord,?he never hears,? said the woman, steadily; ?there isn?t any God, I believe; or, if there is, he?s taken sides against usAll goes against us, heaven and earthEverything is pushing us into hellWhy shouldn?t we go?? Tom closed his eyes, and shuddered at the dark, atheistic words ?You see,? said the woman, ?you don?t know anything about it?I shop do