You may kill him by inches,?you won?t get the first word of confession out of him ?We?ll see,?where is he?? said Legree, going out ?In the waste-room of the gin-house,? said Cassy Legree, though he talked so stoutly to Cassy, still sallied forth from the house with a degree of misgiving which was not common with himHis dreams of the past night, mingled with Cassy?s prudential suggestions, considerably affected his mindHe resolved that nobody should be witness of his encounter with Tom; and determined, if he could not subdue him by bullying, to defer his vengeance, to be wreaked in a more convenient season The solemn light of dawn?the angelic glory of the morning-star?had looked in through the rude window of the shed where Tom was lying; and, as if descending on that star-beam, came the solemn words, ?I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star The mysterious warnings and intimations of Cassy, so far from discouraging his soul, in the end had roused it as with a heavenly callHe did not know but that the day of his death was dawning in the sky; and his heart throbbed with solemn throes of joy and desire, as he thought that the wondrous all, of which he had often pondered,?the great white throne, with its ever radiant rainbow; the white-robed multitude, with voices as many waters; the crowns, the palms, the harps,?might all break upon his vision before that sun should set againAnd, therefore, without shuddering or trembling, he heard the voice of his persecutor, as he drew near ?Well, my boy,? said Legree, with a contemptuous kick, ?how do you find yourself? Didn?t I tell yer I could larn yer a thing or two? How do yer like it?eh? How did yer whaling agree with yer, Tom? An?t quite so crank as ye was last nightYe couldn?t treat a poor sinner, now, to a bit of sermon, could ye,?eh?? Tom answered nothing ?Get up, you beast!? said Legree, kicking him again This was a difficult matter for one so bruised and faint; and, as Tom made efforts to do so, Legree laughed brutally ?What makes ye so spry, this morning, Tom? Cotched cold, may be, last night Tom by this time had gained his feet, and was confronting his master with a steady, unmoved front ?The devil, you can!? said Legree, looking him over?I believe you haven?t got enough yetNow, Tom, get right down on yer knees and beg my pardon, for yer shines last night ?Down, you dog!? said Legree, striking him with his riding-whip ?Mas?r Legree,? said Tom, ?I can?t do itI did only what I thought was rightI shall do just so again, if ever the time comesI never will do a cruel thing, come what may ?Yes, but ye don?t know what may come, Master TomYe think what you?ve got is somethingI tell you ?tan?t anything,?nothing ?t allHow would ye like to be tied to a tree, and have a slow fire lit up around ye;?wouldn?t that be pleasant,?eh, Tom?? ?Mas?r,? said Tom, ?I know ye can do dreadful things; but,??he stretched himself upward and clasped his hands,??but, after ye?ve killed the body, there an?t no more ye can doAnd O, there?s all ETERNITY to come, after that!? ETERNITY,?the word thrilled through the black man?s soul with light and power, as he spoke; it thrilled through the sinner?s soul, too, like the bite of a scorpionLegree gnashed on him with his teeth, but rage kept him silent; and Tom, like a man disenthralled, spoke, in a clear and cheerful voice, ?Mas?r Legree, as ye bought me, I?ll be a true and faithful servant to yeI?ll give ye all the work of my hands, all my time, all my strength; but my soul I won?t give up to mortal manI will hold on to the Lord, and put his commands before all,?die or live; you may be sure on ?tMas?r Legree, I ain?t a grain afeard to dieI?d as soon die as notYe may whip me, starve me, burn me,?it?ll only send me sooner where I want to go ?I?ll make ye give out, though, ?fore I?ve done!? said Legree, in a rage ?I shall have help,? said Tom; ?you?ll never do it ?Who the devil?s going to help you?? said Legree, scornfully ?The Lord Almighty,? said Tom ?D?n you!? said Legree, as with one blow of his fist he felled Tom to the shop earth

Poor 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 solemnly"My child, there is such an one if it were for your goodFor myself I could hold it in my account with God to find such an euthanasia for you, even at this moment if it were bestNay, were it safe! But my child?" For a moment he seemed choked, and a great sob rose in his throatHe gulped it down and went on, "There are here some who would stand between you and deathYou must not die by any hand, but least of all your ownUntil the other, who has fouled your sweet life, is true dead you must not dieFor if he is still with the quick Undead, your death would make you even as he isNo, you must live! You must struggle and strive to live, though death would seem a boon unspeakableYou must fight Death himself, though he come to you in pain or in joyBy the day, or the night, in safety or in peril! On your living soul I charge you that you do not dieNay, nor think of death, till this great evil be past The poor dear grew white as death, and shook and shivered, as I have seen a quicksand shake and shiver at the incoming of the tideAt length she grew more calm and turning to him said sweetly, but oh so sorrowfully, as she held out her hand, "I promise you, my dear friend, that if God will let me live, I shall strive to do soTill, if it may be in His good time, this horror may have passed away from shop me

"But I beseech you, do not go forth in anger with meIn 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 nowBelieve 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 sorrowFor why should I give myself so much labor 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 come to loveFor her, I am ashamed to say so much, but I say it in kindness, I gave what you gave, the blood of my veinsI gave it, I who was not, like you, her lover, but only her physician and her friendI gave her my nights and days, before death, after death, and if my death can do her good even now, when she is the dead UnDead, 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 16 DRSEWARD'S DIARY--cont It was just a quarter before twelve o'clock when we got into the churchyard over the low wallThe night was dark with occasional gleams of moonlight between the dents of the heavy clouds that scudded across the skyWe all kept somehow close together, with Van Helsing slightly in front as he led the wayWhen we had come close to the tomb I looked well at Arthur, for I feared the proximity to a place laden with so sorrowful a memory would upset him, but he bore himself wellI took it that the very mystery of the proceeding was in some way a counteractant to his griefThe Professor unlocked the door, and seeing a natural hesitation amongst us for various reasons, solved the difficulty by entering first himselfThe rest of us followed, and he closed the doorHe then lit a dark lantern and pointed to a coffinArthur stepped forward hesitatinglyVan Helsing said to me, "You were with me here yesterdayWas 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 coffinArthur looked on, very pale but silentWhen the lid was removed he stepped forwardHe evidently did not know that there was a leaden coffin, or at any rate, had not thought of itWhen 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 whitenessVan Helsing forced back the leaden flange, and we all looked in and recoiled The coffin was empty! For several minutes no one spoke a wordThe silence was broken by Quincey Morris, "Professor, I answered for youYour word is all I wantI 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 dishonourIs this your doing?" "I swear to you by all that I hold sacred that I have not removed or touched herWhat happened was thisTwo nights ago my friend Seward and I came here, with good purpose, believe meI opened that coffin, which was then sealed up, and we found it as now, emptyWe then waited, and saw something white come through the treesThe next day we came here in daytime and she lay thereDid she not, friend John? shop "Yes

Husband Jonathan would not like to see you so pale, and what he like not where he love, is not to his goodTherefore for his sake you must eat and smileYou have told me about Lucy, and so now we shall not speak of it, lest it distressI shall stay in Exeter tonight, for I want to think much over what you have told me, and when I have thought I will ask you questions, if I mayAnd then too, you will tell me of husband Jonathan's trouble so far as you can, but not yetYou must eat now, afterwards you shall tell me all After lunch, when we went back to the drawing room, he said to me, "And now tell me all about him When it came to speaking to this great learned man, I began to fear that he would think me a weak fool, and Jonathan a madman, that journal is all so strange, and I hesitated to go onBut he was so sweet and kind, and he had promised to help, and I trusted him, so I said, "DrVan Helsing, what I have to tell you is so queer that you must not laugh at me or at my husbandI have been since yesterday in a sort of fever of doubtYou must be kind to me, and not think me foolish that I have even half believed some very strange things He reassured me by his manner as well as his words when he said, "Oh, my dear, if you only know how strange is the matter regarding which I am here, it is you who would laughI have learned not to think little of any one's belief, no matter how strange it may beI have tried to keep an open mind, and it is not the ordinary things of life that could close it, but the strange things, the extraordinary things, the things that make one doubt if they be mad or sane "Thank you, thank you a thousand times! You have taken a weight off my mindIf you will let me, I shall give you a paper to readIt is long, but I have typewritten it outIt will tell you my trouble and Jonathan'sIt is the copy of his journal when abroad, and all that happenedI dare not say anything of itYou will read for yourself and judgeAnd then when I see you, perhaps, you will be very kind and tell me what you think "I promise," he said as I gave him the papers"I shall in the morning, as soon as I can, come to see you and your husband, if I may "Jonathan will be here at half-past eleven, and you must come to lunch with us and see him thenYou could catch the quick 3:34 train, which will leave you at Paddington before eight He was surprised at my knowledge of the trains offhand, but he does not know that I have made up all the trains to and from Exeter, so that I may help Jonathan in case he is in a hurry So he took the papers with him and went away, and I sit here thinking, thinking I don't know what LETTER (by hand), VAN HELSING TO MRSHARKER 25 September, 6 o'clock "Dear Madam Mina, "I have read your husband's so wonderful diaryYou may sleep without doubtStrange and terrible as it is, it is true! I will pledge my life on itIt may be worse for others, but for him and you there is no dreadHe is a noble fellow, and let me tell you from experience of men, that one who would do as he did in going down that wall and to that room, aye, and going a second time, is not one to be injured in permanence by a shockHis brain and his heart are all right, this I swear, before I have even seen him, so be at restI shall have much to ask him of other thingsI am blessed that today I come to see you, for I have learn all at once so much that again I am dazzled, dazzled more than ever, and I must think "Yours the most faithful, "Abraham Van HelsingHARKER TO VAN HELSING 25 September, 6:30 shop P

In the first house where we stopped, when the woman who served us saw the scar on my forehead, she crossed herself and put out two fingers towards me, to keep off the evil eyeI believe they went to the trouble of putting an extra amount of garlic into our food, and I can't abide garlicEver since then I have taken care not to take off my hat or veil, and so have escaped their suspicionsWe are travelling fast, and as we have no driver with us to carry tales, we go ahead of scandalBut I daresay that fear of the evil eye will follow hard behind us all the wayThe Professor seems tirelessAll day he would not take any rest, though he made me sleep for a long spellAt sunset time he hypnotized me, and he says I answered as usual, "darkness, lapping water and creaking wood So our enemy is still on the riverI am afraid to think of Jonathan, but somehow I have now no fear for him, or for myselfI write this whilst we wait in a farmhouse for the horses to be readyVan Helsing is sleepingPoor dear, he looks very tired and old and grey, but his mouth is set as firmly as a conqueror'sEven in his sleep he is intense with resolutionWhen we have well started I must make him rest whilst I driveI shall tell him that we have days before us, and he must not break down when most of all his strength will be needed? All is ready 2 November, morning-I was successful, and we took turns driving all nightNow the day is on us, bright though coldThere is a strange heaviness in the airI say heaviness for want of a better wordI mean that it oppresses us bothIt is very cold, and only our warm furs keep us comfortableAt dawn Van Helsing hypnotized meHe says I answered "darkness, creaking wood and roaring water," so the river is changing as they ascendI do hope that my darling will not run any chance of danger, more than need be, but we are in God's hands 2 November, night-All day long drivingThe country gets wilder as we go, and the great spurs of the Carpathians, which at Veresti seemed so far from us and so low on the horizon, now seem to gather round us and tower in frontWe both seem in good spiritsI think we make an effort each to cheer the other, in the doing so we cheer ourselvesVan Helsing says that by morning we shall reach the Borgo PassThe houses are very few here now, and the Professor says that the last horse we got will have to go on with us, as we may not be able to changeHe got two in addition to the two we changed, so that now we have a rude four-in-handThe dear horses are patient and good, and they give us no troubleWe are not worried with other travellers, and so even I can driveWe shall get to the Pass in daylightWe do not want to arrive beforeSo we take it easy, and have each a long rest in turnOh, what will tomorrow bring to us? We go to seek the place where my poor darling suffered so shop much