Van Helsing came and laid his hand on Arthur’s
shoulder, and said to him, “And now, Arthur
my friend, dear lad, am I not forgiven?”
The reaction of the terrible strain came as he took
the old man’s hand in his, and raising it to
his lips, pressed it, and said, “Forgiven!
God bless you that you have given my dear one her soul
again, and me peace.” He put his hands
on the Professor’s shoulder, and laying his
head on his breast, cried for a while silently, whilst
we stood unmoving.
When he raised his head Van Helsing said to him, “And
now, my child, you may kiss her. Kiss her dead
lips if you will, as she would have you to, if for
her to choose. For she is not a grinning devil
now, not any more a foul Thing for all eternity.
No longer she is the devil’s UnDead.
She is God’s true dead, whose soul is with Him!”
Arthur bent and kissed her, and then we sent him and
Quincey out of the tomb. The Professor and I
sawed the top off the stake, leaving the point of
it in the body. Then we cut off the head and
filled the mouth with garlic. We soldered up
the leaden coffin, screwed on the coffin lid, and
gathering up our belongings, came away. When
the Professor locked the door he gave the key to Arthur.
Outside the air was sweet, the sun shone, and the
birds sang, and it seemed as if all nature were tuned
to a different pitch. There was gladness and
mirth and peace everywhere, for we were at rest ourselves
on one account, and we were glad, though it was with
a tempered joy.
Before we moved away Van Helsing said, “Now,
my friends, one step of our work is done, one the
most harrowing to ourselves. But there remains
a greater task: to find out the author of all
this our sorrow and to stamp him out. I have
clues which we can follow, but it is a long task,
and a difficult one, and there is danger in it, and
pain. Shall you not all help me? We have
learned to believe, all of us, is it not so?
And since so, do we not see our duty? Yes!
And do we not promise to go on to the bitter end?”
Each in turn, we took his hand, and the promise was
made. Then said the Professor as we moved off,
“Two nights hence you shall meet with me and
dine together at seven of the clock with friend John.
I shall entreat two others, two that you know not
as yet, and I shall be ready to all our work show
and our plans unfold. Friend John, you come with
me home, for I have much to consult you about, and
you can help me. Tonight I leave for Amsterdam,
but shall return tomorrow night. And then begins
our great quest. But first I shall have much
to say, so that you may know what to do and to dread.
Then our promise shall be made to each other anew.
For there is a terrible task before us, and once
our feet are on the ploughshare we must not draw back.”
When we arrived at the Berkely Hotel, Van Helsing
found a telegram waiting for him.
