2 October.—I placed a man in the corridor
last night, and told him to make an accurate note
of any sound he might hear from Renfield’s room,
and gave him instructions that if there should be anything
strange he was to call me. After dinner, when
we had all gathered round the fire in the study, Mrs.
Harker having gone to bed, we discussed the attempts
and discoveries of the day. Harker was the only
one who had any result, and we are in great hopes
that his clue may be an important one.
Before going to bed I went round to the patient’s
room and looked in through the observation trap.
He was sleeping soundly, his heart rose and fell
with regular respiration.
This morning the man on duty reported to me that a
little after midnight he was restless and kept saying
his prayers somewhat loudly. I asked him if that
was all. He replied that it was all he heard.
There was something about his manner, so suspicious
that I asked him point blank if he had been asleep.
He denied sleep, but admitted to having “dozed”
for a while. It is too bad that men cannot be
trusted unless they are watched.
Today Harker is out following up his clue, and Art
and Quincey are looking after horses. Godalming
thinks that it will be well to have horses always
in readiness, for when we get the information which
we seek there will be no time to lose. We must
sterilize all the imported earth between sunrise and
sunset. We shall thus catch the Count at his
weakest, and without a refuge to fly to. Van
Helsing is off to the British Museum looking up some
authorities on ancient medicine. The old physicians
took account of things which their followers do not
accept, and the Professor is searching for witch and
demon cures which may be useful to us later.
I sometimes think we must be all mad and that we shall
wake to sanity in strait waistcoats.
Later.—We have met again. We seem
at last to be on the track, and our work of tomorrow
may be the beginning of the end. I wonder if
Renfield’s quiet has anything to do with this.
His moods have so followed the doings of the Count,
that the coming destruction of the monster may be
carried to him some subtle way. If we could only
get some hint as to what passed in his mind, between
the time of my argument with him today and his resumption
of fly-catching, it might afford us a valuable clue.
He is now seemingly quiet for a spell . . .
Is he? That wild yell seemed to come from his
room . . .
The attendant came bursting into my room and told
me that Renfield had somehow met with some accident.
He had heard him yell, and when he went to him found
him lying on his face on the floor, all covered with
blood. I must go at once . . .
DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
3 October.—Let me put down with exactness
all that happened, as well as I can remember, since
last I made an entry. Not a detail that I can
recall must be forgotten. In all calmness I must
proceed.
