Strange that it never struck me that the very next house might be the Count’s hiding place!  Goodness knows that we had enough clues from the conduct of the patient Renfield!  The bundle of letters relating to the purchase of the house were with the transcript.  Oh, if we had only had them earlier we might have saved poor Lucy!  Stop!  That way madness lies!  Harker has gone back, and is again collecting material.  He says that by dinner time they will be able to show a whole connected narrative.  He thinks that in the meantime I should see Renfield, as hitherto he has been a sort of index to the coming and going of the Count.  I hardly see this yet, but when I get at the dates I suppose I shall.  What a good thing that Mrs. Harker put my cylinders into type!  We never could have found the dates otherwise.

I found Renfield sitting placidly in his room with his hands folded, smiling benignly.  At the moment he seemed as sane as any one I ever saw.  I sat down and talked with him on a lot of subjects, all of which he treated naturally.  He then, of his own accord, spoke of going home, a subject he has never mentioned to my knowledge during his sojourn here.  In fact, he spoke quite confidently of getting his discharge at once.  I believe that, had I not had the chat with Harker and read the letters and the dates of his outbursts, I should have been prepared to sign for him after a brief time of observation.  As it is, I am darkly suspicious.  All those out-breaks were in some way linked with the proximity of the Count.  What then does this absolute content mean?  Can it be that his instinct is satisfied as to the vampire’s ultimate triumph?  Stay.  He is himself zoophagous, and in his wild ravings outside the chapel door of the deserted house he always spoke of ‘master’.  This all seems confirmation of our idea.  However, after a while I came away.  My friend is just a little too sane at present to make it safe to probe him too deep with questions.  He might begin to think, and then . . .  So I came away.  I mistrust these quiet moods of of his, so I have given the attendant a hint to look closely after him, and to have a strait waistcoat ready in case of need.

JOHNATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL

29 September, in train to London.—­When I received Mr. Billington’s courteous message that he would give me any information in his power I thought it best to go down to Whitby and make, on the spot, such inquiries as I wanted.  It was now my object to trace that horrid cargo of the Count’s to its place in London.  Later, we may be able to deal with it.  Billington junior, a nice lad, met me at the station, and brought me to his father’s house, where they had decided that I must spend the night.  They are hospitable, with true Yorkshire hospitality, give a guest everything and leave him to do as he likes.  They all knew that I was busy, and that my stay was short, and Mr. Billington had