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1"At least you shall be safe here from him!" He took the glasses from me, and at the next lull of the snow swept the
2whole space below us. "See," he said, "they come quickly; they are flogging the horses, and galloping as hard as they
3can." He paused and went on in a hollow voice:-- "They are racing for the sunset. We may be too late. God's will be
4done!" Down came another blinding rush of driving snow, and the whole landscape was blotted out. It soon passed,
5however, and once more his glasses were fixed on the plain. Then came a sudden cry:-- "Look! Look! Look! See, two
6horsemen follow fast, coming up from the south. It must be Quincey and John. Take the glass. Look before the snow blots
7it all out!" I took it and looked. The two men might be Dr. Seward and Mr. Morris. I knew at all events that neither of
8them was Jonathan. At the same time I knew that Jonathan was not far off; looking around I saw on the north side of the
9coming party two other men, riding at break-neck speed. One of them I knew was Jonathan, and the other I took, of
10course, to be Lord Godalming. They, too, were pursuing the party with the cart. When I told the Professor he shouted in
11glee like a schoolboy, and, after looking intently till a snow fall made sight impossible, he laid his Winchester rifle
12ready for use against the boulder at the opening of our shelter. "They are all converging," he said. "When the time
13comes we shall have gypsies on all sides." I got out my revolver ready to hand, for whilst we were speaking the howling
14of wolves came louder and closer. When the snow storm abated a moment we looked again. It was strange to see the snow
15falling in such heavy flakes close to us, and beyond, the sun shining more and more brightly as it sank down towards the
16far mountain tops. Sweeping the glass all around us I could see here and there dots moving singly and in twos and threes
17and larger numbers--the wolves were gathering for their prey. Every instant seemed an age whilst we waited. The wind
18came now in fierce bursts, and the snow was driven with fury as it swept upon us in circling eddies. At times we could
19not see an arm's length before us; but at others, as the hollow-sounding wind swept by us, it seemed to clear the
20air-space around us so that we could see afar off. We had of late been so accustomed to watch for sunrise and sunset,
21that we knew with fair accuracy when it would be; and we knew that before long the sun would set. It was hard to believe
22that by our watches it was less than an hour that we waited in that rocky shelter before the various bodies began to
23converge close upon us. The wind came now with fiercer and more bitter sweeps, and more steadily from the north. It
24seemingly had driven the snow clouds from us, for, with only occasional bursts, the snow fell. We could distinguish
25clearly the individuals of each party, the pursued and the pursuers. Strangely enough those pursued did not seem to
26realise, or at least to care, that they were pursued; they seemed, however, to hasten with redoubled speed as the sun
27dropped lower and lower on the mountain tops. Closer and closer they drew. The Professor and I crouched down behind our
28rock, and held our weapons ready; I could see that he was determined that they should not pass. One and all were quite
29unaware of our presence. All at once two voices shouted out to: "Halt!" One was my Jonathan's, raised in a high key of
30passion; the other Mr. Morris' strong resolute tone of quiet command. The gypsies may not have known the language, but
31there was no mistaking the tone, in whatever tongue the words were spoken. Instinctively they reined in, and at the
32instant Lord Godalming and Jonathan dashed up at one side and Dr. Seward and Mr. Morris on the other. The leader of the
33gypsies, a splendid-looking fellow who sat his horse like a centaur, waved them back, and in a fierce voice gave to his
34companions some word to proceed. They lashed the horses which sprang forward; but the four men raised their Winchester
35rifles, and in an unmistakable way commanded them to stop. At the same moment Dr. Van Helsing and I rose behind the rock
36and pointed our weapons at them. Seeing that they were surrounded the men tightened their reins and drew up. The leader
37turned to them and gave a word at which every man of the gypsy party drew what weapon he carried, knife or pistol, and
38held himself in readiness to attack. Issue was joined in an instant. The leader, with a quick movement of his rein,
39threw his horse out in front, and pointing first to the sun--now close down on the hill tops--and then to the castle,
40said something which I did not understand. For answer, all four men of our party threw themselves from their horses and
41dashed towards the cart. I should have felt terrible fear at seeing Jonathan in such danger, but that the ardour of
42battle must have been upon me as well as the rest of them; I felt no fear, but only a wild, surging desire to do
43something. Seeing the quick movement of our parties, the leader of the gypsies gave a command; his men instantly formed
44round the cart in a sort of undisciplined endeavour, each one shouldering and pushing the other in his eagerness to
45carry out the order. In the midst of this I could see that Jonathan on one side of the ring of men, and Quincey on the
46other, were forcing a way to the cart; it was evident that they were bent on finishing their task before the sun should
47set. Nothing seemed to stop or even to hinder them. Neither the levelled weapons nor the flashing knives of the gypsies
48in front, nor the howling of the wolves behind, appeared to even attract their attention. Jonathan's impetuosity, and
49the manifest singleness of his purpose, seemed to overawe those in front of him; instinctively they cowered, aside and
50let him pass. In an instant he had jumped upon the cart, and, with a strength which seemed incredible, raised the great
51box, and flung it over the wheel to the ground. In the meantime, Mr. Morris had had to use force to pass through his
52side of the ring of Szgany. All the time I had been breathlessly watching Jonathan I had, with the tail of my eye, seen
53him pressing desperately forward, and had seen the knives of the gypsies flash as he won a way through them, and they
54cut at him. He had parried with his great bowie knife, and at first I thought that he too had come through in safety;
55but as he sprang beside Jonathan, who had by now jumped from the cart, I could see that with his left hand he was
56clutching at his side, and that the blood was spurting through his fingers. He did not delay notwithstanding this, for
57as Jonathan, with desperate energy, attacked one end of the chest, attempting to prize off the lid with his great Kukri
58knife, he attacked the other frantically with his bowie. Under the efforts of both men the lid began to yield; the nails
59drew with a quick screeching sound, and the top of the box was thrown back. By this time the gypsies, seeing themselves
60covered by the Winchesters, and at the mercy of Lord Godalming and Dr. Seward, had given in and made no resistance. The
61sun was almost down on the mountain tops, and the shadows of the whole group fell long upon the snow. I saw the Count
62lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over him. He was deathly
63pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew too well. As I
64looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in them turned to triumph. But, on the instant, came the
65sweep and flash of Jonathan's great knife. I shrieked as I saw it shear through the throat; whilst at the same moment
66Mr. Morris's bowie knife plunged into the heart. It was like a miracle; but before our very eyes, and almost in the
67drawing of a breath, the whole body crumbled into dust and passed from our sight.
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