feelings as we could avoid were saved.
Poor fellow! He looked desperately sad and broken. Even his
stalwart manhood seemed to have shrunk somewhat under the strain of
his much-tried emotions. He had, I knew, been very genuinely and
devotedly attached to his father, and to lose him, and at such a
time, was a bitter blow to him. With me he was warm as ever, and to
Van Helsing he was sweetly courteous. But I could not help seeing
that there was some constraint with him. The professor noticed it
too, and motioned me to bring him upstairs. I did so, and left him
at the door of the room, as I felt he would like to be quite alone
with her, but he took my arm and led me in, saying huskily,
"You loved her too, old fellow. She told me all about it, and
there was no friend had a closer place in her heart than you. I
don't know how to thank you for all you have done for her. I can't
think yet … "
Here he suddenly broke down, and threw his arms round my
shoulders and laid his head on my breast, crying, "Oh, Jack! Jack!
What shall I do? The whole of life seems gone from me all at once,
and there is nothing in the wide world for me to live for."
I comforted him as well as I could. In such cases men do not
need much expression. A grip of the hand, the tightening of an arm
over the shoulder, a sob in unison, are expressions of sympathy
dear to a man's heart. I stood still and silent till his sobs died
away, and then I said softly to him, "Come and look at her."
Together we moved over to the bed, and I lifted the lawn from
her face. God! How beautiful she was. Every hour seemed to be
enhancing her loveliness. It frightened and amazed me somewhat. And
as for Arthur, he fell to trembling, and finally was shaken with
doubt as with an ague. At last, after a long pause, he said to me
in a faint whisper,"Jack, is she really dead?"
I assured him sadly that it was so, and went on to suggest, for
I felt that such a horrible doubt should not have life for a moment
longer than I could help, that it often happened that after deathlonger than I could help, that it often happened that after death
faces become softened and even resolved into their youthful beauty,
that this was especially so when death had been preceded by any
acute or prolonged suffering. I seemed to quite do away with any
doubt, and after kneeling beside the couch for a while and looking
at her lovingly and long, he turned aside. I told him that that
must be goodbye, as the coffin had to be prepared, so he went back
and took her dead hand in his and kissed it, and bent over and
kissed her forehead. He came away, fondly looking back over his
shoulder at her as he came.
I left him in the drawing room, and told Van Helsing that he had
said goodbye, so the latter went to the kitchen to tell the
undertaker's men to proceed with the preperations and to screw up
the coffin. When he came out of the room again I told him of
Arthur's question, and he replied, "I am not surprised. Just now I
doubted for a moment myself!"
We all dined together, and I could see that poor Art was trying
to make the best of things. Van Helsing had been silent all dinner
time, but when we had lit our cigars he said, "Lord … , but
Arthur interrupted him.
"No, no, not that, for God's sake! Not yet at any rate. Forgive
me, sir. I did not mean to speak offensively. It is only because my
loss is so recent."
The Professor answered very sweetly, "I only used that name
because I was in doubt. I must not call you `Mr.' and I have grown
to love you, yes, my dear boy, to love you, as Arthur."
Arthur held out his hand, and took the old man's warmly. "Call
me what you will," he said. "I hope I may always have the title of
a friend. And let me say that I am at a loss for words to thank you
for your goodness to my poor dear." He paused a moment, and went
on, "I know that she understood your goodness even better than I
do. And if I was rude or in any way wanting at that time you acted
so, you remember,"— the Professor nodded—"You must forgive me."
He answered with a grave kindness, "I know it was hard for youHe answered with a grave kindness, "I know it was hard for you
to quite trust me then, for to trust such violence needs to
understand, and I take it that you do not, that you cannot, trust
me now, for you do not yet understand. And there may be more times
when I shall want you to trust when you cannot, and may not, and
must not yet understand. But the time will come when your trust
shall be whole and complete in me, and when you shall understand as
though the sunlight himself shone through. Then you shall bless me
from first to last for your own sake, and for the sake of others,
and for her dear sake to whom I swore to protect."
"And indeed, indeed, sir," said Arthur warmly. "I shall in all
ways trust you. I know and believe you have a very noble heart, and
you are Jack's friend, and you were hers. You shall do what you
like."
The Professor cleared his throat a couple of times, as though
about to speak, and finally said, "May I ask you something
now?"
"Certainly."
"You know that Mrs. Westenra left you all her property?"
"No, poor dear. I never thought of it."
"And as it is all yours, you have a right to deal with it as you
will. I want you to give me permission to read all Miss Lucy's
papers and letters. Believe me, it is no idle curiosity. I have a
motive of which, be sure, she would have approved. I have them all
here. I took them before we knew that all was yours, so that no
strange hand might touch them, no strange eye look through words
into her soul. I shall keep them, if I may. Even you may not see
them yet, but I shall keep them safe. No word shall be lost, and in
the good time I shall give them back to you. It is a hard thing
that I ask, but you will do it, will you not, for Lucy's sake?"
Arthur spoke out heartily, like his old self, "Dr. Van Helsing,
you may do what you will. I feel that in saying this I am doing
what my dear one would have approved. I shall not trouble you with
questions till the time comes."
The old Professor stood up as he said solemnly,"And you are