Dracula. Bram Stoker
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I descended from the side of the coach, as the caleche was
close alongside, the driver helping me with a hand which caught
my arm in a grip of steel; his strength must have been prodi-
gious. Without a word he shook his reins, the horses turned, and
we swept into the darkness of the Pass. As I looked back I saw
the steam from the horses of the coach by the light of the lamps,
and projected against it the figures of my late companions cross-
ing themselves. Then the driver cracked his whip and called
to his horses, and off they swept on their way to Bukovina. As
they sank into the darkness I felt a strange chill, and a lonely
feefing came over me; but a cloak was thrown over my shoul-
ders, and a rug across my knees, and the driver said in excellent
German:
«The night is chill, mein Herr, and my master the Count bade
me take all care of you. There is a flask of slivovitz (the plum
brandy of the country) underneath the seat, if you should re-
quire it.» I did not take any, but it was a comfort to know it was
there all the same. I felt a little strangely, and not a little fright-
ened. I think had there been any alternative I should have
taken it, instead of prosecuting that unknown night journey.
The carriage went at a hard pace straight along, then we made
a complete turn and went along another straight road. It seemed
to me that we were simply going over and over the same ground
again; and so I took note of some salient point, and found that
this was so. I would have liked to have asked the driver what
this all meant, but I really feared to do so, for I thought that,
placed as I was, any protest would have had no effect in case
there had been an intention to delay. By-and-by, however, as I
was curious to know how time was passing, I struck a match,
and by its flame looked at my watch; it was within a few min-
utes of midnight. This gave me a sort of shock, for I suppose the
general superstition about midnight was increased by my recent
experiences. I waited with a sick feeling of suspense.
Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down
the road a long, agonised wailing, as if from fear. The sound
was taken up by another dog, and then another and another,
till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the Pass,
a wild howling began, which seemed to come from all over the
country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the
gloom of the night. At the first howl the horses began to strain
Jonathan Marker’s Journal n
and rear, but the driver spoke to them soothingly, and they
quieted down, but shivered and sweated as though after a run-
away from sudden fright. Then, far off in the distance, from the
mountains on each side of us began a louder and a sharper howl-
ing that of wolves which affected both the horses and myself
in the same way for I was minded to jump from the caleche
and run, whilst they reared again and plunged madly, so that
the driver had to use all his great strength to keep them from
bolting. In a few minutes, however, my own ears got accustomed
to the sound, and the horses so far became quiet that the driver
was able to descend and to stand before them. He petted and
soothed them, and whispered something in their ears, as I have
heard of horse-tamers doing, and with extraordinary effect, for
under his caresses they became quite manageable again, though
they still trembled. The driver again took his seat, and shaking
his reins, started off at a great pace. This tune, after going to
the far side of the Pass, he suddenly turned down a narrow road-
way which ran sharply to the right.
Soon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched
right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel; and
again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side.
Though we were in shelter, we could hear the rising wind, for
it moaned and whistled through the rocks, and the branches of
the trees crashed together as we swept along. It grew colder and
colder still, and fine, powdery snow began to fall, so that soon
we and all around us were covered with a white blanket. The
keen wind still carried the howling of the dogs, though this grew
fainter as we went on our way. The baying of the wolves sounded
nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from
every side. I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my
fear. The driver, however, was not in the least disturbed; he
kept turning his head to left and right, but I could not see any-
thing through the darkness.
Suddenly, away on our left, I saw a faint flickering blue flame.
The driver saw it at the same moment; he at once checked the
horses, and, jumping to the ground, disappeared into the dark-
ness. I did not know what to do, the less as the howling of the
wolves grew closer; but while I wondered the driver suddenly
appeared again, and without a word took his seat, and we re-
sumed our journey. I think I must have fallen asleep and kept
dreaming of the incident, for it seemed to be repeated endlessly,
and now looking back, it is like a sort of awful nightmare. Once
the flame appeared so near the road, that even in the darkness
12 -Dracula
around us I could watch the driver’s motions. He went rapidly
to where the blue flame arose it must have been very faint,
for it did not seem to illumine the place around it at all and
gathering a few stones, formed them into some device. Once
there appeared a strange optical effect: when he stood between
me and the flame he did not obstruct it, for I could see its ghostly
flicker all the same. This startled me, but as the effect was only
momentary, I took it that my eyes deceived me straining through
the