CHAPTER CLXIV
[Chapter 182]
THE WAITER TELLS THE STORY OF THE LAKES' DISTURBANCE TO GEORGE AND FRANCIS.
Nothing further occurred during the night to cause any alarm to the
inmates of the London Hotel, but we may as well give Miss Annetta'a account
of the night's transaction; and account which she gave to Mrs. Lake at the
time, and which soon spread all over the hotel, with, no doubt, many additions
and embellishments as it was carried.
She said, that having retired to rest, she, being fatigued by her
journey, soon dropped off asleep. That she, to the best of her belief,
fastened her room door, although she certainly could not absolutely swear to
having done so, she was so very weary. She did not know how long she had
slept, but she had a frightful dream, in which she thought she was pursued by
wolves who ran after her through a large tract of country until she took
shelter in a wood, and then all the wolves left her and abandoned the pursuit,
except one, and that one caught her and fastened his fangs in her throat just
as she sunk down exhausted upon a great heap of dried leaves that came in her
way in the forest.
She then went on to say that in the agony of her dream she actually awoke
at that moment, and saw a human face close to her, and that a man had his
mouth close to her neck, and was sucking her blood.
It was then that she uttered the two screams which had so alarmed the
whole house; and then she stated that the vampire, for such she named the
apparition, left her and she fainted away.
Now this story so far as it went, might all be very well accounted for by
being called a dream, and the change from a wolf to a man might be but one of
those fantastic changes that our sleeping visions so frequently undergo, but —
and in this case this was a serious but —but she showed upon her neck the
marks of two teeth, and there was a small wound on which even in the morning
was a little portion of coagulated blood.
This staggered everybody, as well it might, and the whole hotel was in a
state of confusion. Mr. Blue kept his room. Mr. Black got up and declared
that he was much better than the day before, attributing his indisposition to
bodily fatigue; and the Lakes were in a state of consternation difficult to
describe.
The landlord, too, was nearly out of his senses at the idea of a vampire
being in his house, adn a grand consultation was held in the bar parlour
between him, Mr. and Mrs. Lake, and Mr. Black, who was asked if he would step
down and give his opinion, which compliment was paid to him on account of his
being such a gentlemanly and quiet man.
They took it in turns to speak, and the landlord had the first say.
"Gentlemen," he said, "and you madam, you can easily conceive how grieved
I am about what has taken place, and I can only say that anything in the world
that I can do to find out all about it, I will do with the greatest possible
pleasure. Command me in any way, but—but if I have a suspicion of anybody
in this house, it is of that Mr. Blue."
"And I too," said Mrs. Lake.
"I don't know what to say further," remarked Mr. Lake, "than that my
suspicions of some foul play on the part of Mr. Blue, are so strong, that if
he is not turned out of the Hotel, we will leave to-night."
"That's conclusive," said the landlord. "But if you Mr. Black, would
favor us with your opinion, I'm sure, sir, we should be all much obliged."
"I am afraid," said Mr. Black in his quiet, gentlemanly way, "that my
opinion will be of very little importance, as I know nothing of the whole
affair, but just what I have heard from one and another; I slept all the while
it appears. But there is one circumstance that certainly to me is an
unpleasant and a suspicious one, and that is that Mr. Blue, as he calls
himself, was up and dressed, and that, with the exception of your
night-watchman, he was the only person in the hotel who was so."
"That's a fact," said the landlord, "I met him."
"Then that settles the business," said Mr. Lake, "send him away. God
knows if there be such things as vampires or not, but al all events, the
suspicion is horrid, so you had better get rid of him at once."
"I will—I will."
"Stop," said Mr. Black. "Before you do so, is it not worth while to make
some effort to come at the precise truth, and that in my opinion, would be
very desirable indeed."
"It would—it wold," said Mr. Lake, "you must understand, sir, that the
young lady is especially under my care, and in fact I esteem her greatly—
very greatly I may say, for a variety of reasons, and therefore anything that
I can do, which may have the effect of securing her peace of mind and
happiness will be to me a sacred purpose."
"Then I should recommend," said Mr. Black, "that this lady and your wife,
landlord, keep watch in the young lady's chamber to-night."
"Oh, I couldn't—I couldn't," said the landlady.
"Nor I," replied Mrs. Lake, "nor I, I'm sure, I cannot think of such a
thing, I could not do it, I should faint away from terror.
"And so should I," cried the landlady. "I feel quite ill even now at the
thought of the thing."
"Then I can say no more, ladies. Of course, gentlemen cannot very well,
unless they are very near relatives, undertake such a job. I tell you what we
can do, though; suppose we watch in the corridor, you and I, Mr. Lake, and
leaving the door of the young lady's chamber just closed we shall hear if
there be any alarm given from within and effectually secure her from intrusion
without. What say you to this, as a plan of proceedings? There is your son
too, might keep watch with us."
"I'm afraid he is too nervous."
"Yes," said the landlord, "and he might pop into my bed again, as he did
last night in his fright. Oh don't have him gentlemen, I beg of you. I would
go myself, but I am so sleepy always, that I never can keep my eyes open after
twelve o'clock. Not that I am at all afraid of anything, but its downright
sleepiness you see, gentlemen. I am on my feet all day, and—and so you see
I'd rather not on the whole."
"I am willing," said Mr. Black.
"Sir," said Mr. Lake, "I am quite ashamed of giving you so much trouble,
but I can only say that I shall be very much obliged indeed, by your company,
and I do hope that we shall have the pleasure of catching Mr. Blue if he be
guilty."
"Or acquitting him if innocent," added Mr. Black. "Let us be just even
in the midst of our suspicions. It would be a terrible thing to stigmatise
this gentleman as a vampire, when perhaps he may have as great a horror of
such gentry as we possibly can."
At this moment young Lake made his appearance. He looked rather pale as
he apologised to the landlord for his unintentional intrusion into his room
over night.
"The fact is," said he, "I am as constitutionally brave as a lion, and so
whenever anything occurs I run away."
"Indeed, sir, an odd way of showing courage," said Mr. Black. "Why do
you run away?"
"For fear, sir, of doing something rash."
"Well, I certainly never heard a better excuse for an undignified retreat
in one's shirt, before in my life. But you will not be called upon to do
anything to-night. You had better shut yourself up, and let you hear what you
will, you need not come out of your room, you know."
"Well, do you know, sir, I think that it would be the best way, for if I
came out I might do something rash, such as kill somebody, which I should
afterwards be sorry for, you know."
"Certainly."
"Then that's understood, father, that let what will happen I won't come
out. I have been speaking to Annetta, but I can't somehow or another get her
to be pleasant."
"Hush!" said old Lake, and he bent his brows upon his son reprovingly,
as if he fancied that he was letting out more of the family secrets than he
ought to have done. The young man was silent accordingly, for he seemed to be
in great dread of his father, who certainly if not a better man, was a man of
much more intellect and courage than the son, who was but a very few degrees
removed from absolute silliness. He was fool enough to be wicked, and the
father was cunning enough to be so. How strange that vice should usually
belong to the two extremes of intellect, that folly and talent should lead to
similar results, a disregard of the ordinary moral obligations; but it is so.
We may pass over the rest of the day, and we do so the more willingly,
because we are anxious that the reader should be possessed of some particulars
which George and Francis, the servants of Lord Lake communicated without any
reserve at all to Slop, the waiter.
Indeed, far from having anything like a wish to conceal anything, they
seemed to glory in saying as much as they could with respect to those matters
that were uppermost in their mind.
This was just the frame of mind that Slop would have wished in his
prayers, had he prayed at all upon the subject, to find them in; for although
Slop was quite remarkable for neglecting his own affairs, he never neglected
anbody else's and curiosity had been the bane of his existence.
Upon arriving at the King's Head, in Chiswell-street, he found that the
servants of Lord Lake were there, according as they had said they should be,
and glasses of something uncommonly hot and strong having been ordered, they
and Slop soon grew quite happy and familiar together.
First, though, before they would commence a history of anything they had
to tell of the Lake family, they resolved upon hearing form Slop all that had
passed at the London Hotel, and you may be quite sure, that it lost nothing in
the telling, but was duly made as much of as the circumstances would permit.
No doubt the fumes of the something hot materially astisted Mr. Slop's
invention and general talents upn the interesting occasion.
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