office for more details. By good fortune, the men who did the teaming
were waiting for work, and the official at once sent them over, sending
also by one of them the way-bill and all the papers connected with the
delivery of the boxes at Carfax. Here again I found the tally agreeing
exactly; the carriers men were able to supplement the paucity of the
written words with a few details. These were, I shortly found, connected
almost solely with the dusty nature of the job, and of the consequent
thirst engendered in the operators. On my affording an opportunity,
through the medium of the currency of the realm, of the allaying, at a
later period, this beneficial evil, one of the men remarked:--
That ere ouse, guv nor, is the rummiest I ever was in. Blyme! but it
ain t been touched sence a hundred years. There was dust that thick in
the place that you might have slep on it without urtin of yer bones;
an the place was that neglected that yer might ave smelled ole
Jerusalem in it. But the ole chapel--that took the cike, that did! Me
and my mate, we thort we wouldn t never git out quick enough. Lor , I
wouldn t take less nor a quid a moment to stay there arter dark.
Having been in the house, I could well believe him; but if he knew what
I know, he would, I think, have raised his terms.
Of one thing I am now satisfied: that _all_ the boxes which arrived at
Whitby from Varna in the _Demeter_ were safely deposited in the old
chapel at Carfax. There should be fifty of them there, unless any have
since been removed--as from Dr. Seward s diary I fear.
I shall try to see the carter who took away the boxes from Carfax when
Renfield attacked them. By following up this clue we may learn a good
deal.
* * * * *
_Later._--Mina and I have worked all day, and we have put all the papers
into order.
_Mina Harker s Journal_
_30 September._--I am so glad that I hardly know how to contain myself.
233