"stoker-dracula-168" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stoker Bram)

When, an hour or two after, the Count came quietly into the room;
his coming wakened me, for I had gone to sleep on the sofa. He was
very courteous and very cheery in his manner, and seeing that I had
been sleeping, he said:-

"So, my friend, you are tired? Get to bed. There is the surest rest.
I may not have the pleasure to talk to-night, since there are many
labours to me; but you will sleep, I pray." I passed to my room and
went to bed, and, strange to say, slept without dreaming. Despair
has its own calms.

31 May.- This morning when I woke I thought I would provide myself
with some paper and envelopes from my bag and keep them in my
pocket, so that I might write in case I should get an opportunity; but
again a surprise, again a shock!

Every scrap of paper was gone, and with it all my notes, my
memoranda, relating to railways and travel, my letter of credit, in
fact all that might be useful to me were I once outside the castle.
I sat and pondered a while, and then some thought occurred to me,
and I made search of my portmanteau and in the wardrobe where I had
placed my clothes.

The suit in which I had travelled was gone, and also my overcoat and
rug; I could find no trace of them anywhere. This looked like some new
scheme of villainy...

17 June.- This morning, as I was sitting on the edge of my bed
cudgelling my brains, I heard without a cracking of whips and pounding
and scraping of horses' feet up the rocky path beyond the courtyard.
With joy I hurried to the window, and saw drive into the yard two
great leiter-wagons, each drawn by eight sturdy horses, and at the
head of each pair of Slovak, with his hat, great, nail-studded belt,
dirty sheepskin, and high boots. They had also their long staves in
hand. I ran to the door, intending to descend and try and join them
through the main hall, as I thought that way might be opened for them.
Again a shock: My door was fastened on the outside.

Then I ran to the window and cried to them. They looked up at me
stupidly and pointed, but just then the "hetman" of the Szgany came
out, and seeing them pointing to my window, said something, at which
they laughed. Henceforth no effort of mine, no piteous cry or agonised
entreaty, would make them even look at me. They resolutely turned
away. The leiter-wagons contained great, square boxes, with handles of
thick rope; these were evidently empty by the ease with which the
Slovaks handled them, and by their resonance as they were roughly
moved. When they were all unloaded and packed in a great heap in one
corner of the yard, the Slovaks were given some money by the Szgany,
and spitting on it for luck, lazily went each to his horse's head.