THE NIGHT IN THE FISHERMAN’S HUT.—THE MIDNIGHT FEAST OF BLOOD.—THE
CHASE, AND THE GUN-SHOT.
The stranger, as he lay, listened to the sounds that were emitted by,
and occasionally opened his eyes to gaze upon, the flames, as they
ran upwards; he watched the forked tongues as they played about the
faggots, and then turned his eyes towards the various parts of the
apartment as it was now and then illuminated with its warm glare.
What might have been his feelings after his escape it is difficult to
conjecture, for he appeared not inclined to sleep, but to gaze about
him and keep watch over the fire, which every now and then blazed up
afresh; and his mind appeared to be intent upon something else than
merely thinking of the past—there was too much of inquiry and curiosity
about it.
“The time has come round again,” he muttered; “my blood requires
renewal, my strength renovation, and no aliment will do that but
maiden’s blood.”
A horrible expression of countenance came over him that must have
caused a feeling of horror to have crept through the veins of any one
who might have been near to see him; but, as it was, he was alone, and
there was no one to be terrified.
“Yes, yes; I must have that supply, else, though the sea may give up
its dead, and the earth refuse to cover me, yet I may sink into that
sleep I would so willingly escape from; then, indeed, I should suffer
what I cannot bear to think of.
“Yet how near have I been to that death from which I have believed it
impossible to return; but yet the moonbeams have found me, and I have
again been re-animated, and the horrible appetite has returned which
must have its periodical meal—its terrible and disgusting repast. It
must be done, aye, it must be done.”
As he muttered, his lips met, and his long tongue was occasionally
thrust out, as if he were anticipating the pleasures of the feast.
“Yes, yes; this very night must renew the life that has been this
night restored to me. I must make a fresh attempt. I think he said his
daughter lay in yonder chamber; in another hour I will adventure upon
this scheme.”
His eyes were fixed upon the door, which he appeared to watch and
examine with the utmost care and avidity.
He watched, however, for some time, and the flames appeared to subside,
and the embers gave out a dull, red glare, and some warmth.
“Now is the moment,” he muttered, as he rose softly from his bed; “now
is the moment—all are asleep, and stillness reigns around me. I will go
and ascertain if all be quiet, and then to my midnight orgies—a feast
that shall restore me to my life—my former self.”
He crawled out of the bed, and stood upright for a moment, and
listened, and then, with a noiseless step, he crept to the door of the
fisherman’s bedroom, and then listened for some seconds, and muttered
as if he were satisfied,—
“Yes, yes; they sleep sound enough, and will not readily awaken.”
He then took a small cord, and tied the handle of the door to a
nail on the post, so as to offer an impediment to egress from the
sleeping-room, and then he went towards the other which the fisherman
had told him belonged to his daughter. He paused, and listened at the
door for a few moments, and then he said,—
“Yes, yes; that is the maiden’s chamber—that is sure to be her
chamber—her father said so, and I have no reason to doubt he told the
truth, since he had no cause to lie; here, then, is the casket that
contains all my treasure—the elixir vitæ of my life—the undefiled blood
of a maiden’s veins.”
He tried the door, but it was secured on the inside.
This, for a moment, disconcerted him, and he took a moment or two to
consider what best could be done; and at length he saw a small chink
in the wall, which he approached; then, peeping in, he saw that if he
could enlarge the hole, he might push his hand in, and open the door by
undoing the fastenings.
This was effected by means of a chisel which happened to be lying near
at hand; then he opened it, and thrust in his hand and withdrew the
bolt that held the door, and quietly opened it.
With cat-like caution he approached the bed where the fisherman’s
daughter lay. She was a beautiful girl, scarce eighteen, and, by a
consent of all, the queen of the place, in respect of beauty.
With greedy eyes the vampyre approached the bed on which lay the
form of the sleeping maiden, and gazed upon her fair white neck and
bosom—heaving with the sleeper’s breath; and then, as if he could
contain himself no longer, he eagerly bent down over her, and then, as
her face was turned on one side, his lips and teeth approached the side
exposed.
• • • • •
A scream ran through the fisherman’s hut that awoke its inmates in an
instant, and which, though it banished sleep, yet it gave not the power
of thought.
“Help! help! help!” screamed the maiden.
“’Tis Mary!” said the fisherman; “surely——”
“Hasten, and see what ’tis that ails her. She never would scream so,
unless in utmost peril; hasten, and see.”
“Help! help! again screamed the maiden, as she struggled in the arms
of the monster, who kept her in his powerful grasp while he sought the
life current that crimsoned her veins with horrible desire.
“The door is secured; d——n!” muttered the fisherman. “What does this
mean? Give me my gun down, while I force the door.”
The old woman handed down the gun, while the fisherman put his strength
to the door, which quickly gave way and flew open.
“Here is your gun. Be quick; but do not be too hasty in its use. See to
Mary and the shipwrecked voyager.”
“Who secured my door, dame, but he?”
“The door! Ay, I remember—hasten!”
“Help—help!” again shouted or screamed Mary, but not in so loud a voice
as before; she was getting weaker, and just as the fisherman emerged
into the large room, the faggots fell together and gave forth a sudden
blaze, and in an instant the whole place was lighted up, and the
fisherman’s eye sought the couch of the stranger whom he had lodged,
but the bed was empty.
“Gone!” he muttered—“gone!”
He turned his head in the direction of his daughter’s bedchamber, and
saw the door was open, and he heard a struggle and a sucking noise.
“Ha!” he muttered, and rushed in exclaiming—“What means this noise? Who
calls for help?”
The appearance of the fisherman was so opportune and so sudden, and so
intent was the vampyre upon the hideous meal, that he did not hear the
approach of the fisherman, and it was not until the latter shouted that
he turned and saw him.
“Treacherous and ungrateful villain!” said the fisherman, who was
almost powerless from terror and astonishment.
The vampyre turned and dropped his victim on the bed, while he
endeavoured to pass the fisherman; but the act recalled him to himself,
and he made a blow at him with the butt-end of the gun; but the vampyre
jumped back, and the blow missed its intended object, and they both
closed for a struggle.
The fisherman, however, found that he had one to do with whose strength
was even greater than his own, however great that might be; and in a
moment more he was thrown down, and the monster rushed across the outer
room, oversetting the fisherman’s wife; and forcing open the outer
door, he fled.
“I am thrown,” said the fisherman, rising; “but not done for. Mary, are
you hurt?”
“Oh, my God—my God!” exclaimed the poor girl. “He had begun to eat me
and suck my blood! I have the marks of his teeth in me.”
“I’ll have revenge upon him yet.”
“Nay, father. He is some monster—do not go!”
“No, no,” said his wife—“no, husband, do not attempt it!” Strong he is;
he may do you a mischief.”
“I know,” said the fisherman. “He has thrown me, and he has abused my
hospitality; he is not fit to live. He has not, however, any means of
fighting against the contents of my gun. I have got that loaded, and
will punish him. Be he man or devil, I will make the experiment of
following him.”
All this took place in less time than it takes to relate it, and the
fisherman rushed out of his hut to follow the stranger who had acted so
badly.
It was now early dawn; and, though the waves still lashed the shore in
angry violence, and kept up a ceaseless roar, yet the sky betrayed none
of the signs of yesterday’s storm, but was serene and calm, and not a
cloud was to be seen—nothing but a dim, grey night pervaded all space.
There was just light enough to see objects moving about, and when the
fisherman got outside the hut, he saw, about a hundred yards or better
before him, the form of the stranger, making for the woodland at the
height of his speed.
The fisherman hastened to intercept him which, however, was
unnecessary, for another, coming from that quarter, turned him, and
he fled towards the sea, whither he was followed, and, when upon the
cliffs, the fisherman fired, and the vampyre fell over and was supposed
to have been drowned.
[Illustration: The fisherman fired, and the vampyre fell from the
cliff.]