me
way a counteractant to his grief. The Professor unlocked the door,
and seeing a natural hesitation amongst us for various reasons, solved
the difficulty by entering first himself. The rest of us followed,
and he closed the door. He then lit a dark lantern and pointed to a
coffin. Arthur stepped forward hesitatingly. Van Helsing said to me,
"You were with me here yesterday. Was the body of Miss Lucy in that
coffin?"

"It was."

The Professor turned to the rest saying, "You hear, and yet there is
no one who does not believe with me."

He took his screwdriver and again took off the lid of the coffin.
Arthur looked on, very pale but silent. When the lid was removed he
stepped forward. He evidently did not know that there was a leaden
coffin, or at any rate, had not thought of it. When he saw the rent
in the lead, the blood rushed to his face for an instant, but as
quickly fell away again, so that he remained of a ghastly whiteness.
He was still silent. Van Helsing forced back the leaden flange, and
we all looked in and recoiled.

The coffin was empty!

For several minutes no one spoke a word. The silence was broken by
Quincey Morris, "Professor, I answered for you. Your word is all I
want. I wouldn't ask such a thing ordinarily, I wouldn't so dishonour
you as to imply a doubt, but this is a mystery that goes beyond any
honour or dishonour. Is this your doing?"

"I swear to you by all that I hold sacred that I have not removed or
touched her. What happened was this. Two nights ago my friend Seward
and I came here, with good purpose, believe me. I opened that coffin,
which was then sealed up, and we found it as now, empty. We then
waited, and saw something white come through the trees. The next day
we came here in daytime and she lay there. Did she not, friend John?

"Yes."

"That night we were just in time. One more so small child was
missing, and we find it, thank God, unharmed amongst the graves.
Yesterday I came here before sundown, for at sundown the UnDead can
move. I waited here all night till the sun rose, but I saw nothing.
It was most probable that it was because I had laid over the clamps of
those doors garlic, which the UnDead cannot bear, and other things
which they shun. Last night there was no exodus, so tonight before
the sundown I took away my garlic and other things. And so it is we
find this coffin empty. But bear with me. So far there is much that
is strange. Wait