Chapter Three. Renfield's Pets
Letter from Lucy Westenra to Mina Murray – 24th May
Thank you and thank you again for your lovely letter. Now, I have more news for you. Today has been a fantastic day. Three men asked me to marry them. Yes, three! And all on the same day. I feel very sorry for two of them. Mina, I'm so happy. Please don't tell anyone. But of course, you can tell Jonathan.
Number one was Dr John Seward. A few months ago, Arthur introduced me to him. He's very clever and very interesting. He's only 29 years old and he's already an important doctor. He's the head doctor in a psychiatric hospital. I like him very much. But I don't love him. We've decided to stay friends.
Number two came just after lunch. He's a man from Texas. His name's Mr Quincey P. Morris. He's a very nice man. He's also a friend of Arthur's. But, I'm sorry. I said no to him, too. He was sad, but very kind.
Then came number three. I don't need to tell you about him. Yes, Mina, it's Arthur! Arthur wants to marry me. I'm so happy! I hope he'll still be friends with John and Quincey. They're all very nice men. I don't want him to lose his friends. But Mina, I'm so, so happy,
Love Lucy
Dr John Seward's Diary (recorded on phonograph) – 25th May
I'm sad today. Yesterday, I asked Lucy to marry me. She said no. I've decided to think about my work. That usually helps. So, I went to see some of the patients. There's one patient who's very interesting: Name – R. M. Renfield. Age – 59. Sometimes calm. Sometimes angry. Sometimes depressed. Very, very strong. Possibly dangerous.
I must talk to him more. I want to find out more about him.
Mina Murray's Diary – 24th July – Whitby
Lucy came to meet me at the station. Whitby is a lovely town, by the sea. There's an old abbey at the top of the hill. Next to the abbey, is a graveyard. It's on a cliff. There are some wonderful views up there. People often go up there to walk. Lucy and I went for a walk there, this afternoon. There are some lovely walks along the cliffs. You can sit there, too and watch the ships in the harbour.
1st August
We went up to the abbey again today. We sat in the graveyard and looked at the view. Lucy talked a lot about Arthur. She talked about her wedding. I'm happy for her, but I was also a little sad. I haven't heard anything from Jonathan for almost a month.
Later, I went up to the graveyard alone. I could see the lights from the ships. I thought about Jonathan. I hope he's well and nothing has happened. I want to see him. I miss him.
Dr Seward's Diary – 5th June
Renfield is a very interesting patient. He has the look of a killer in his eyes. But he has a good quality; he likes animals. At the moment, he likes flies. The flies are his pets. He's got a lot. He gives them sugar and they come to him. I think that there are too many.
18th June
Now Renfield likes spiders. So, spiders are his new pets. He gives the flies to the spiders. The spiders eat them. There aren't many flies left now.
1st July
Renfield has now got a lot of spiders. He's got a notebook, where he writes lots of notes. I think they're notes about the spiders.
8th July
Now, he has a new pet. He's got a little bird. There aren't so many spiders now. He gives the spiders to the bird. The bird eats them.
19th July
Renfield has now got a lot of birds. They come to him for food. I went to see him. He was very pleased to see me. He asked me for something. ‘I want a kitten,' he said. ‘I want a kitten that I can feed and feed and feed.'
I was ready for this. First, he had some flies. Then, he had some spiders. His spiders ate the flies. Then, he had some birds. His birds ate the spiders. Now, he wants a cat. I understood his plan. ‘I'll think about it,' I said to him. He looked at me. He was angry. He's an interesting patient.
Evening
I went to see Renfield again. He was crying. He asked me again and again, ‘Can I have a kitten? Please, please, please!'
I said no.
20th July
I went to see him this morning. He was happy. He was giving sugar to flies again. There weren't any birds in his room. But there was some blood. He says the birds have gone away. I think he's eaten them. He's definitely a killer. He needs my help.
Mina Murray's Diary – 26th July
I'm very worried. Lucy isn't sleeping very well. She's walking in her sleep. Tonight I'm locking the door. I don't want her to hurt herself. Her mother, Mrs Westenra, thinks this is a good idea.
3rd August
There's still no news from Jonathan. I looked at his last letter. It's a little strange. It's in his writing, but he seems very formal. I hope he isn't ill. I hope he's alright.
I'm not sleeping very well, because Lucy is still walking in her sleep. She gets out of bed, then she goes to the door. When she finds it's locked, she goes to look for the key. I'm worried about her.
6th August
The weather is very stormy today. Lucy and I went up to the cliff. The fishing boats were all coming home before the storm. A kind old man came to talk to us. His name's Mr Sales. He was once a sailor. We all saw a ship in the distance. The old man thinks it's an empty ship. He can see by the way it moves in the wind. He says the ship will probably come to the harbour tomorrow. The storm will bring it.
Reports from The Dailygraph newspaper – from Mina Harker's diary
8th August – Whitby – Report by George White
Whitby Storm Mystery!
During last night's terrible storm in Whitby, a Russian ship, the Demeter, came into the harbour. The captain of the ship was dead. He had a cross in his hand. There was no-one else on the ship. People saw a huge dog. It jumped off the ship and ran up the hill to the graveyard. Local people have tried to find the dog. They want to give it food.
9th August – Whitby – Report by George White
Russian Captain'sDiary Found!
The Russian ship, the Demeter, is carrying fifty wooden boxes. They're full of earth, for scientific research. A Whitby lawyer, Mr Billington, has instructions to send them to a house in the village of Carfax.
No-one has seen the huge dog.
A translation of the captain's diary follows:
14th July – The sailors are afraid. They say that there's something on the ship. Then they make the sign of the cross.
19th July – Petrofsky is missing. Olgaren says there's a strange man on the ship.
26th July – Another sailor disappeared today. The other men are all frightened. I have my gun with me. We can't find the strange man.
30th July – There are only four of us on the ship now. I don't understand what's happening.
3rd August – Someone cried in the night. I went to look outside. There was no-one at the wheel. I've searched the ship. I'm alone. I'm the captain, I must stay with my ship. Help me God!
The next page was blank. What happened on the Demeter? We demand to know.
10th August – Whitby – Report by George White
DeadDogson Baker'sFarm
Another Whitby mystery. Who, or what, killed the dogs on Baker's farm? William Baker found his dogs this morning. They were covered in blood. Is Whitby safe?
Mina Murray's Diary – 8th August
Lucy didn't sleep very well last night. She got up twice and got dressed. I put her back to bed. I think the storm disturbed her.
This morning, we went down to the harbour together. It was a beautiful day. The air was clear and fresh. The old sailor was right. The empty ship was in the harbour. The poor captain was dead. Some people saw a huge dog. It ran off the boat. Lucy and I tried to find it. We wanted to give it some food and water. We couldn't find it.
10th August
It was the poor captain's funeral today. Some of the sea captains from the harbour carried the coffin up the hill. All the sailors followed. My kind old sailor, Mr Sales, wasn't there. He died this morning, too. They found him by our favourite seat, near the abbey. He had a broken neck. People say he looked frightened. What happened to him?
I want Lucy to sleep well tonight. We're going to go for a long walk. Then she'll be tired and she'll sleep.
11th August, 3 a.m.
I can't sleep now, I'm too worried. I woke up at about 1 o'clock. Lucy wasn't here. I went downstairs to look for her. The front door was open. I ran outside and looked in the street. There was no-one there. I looked for her everywhere. Then I thought about the abbey and our favourite seat. I began to climb the hill. Then I saw her. She was lying on our seat. Was she sleeping? There was a man near her. ‘Lucy! Lucy!' I shouted. She didn't answer. The man looked up and I saw a very white face and red eyes. Then he ran away.
Lucy was still sleeping, but she looked cold. I put my coat around her neck, but I think I hurt her. I saw a little blood on her neck. There were two small marks there. Then, I woke her up. I carefully took her home. I put her to bed. I locked the door and have the key around my wrist.
Same day, much later, night-time
I woke Lucy in the morning. She didn't look tired after her busy night. She looked very well. We had a happy day together. We had a picnic by the sea with Mrs Westenra. I'm sad that Jonathan isn't here. I miss him very much. Again, I've locked the door of our room. The key is around my wrist. But I don't think there'll be any problems tonight.
12th August
I was wrong. Lucy got up twice in the night. She was asleep, but she seemed very worried that the door was locked. Both times, she went back to bed, but she was almost angry.
