a force for good might he not be in this old world of
ours. But we are pledged to set the world free. Our toil must be in
silence, and our efforts all in secret. For in this enlightened age,
when men believe not even what they see, the doubting of wise men
would be his greatest strength. It would be at once his sheath and
his armor, and his weapons to destroy us, his enemies, who are willing
to peril even our own souls for the safety of one we love. For the
good of mankind, and for the honour and glory of God."

After a general discussion it was determined that for tonight nothing
be definitely settled. That we should all sleep on the facts, and try
to think out the proper conclusions. Tomorrow, at breakfast, we are
to meet again, and after making our conclusions known to one another,
we shall decide on some definite cause of action . . .

I feel a wonderful peace and rest tonight. It is as if some haunting
presence were removed from me. Perhaps . . .

My surmise was not finished, could not be, for I caught sight in the
mirror of the red mark upon my forehead, and I knew that I was still
unclean.

DR. SEWARD'S DIARY

5 October.--We all arose early, and I think that sleep did much for
each and all of us. When we met at early breakfast there was more
general cheerfulness than any of us had ever expected to experience
again.

It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature.
Let any obstructing cause, no matter what, be removed in any way, even
by death, and we fly back to first principles of hope and enjoyment.
More than once as we sat around the table, my eyes opened in wonder
whether the whole of the past days had not been a dream. It was only
when I caught sight of the red blotch on Mrs. Harker's forehead that I
was brought back to reality. Even now, when I am gravely revolving
the matter, it is almost impossible to realize that the cause of all
our trouble is still existent. Even Mrs. Harker seems to lose sight
of her trouble for whole spells. It is only now and again, when
something recalls it to her mind, that she thinks of her terrible
scar. We are to meet here in my study in half an hour and decide on
our course of action. I see only one immediate difficulty, I know it
by instinct rather than reason. We shall all have to speak frankly.
And yet I fear that in some mysterious way poor Mrs. Harker's tongue
is tied. I know that she forms conclusions of her own, and fro