Bram Stoker's HANNIBAL

Chapter 67: Till the Dead Midnight

Report from Chief Attendant Matthew Brown to Frederick Chilton, M. D.

20th October

My dear Sir,—

In accordance with your wishes, I enclose a report of the conditions of everything left in my charge... [redacted]

With regard to patient Randall Tier, there is more to say. He has had another outbreak, which might have had a dreadful ending, but which, as it fortunately happened, was unattended with any unhappy results. This afternoon a carrier's cart with two men made a call at Carfax, Count Lecter's estate, whose grounds abut ours—the house to which, you will remember, the patient twice ran away. The men stopped at our gate to ask the porter their way, as they were strangers.

I was myself looking out of the study window, having a smoke after dinner, and saw one of them come up to the house. As he passed the window of Tier's room, the patient began to rate him from within, and called him all the foul names he could lay his tongue to. The man, who seemed a decent fellow enough, contented himself by telling him to "shut up for a foul-mouthed beggar," whereon our man accused him of "sticking his nose where it doesn't belong" and to tarry the delivery until the next day, as they were not expected until tomorrow. How he would have known that, I can't even guess, but apparently it was true. "If you step foot in that old chapel I'll tear your throat out," Tier repeated several times.

I opened the window and signed to the man not to notice, so he contented himself after looking the place over and making up his mind as to what kind of a place he had got to by saying: 'Lor' bless yer, sir, I wouldn't mind what was said to me in a bloomin' madhouse. I pity ye and the guv'nor for havin' to live in the house with a wild beast like that.'

"What are you delivering?" I asked, though it wasn't my business. I thought it might have something to do with why Tier was so upset.

"Boxes of experimental earth," the man replied. "We already brought a load before the man o' the house rightly moved in, and now we've got the rest." Then he asked his way civilly enough, and I told him where Carfax's gate was; he went away, followed by threats and curses and revilings from Randall Tier, who again repeated that they were to come back the next day, that he wasn't ready, whatever that was supposed to mean.

I went down to see if I could make out any cause for his anger. I found him, to my astonishment, quite composed and most genial in his manner. I tried to get him to talk of the incident, but he blandly asked me questions as to what I meant, and led me to believe that he was completely oblivious of the affair. Then he again apologized for biting off and eating that bit of my ear.

It was, I am sorry to say, however, only another instance of his cunning, for within half an hour I heard of him again. This time he had somehow got free and was running down the avenue. I called the attendants to follow me, and ran after him, for I feared he was intent on some mischief. My fear was justified when I saw the same cart which had passed before coming down the road, having on it some great wooden boxes. The men were wiping their foreheads, and were flushed in the face, as if with violent exercise. Before I could get up to him the patient rushed at them, and pulling one of them off the cart, began to knock his head against the ground and bite him as if he was fulfilling the prophecy of being called a savage beast.

If I had not seized him just at the moment I believe he would have killed the man there and then. The other fellow jumped down and struck him over the head with the butt-end of his heavy whip. It was a terrible blow; but he did not seem to mind it, but seized him also, and struggled with the three of us, pulling us to and fro as if we were kittens. You know I am no light weight, and the others were both burly men. At first he was silent in his fighting; but as we began to master him, and the attendants were putting a strait-waistcoat on him, he began to shout: 'I'll frustrate them! They shan't rob me! It isn't ready yet! I'll fight for my creation, what I have made for my Lord and Master!' and all sorts of similar incoherent ravings.