There was no door near them, and they could not have passed me without my noticingThey simply seemed to fade into the rays of the moonlight and pass out through the window, for I could see outside the dim, shadowy forms for a moment before they entirely faded away Then the horror overcame me, and I sank down unconscious CHAPTER 4 Jonathan Harker's Journal Continued I awoke in my own bedIf it be that I had not dreamt, the Count must have carried me hereI tried to satisfy myself on the subject, but could not arrive at any unquestionable resultTo be sure, there were certain small evidences, such as that my clothes were folded and laid by in a manner which was not my habitMy watch was still unwound, and I am rigorously accustomed to wind it the last thing before going to bed, and many such detailsBut these things are no proof, for they may have been evidences that my mind was not as usual, and, for some cause or another, I had certainly been much upsetI must watch for proofOf one thing I am gladIf it was that the Count carried me here and undressed me, he must have been hurried in his task, for my pockets are intactI am sure this diary would have been a mystery to him which he would not have brookedHe would have taken or destroyed itAs I look round this room, although it has been to me so full of fear, it is now a sort of sanctuary, for nothing can be more dreadful than those awful women, who were, who are, waiting to suck my blood-I have been down to look at that room again in daylight, for I must know the truthWhen I got to the doorway at the top of the stairs I found it closedIt had been so forcibly driven against the jamb that part of the woodwork was splinteredI could see that the bolt of the lock had not been shot, but the door is fastened from the insideI fear it was no dream, and must act on this surmise-I am surely in the toilsLast night the Count asked me in the suavest tones to write three letters, one saying that my work here was nearly done, and that I should start for home within a few days, another that I was starting on the next morning from the time of the letter, and the third that I had left the castle and arrived at BistritzI would fain have rebelled, but felt that in the present state of things it would be madness to quarrel openly with the Count whilst I am so absolutely in his powerAnd to refuse would be to excite his suspicion and to arouse his angerHe knows that I know too much, and that I must not live, lest I be dangerous to himMy only chance is to prolong my opportunitiesSomething may occur which will give me a chance to escapeI saw in his eyes something of that gathering wrath which was manifest when he hurled that fair woman from himHe explained to me that posts were few and uncertain, and that my writing now would ensure ease of mind to my friendsAnd he assured me with so much impressiveness that he would countermand the later letters, which would be held over at Bistritz until due time in case chance would admit of my prolonging my stay, that to oppose him would have been to create new suspicionI therefore pretended to fall in with his views, and asked him what dates I should put on the letters He calculated a minute, and then said, "The first should be June 12, the second June 19, and the third June 29 I know now the span of my lifeGod help me! 28 May-There is a chance of escape, or at any rate of being able to send word homeA band of Szgany have come to the castle, and are encamped in the courtyardI have notes of them in my bookThey are peculiar to this part of the world, though allied to the ordinary gipsies all the world overThere are thousands of them in Hungary and Transylvania, who are almost outside all lawThey attach themselves as a rule to some great noble or boyar, and call themselves by his shop name