More great fiction of the strange from Bram Stoker
The fifth and final book in Leonaur's collection of the macabre fiction of Bram Stoker includes a strange and gothic tale that illustrates the author’s finely drawn perception of dark and ominous places and the sinister aspects of human nature. The evocatively titled 'The Snakes Pass’ is joined here by a final gripping selection of Stoker's shorter fiction including two novelettes, 'The Watter's Mou' and ‘The Chain of Destiny,’ and five short stories, 'The Coming of Abel Behenna,’ 'Buried Treasures,’ ‘Death in the Wings,’ 'A Lesson in Pets,’ and—so there is no doubt that this is a Bram Stoker collection—'The Spectre of Doom.’ Stoker’s loyal enthusiasts will, we trust, value this opportunity to read and possess perhaps an unprecedented collection of his finest fiction gathered together in this special coordinated Leonaur five volume set.
As I went I thought I heard a cry through the mist—Norah’s voice. It was but an instant, and I could not be sure whether my ears indeed heard, or if the anguish of my heart had created the phantom of a voice to deceive me. However, be it what it might, it awoke me like a clarion; my heart leaped and the blood surged in my brain till I almost became dizzy. I listened to try if I could distinguish from what direction the voice had come.<br>
I waited in agony. Each second seemed a century, and my heart beat like a trip-hammer. Then again I heard the sound—faint, but still clear enough to hear. I shouted with all my power, but once again the roar of the wind overpowered me; however, I ran on towards the voice.<br>
There was a sudden lull in the wind—a blaze of lightning lit up the whole scene, and, some fifty yards before me, I saw two figures struggling at the edge of the rocks. In that welcome glance, infinitesimal though it was, I recognized the red petticoat which, in that place and at that time, could be none other than Norah’s. I shouted as I leaped forward; but just then the thunder broke overhead, and in the mighty and prolonged roll every other sound faded into nothingness, as though the thunder-clap had come on a primeval stillness. As I drew near to where I had seen the figures, the thunder rolled away, and through its vanishing sound I heard distinctly Norah’s voice:<br>
“Help! help! Arthur! Father! help! help!” Even in that wild moment my heart leaped, that of all names, she called on mine the first.—Whatever men may say, Love and Jealousy are near kinsmen! I shouted in return as I ran, but the wind took my voice away; and then I heard her voice again, but fainter than before:<br>
“Help! Arthur—father! Is there no one to help me now?” And then the lightning flashed again, and in the long jagged flash we saw each other, and I heard her glad cry before the thunder-clap drowned all else. I had seen that her assailant was Murdock, and I rushed at him, but he had seen me too, and before I could lay hands on him he had let her go, and with a mighty oath which the roll of the thunder drowned, he struck her to the earth and ran.<br>
I raised my poor darling, and, carrying her a little distance, placed her on the edge of the ridge of rocks beside us, for by the light in the sky, which grew paler each second, I saw that a stream of water rising from the bog was flowing towards us. She was unconscious; so I ran to the stream and dipped my hat full of water to bring to revive her. Then I remembered the signal of finding her, and putting my hands to my lips I sounded “coo-ee” once, twice. As I stood I could see Murdock running to his house, for every instant it seemed to grow lighter, and the mist to disperse. The thunder had swept away the rain-clouds, and let in the light of the coming dawn.<br>
But even as I stood there—and I had not delayed an unnecessary second—the ground under me seemed to be giving way. There was a strange shudder or shiver below me, and my feet began to sink. With a wild cry—for I felt that the fatal moment had come, that the bog was moving, and had caught me in its toils—I threw myself forward towards the rock. My cry seemed to arouse Norah like the call of a trumpet. She leaped to her feet, and in an instant seemed to realize my danger, and rushed towards me. When I saw her coming I shouted to her:<br>
“Keep back! keep back.” But she did not pause an instant, and the only words she said were:<br>
“I am coming, Arthur, I am coming!”
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