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in the river harbor. There we saw the Captain, Donelson by name, who told us of his voyage. He said that in all his life he had never had so favorable a run. Man! he said, but it made us afeard, for we expect it that we should have to pay for it wi some rare piece o ill luck, so as to keep up the average. Its no canny to run frae London to the Black Sea wi a wind ahint ye, as though the Deil himself were blawin on yer sail for his ain purpose. An a the time we could no speer a thing.Gin we were nigh a ship, or a port, or a headland, a fog fell on us and travelled wi us,till when after it had lifted and we looked out, the deil a thing could we see. We ran by Gibraltar wi oot bein able to signal. An til we came to the Dardanelles and had to wait to get our permit to pass, we never were within hail o aught. At first I inclined to slack off sail and beat about till the fog was lifted. But whiles, I thocht that if the Deil was minded to get us into the Black Sea quick, he was like to do it whether we would or no.If we had a quick voyage it would be no to our miscredit withe owners, or no hurt to our traffic,an the Old Mon who had served his ain purpose wad be decently grateful to us for no hinderin him. This mixture of simplicity and cunning, of superstition and commercial reasoning, aroused Van Helsing,who said, Mine friend, that Devil is more clever than he is thought by some, and he know when he meet his match! The skipper was not displeased with the compliment, and went on, When we got past the Bosphorus the men began to grumble. Some o them, the Roumanians, came and asked me to heave overboard a big box which had been put on board by a queer lookin old man just before we had started frae London. I had seen them speer at the fellow, and put out their twa fingers when they saw him,to guard them against the evil eye. Man! but the supersteetion of foreigners is pairfectly rideeculous! I sent them aboot their business pretty quick, but as just after a fog closed in on us I felt a wee bit as they did anent something, though I wouldnt say it was again the big box. Well, on we went, and as the fog didnt let up for five days I joost let the wind carry us, for if the Deil wanted to get somewheres, well, he would fetch it up areet. An if he didnt, well, wed keep a sharp lookout anyhow. Sure eneuch, we had a fair way and deep water all the time. And two days ago, when the mornin sun came through the fog, we found ourselves just in the river opposite Galatz. The Roumanians were wild, and wanted me right or wrong to take out the box and fling it in the river. I had to argy wi them aboot it wi a handspike. An when the last o them rose off the deck wi his head in his hand, I had convinced them that, evil eye or no evil eye, the property and the trust of my owners were better in my hands than in the river Danube.They had, mind ye, taken the box on the deck ready to fling in, and as it was marked Galatz via Varna,I thocht Id let it lie till we discharged in the port an get rid ot althegither. We didnt do much clearin that day, an had to remain the nicht at anchor. But in the mornin, braw an airly, an hour before sunup, a man came aboard wi an order, written to him from England, to receive a box marked for one Count Dracula. Sure eneuch the matter was one ready to his hand. He had his papers a reet, an gla d I was to be rid o the dam thing, for I was beginnin masel to feel uneasy at it. If the Deil did have any luggage aboord the ship,Im thinkin it was nane ither than that same! What was the name of the man who took it? asked Dr. Van Helsing with restrained eagerness. Ill be tellin ye quick! he answered, and stepping down to his cabin, produced a receipt signed Immanuel Hildesheim. Burgen-strasse 16 was the address. We found out that this was all the Captain knew, so with thanks we came away. We found Hildesheim in his office, a Hebrew of rather the Adelphi Theatre type, with a nose like a sheep, and a fez. His arguments were pointed with specie, we doing the punctuation, and with a little bargaining he told us what he knew. This turned out to be simple but important. He had received a letter from Mr. de Ville of London, telling him to receive, if possible before sunrise so as to avoid customs, a box which would arrive at Galatz in the Czarina Catherine. This he was to give in charge to a certain Petrof Skinsky, who dealt with the Slovaks who traded down the river to the port. He had been paid for his work by an English bank note, which had been duly cashed for gold at the Danube International Bank. |
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