"But how else can we explain these terrible deaths?" "Von Else last night, five others before him..." "That's six within as many weeks, Inspector." "Our friends, neighbors that we've known for years drained of their life's blood, found dead in bed, lifeless skeletons of skin and bone." "Vampires are at large, I tell you!" "Vampires!" "Yes." "Malignant demons who issue forth from their graves in the dead of night to attack their victims and drink the blood from their veins." "Brrr." "Brettschneid, er, don't jest." "Ah, that bloodsucking legend belongs in the same category with werewolves and all other peasant superstitions." "But the bats, man, the bats." "God, yes." "Big ones, so." "Oh, now we're switching to bats again?" "There was an epidemic of giant bats in Klineschloss in 1643." "And at the same time, there was an outbreak of vampirism." "Rot." "Why, this record from the town archive proves it." "Says it, not proves it." "Well, I'll show you." "I'll show you." "Now, ah, here it is." "And on this day was von Haussmann hanged from a gibbet in the public square after being convicted on a proven charge of vampirism." "And on this same day there did occur the departure of the bats..." "Thousands of horrible flying creatures which infested the town for weeks." "And on the night of this same day, February 13 in the year of our Lord 1643, was there a stake driven through von Haussmann's heart and his head cut off with a gravedigger's shovel." "There!" "Well, all the records in the world can't make me believe in vampires." "There are bloodsucking bats, yes, in South America, thousands of miles from here." "But not in Klineschloss." "But bats fly." "They could fly here." "You saw the bodies..." "All of them." "Two wounds on the neck right at the jugular vein." "Two wounds on the neck pierced and spread apart just as if two fang-like teeth had bitten through the flesh and right into the veins." "And in every case a blood clot eight inches from the victim's neck." "The mark of the feast..." "The devil's signature." "Does that appear the mark of a human being or a demon's?" "God save us, the devils." "You ought to make a pretty fair meal for a vampire." "But let's be consistent." "Are these human vampires or..." "Or bats?" "Vampires can take the shape of a human or a bat just as they choose." "Oh, they're magicians." "Well, it doesn't make sense to me." "The whole village is in terror." "We live in closed houses behind locked doors and bolted shutters not daring to close our eyes, fearful lest this unseen silent death may find us in our sleep for it is then that it strikes, swiftly, silently, ghastly." "My room is tightly closed." "The windows are barred, nailed down..." "Nothing can get in, nothing." "But they tell me vampires can go through stone walls like that." "God save me, so they can." "We've got to do something, I tell you." "Klineschloss will become a deserted village." "Well, you might catch all the bats and drown them in the river." "Karl, Karl!" "While you're hunting for vampires and chasing bats," "I'm looking for a human being..." "Well, then don't jest about it." "I'm trying to." "Every hour, every day, every night, since this thing started." "Do you hear it?" "Hear it?" "Yes." "Night after night, lying awake until dawn, waiting..." "For what?" "I don't know." "That's what I thought." "Good night, gentlemen." "Don't let the vampires get you." "Are your kisses dynamite!" "Don't you like my kisses?" "Hm, hm." "Well, how's my mastermind, this evening?" "Well, if you want the truth, not so good." "The burgermeister and his grand council still stick to the vampire theory, huh?" "Stick to it?" "Huh!" "They're quoting history to prove it." "I think you and Dr. von Niemann are the only sane people left in the village." "What about you?" "Hm, me?" "Well, I'm beginning to think I'm seven different kinds of a fool." "Murders are being done under my very nose." "I must be as blind as the bats themselves." "I can't find a single clue." "Oh, but you will, Karl." "You will." "Well, I haven't." "Oh, Ruth!" "And here comes dear Aunt Gussie to spread good cheer and hope." "Just what I thought." "Slaving your life away in this awful place." "It hasn't got that nice, clean, wholesome smell of a hospital." "How are you, Karl?" "Oh, quite well, thank you." "Well, I'm not." "This clammy old place is bound to give me pericarditis, endocarditus, neuritus, uh, this... well, anyway, rheumatism." "Would you like some coffee?" "No, thank you, Frau Schnappmann." "Well, it's just as well." "There's only two cups." "Here, dear." "That will take the chill out of your bones." "Thank you." "Speaking of chills, Frau Schnappmann, did you know the village is supposed to be infested with ghouls and vampires?" "Oh, Karl!" "Vampires... pariahs among fiends." "Demoniacal creatures with huge canine teeth who bite deeply into the necks of their victims to quaff and gorge on blood, warm, human blood." "There is no such thing as a vampire, Karl Brettschneider." "I don't believe in it." "You're just saying that to frighten me." "And I just won't be frightened." "I'm entirely too sensible to believe in such rubbish." "I beg your pardon." "Oh, so it's you." "I'm sorry if I frightened you." "Who said you frightened me?" "I'm not afraid of anything." "Could you tell me where Dr. von Niemann is?" "Well, he drove to the village to see Martha, the old apple." "Thank you." "Is this what Dr. Haupt prescribed?" "Yes, sir." "She takes it in water." "Hm." "Well, continue giving it to her." "Yes, sir." "It's stifling in here." "Open these windows." "Yes, sir." "Herman open windows, me do, me do." "Well, she'll sleep well now, poor soul." "It won't be necessary for you to stay here." "A good night's sleep will work wonders for her." "It was kind of you to come, Doctor." "Oh, Martha has sold me apples for many years, always a good, ripe juicy one." "Martha give me apples." "I like." "Ha, ha, ha, ha." "Shh!" "She wants her cross." "Herman get." "Here." "Here now, there, for Martha." "There." "No!" "She won't let it out of her sight." "A terrible experience." "To be attacked by a giant bat is enough to shatter anyone's nerves." "She talks about it all the time, how it flew in her face and tried to sink its teeth in her throat." "No!" "Bats no do." "They soft, like cat." "They not bite Herman." "Be quiet, Herman." "See what you've done!" "There, there, there, Martha." "There." "Shh." "Shh." "She'll be all right." "If she isn't, let me know." "Thank you for coming, Doctor." "That's all right." "Goodnight." "Goodnight." "Run along, Herman." "You can see Martha tomorrow." "Oh!" "Ah, Dr. von Niemann." "Hi, Kringen, how are you?" "Much better, thank you kindly, sir, since you prescribed for me." "That's right." "Go to bed, Herman." "Go to bed." "You shouldn't be prowling the streets, it's dangerous." "I'm afraid." "Afraid?" "Afraid of what, Kringen?" "The bats, sir." "Big giant bats with wings like an eagle's." "You saw this bat, you say?" "I saw it swooping down the street." "It came directly for my throat, sir." "When was this, Kringen?" "Last night, when they came to take von Else." "It was a big monstrous thing." "I saw it leap across the alley and into a window." "I ran just as fast as my legs could carry me." "And you said nothing about this?" "There's enough fear in the village already." "Maybe I should." "Maybe I sh..." "I will." "I'll tell the burgermeister." "Yes, Kringen, that's the thing to do." "No!" "Bats, bats good." "They not hurt Herman!" "He plays with them." "You..." "You no tell?" "No." "No, no, no." "Now... now go to bed, Herman." "Go on." "Go on, go to bed." "You say he plays with bats?" "His garret is filled with them." "He makes pets of them." "That's odd." "Very odd." "Maybe... maybe he's it." "Herman prowls around the streets all hours of the night, just like an animal." "Maybe he's the vampire." "Now don't start any gossip with that," "Kringen." "Heaven only knows where it might end." "Goodnight." "Goodnight, sir." "All right." "There, now!" "Soft." "Nice." "There." "There, you see?" "What did I tell you?" "Perhaps there's something in what Kringen says." "It seems strange that a human being should want to play with bats." "Agh!" "Ha, ha, ha, ha." "Ha, ha, ha, ha!" "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha." "He isn't human, I tell you." "He's in league with the devil!" "Yes." "Put it on." "Put it on." "There." "Thanks." "Now go to sleep." "You'll be all right in a few days." "The doctor says so." "Close the window!" "Close the window!" "I'm afraid!" "The vampire.." "Well, he said leave them open." "But I'd have them closed." "Do you want the light?" "Leave the light." "I'm afraid!" "Well, I can't blame you for that, either." "I'll turn it down a little." "Goodnight." "If you want me, just pound on the floor." "I'll hear you." "All right, goodnight." "Goodnight, Martha." "Herr Brettschneider is here to see you, sir." "He's in the laboratory with Miss Bertin." "Oh, thank you." "Ah, here you are!" "Good evening, Doctor." "Good evening, Ruth." "How are you, Karl?" "Well, I'd feel a lot better if I can find the solution to these murders." "You don't believe in this vampire theory then?" "Of course." "Do you?" "There are many strange happenings, my boy." "Many mysteries beyond the power of the human mind to comprehend." "Have you a theory which might explain these deaths?" "Well, I'll be pleased to discuss it with you." "But, uh, not now." "Not now." "I have some very important work to do." "Well, tomorrow then?" "Tomorrow?" "Yeah, yes, perhaps." "Uh, we'll see." "Oh, this isn't so important, Miss Bertin, that you can't let it go till tomorrow." "All right." "Thank you, Doctor." "Oh, uh... how about Martha?" "Huh?" "Oh, nothing serious." "Just a case of nerves, that's all." "Goodnight." "Goodnight, Doctor." "Goodnight, Karl." "Name?" "Martha Mueller." "Age?" "I don't know." "Cause of death?" "Like all the rest." "The vampire?" "Yes, yes." "That's so." "When I said I was going to tell you..." "His eyes glowed up like coals of fire." "His hand reached out towards me as if he were going to sink it into my throat." "And weigh this well, he never works and never bathes, and yet he appears well-fed, always." "That's so, he does." "Well, what does he live on then?" "I'll wager it's as Kringen says." "And my woman was in Martha's room tonight when Herman put a flower in her hand." "Strange business, if you'll ask me." "Mighty strange." "I'd hate to be in your shoes, Kringen." "Yes, after what happened tonight," "I'd lock myself in my room and pray God to protect me from the devil!" "It's Dr. von Niemann." "Good evening, Herr Doctor." "Good evening." "Doctor von Niemann." "Herr Doctor." "It's the vampire." "The vampire!" "The vampire!" "Well, what do you make of it, Doctor?" "Are these two wounds similar to those found on the other bodies?" "Dr. Haupt can answer that for you, sir." "Yes, they were the same in every case." "This is a strange condition, Karl." "So strange that I doubt the evidence of my eyes." "What was your conclusion, Haupt?" "I diagnosed the wounds as having been made by needle-sharp teeth." "Punctures are clean-cut, penetrating into, but not beyond the jugular vein." "Do you mean to say that you also believe they could have been made by teeth?" "Frankly, I do." "Aha!" "You see, Brettschneider?" "What kind of teeth, Doctor?" "An animal of some sort." "It's hard to say." "The fangs of a wolf, perhaps." "A werewolf." "Could they have been made by, well, a bat, for instance?" " A - certain species, yes." "There are vampire bats." "Dr. William Gamerson, who explored many of the tributaries of the upper Amazon, states that bloodsucking bats do exist." "He further asserts that the victims often become blood drinkers themselves, citing a case in which he saw a native tortured to death on an ant hill by his tribe brothers." "They swore he had become a human bat." "And, states Gamerson, he confessed it." "Do you mean to say that such a thing as a human vampire is possible?" "Who can say?" "Historic records would have us believe that an evil soul..." "Assuming there is such..." "Can take any shape it pleases." "So why not get into that of a human being?" "Hey, Karl?" "Why not?" "Have on any literature on the subject, Doctor?" "I have many interesting volumes on my shelves that might prove very enlightening." "I'll be glad to show them to you." "Well, I don't mind admitting that I'm up a tree." "Stumped!" "Well, we'll see what can be done, my boy." "Uh, no, no, no, Herman." "This is no place for you." "Go away!" "Goodnight, Shawn." "Uh, uh, Goodnight, Doctor." "See you in the morning, Karl." "Thank you, Doctor." "I'm sorry to have dragged you out at such an ungodly hour." "That's all right." "That's all right." "A child, fleeing in the horror of the sight of death." "There goes the vampire!" "Arrest him!" "Lock him up!" "Kill him!" "Has the entire village gone mad?" "Herman wouldn't harm a baby, and you know it." "I've walked the streets of this village for 40 years." "But tonight's the end." "He knows that I've told he plays with bats." "He knows that I saw him sneak into Martha's house just before midnight." "Perhaps he was taking her another flower," "Kringen." "The boy brought her one this evening while I was there." "He's killed her just like he did all the rest!" "And now he's going to kill me." "Unless he's killed and a stake driven through his heart," "I'm a doomed man!" "He'll kill me!" "He'll kill me." "He'll kill me!" "He'll kill me." "I'm a doomed man." "He'll kill me!" "Good morning, Mr. Brettschneider." "What brings you to Klineschloss so early?" "You." "Fibber." "I heard the doctor tell Georgiana he expected you." "I knew there was something else." "You're a delightful prevaricator, Karl." "But not a very convincing one." "Oh!" "You don't mind me using your stethoscope, do you, Doctor?" "Not at all, Frau Schnappmann." "Well, what seems to be the ailment this morning?" "What's that?" "Oh, ha, ha." "What seems to be the ailment this morning?" "Well, Doctor, I am positive that I have valvular declege of the aorta." "Or maybe it's the, um, the right ventricle." "Hm." "There is something wrong with my heart." "I can hear beat... thump, thump, thump, thump, just like the book says." "Well, if you didn't get hear it beating, thump, thump, thump just what the book says," "I would say there is something wrong." "What?" "Without a moon?" "You have a heart of stone." "All right, then." "Close your eyes." "Now." "Oh, so, young lady." "It's too early in the morning, Karl." "Much too early." "Oh, is it?" "Oh, there's Aunt Gussie." "Mm, she would show up just at a time like this." "Well, Aunt Gussie." "What's the matter now?" "I have palpitation of the oracular ventricular mitral valves of the cordact tendency." "You mean your heart's beating?" "Of course it's beating." "Dr. von Niemann, he tried to assure me." "But I know..." "I know it's serious." "I'm liable to go, just like that." "Did he prescribe for you, dear?" "Yes." "Monoacid ester, sylisonic acid." "You mean salicylic acid, don't you." "Well, sylisonic and salicylic... it's helped me." "My heart is much quieter." "Hello, Karl." "Hi." "Oh, Karl, you will be good to her when I'm gone, won't you?" "Yes, of course, I will, Frau Schnappmann." "Well, I'm not gone yet." "And you can't marry her unless I say so." "Don't forget that." "Oh, my heart!" "There, Auntie, you'll be all right." "Just rest a while." "What do you need is..." "What?" "Rest, dear, and quiet." "Aunt Gussie has a heart like a steam engine." "Ha, ha." "Meow!" "Meow!" "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." "Here you go, kitty poo." "Come on, kitty poo." "That's a baby." "Come on." "Come on, kitty, kitty, kitty poo." "Come on kitty cat." "Come on, kitty poo." "Come on." "Ah!" "It, uh... ew!" "A turtle!" "Ugh!" "You nasty little beast!" "Oh!" "Don't you know it wrong to steal?" "You've cut yourself." "See, blood." "Stop it, stop it!" "No hurt me." "No hurt." "Oh, you poor thing." "Now you wait right here and I'll run in the house and got something for that finger." "A subcutaneous wound like that might easily result in a tetanus infection." "Tetun... tetun_." "Tetanus." "Lockjaw." "Not that you need to be afraid." "From way you talk, I think you've got it already." "Look, here's a nice juicy apple for you." "Ah, this is it." "By Augustin Dom Calmet, in 1746." "Hmm." ""Let us suppose that these corpses do not actually"" "stir from their tombs, but only the ghosts or spirits appear to the living." "Wherefore do these phantoms present themselves, and what is it that energizes them?" "Is it actually the soul of the dead man which has not yet" ""departed to its final destination?"" "Fiddlesticks." "Now how could a corpse buried under four or five feet of earth get out to do any such foolishness?" "I don't believe it." "It's a fair question, Doctor." "How could it?" "Well, according to accepted theory, the vampire dematerializes its body and re-integrates it outside the grave." "It's a good explanation if you can believe it." "And while I'm standing here listening to all this rubbish, there's a poor man in the garden in danger of a tetanus infection." "Now what should I do for him, Doctor?" "Shall I find Mercurochrome?" "Or 2% solution of dichloride?" "Well, either will do." "Uh, get some gauze and some Mercurochrome, Emil." "Thank you, Doctor." "I'll wait here." "Difficult to believe, isn't it?" "It's impossible to believe." "And yet, it would explain these deaths, wouldn't it?" "Ah, Brettschneider!" "Pardon our intrusion, Doctor von Niemann, but after what you saw last night, you'll be interested in this, as well." "Well, what's happened?" "Kringen was found dead an hour ago with the two punctures in his neck and not a drop of blood in his body." "And what's more, Herman Gleib has disappeared." "What?" "Now are you convinced that we were right and you were wrong?" "It ought to be proof enough for anybody." "Kringen said Herman would get him, and he did." "Well, Brettschneider?" "I appoint you my deputy." "Organize a searching party and comb this countryside from one end to the other." "Find Herman Gleib and bring him in, but don't harm him." "Do you understand?" "What good will that do?" "He's the vampire." "There's only one thing for us to do when we find him, kill him and drive a stake through his heart." "Herman Gleib will be tried by a court of law." "If the charge against him is proven true, the law will decide what to do him, not you." "Now get your men together and do as I tell you." "That's the way to talk." "I'm going into town for a little while, Doctor." "Would you care come along?" "Oh, I hardly believe so." "There's little to be done until they find the boy." "If you need me then, I'll..." "I'll let you know." "I feel as though I'm going to faint." "Oh, there, Auntie." "There's nothing here to be afraid of." "Here comes Emil with your Mercurochrome and bandages." "Run along now and take care of that patient of yours." "I forgot all about him." "Oh, my heart!" "Oh!" "Poor, Auntie." "She's had every ailment in the book." "And a lot that aren't, I'm afraid." "Particularly, a palpitation of the orbicular ventricular tricuspid and mitral valve, Doctor?" "Well, I had to tell her something to satisfy her." "Here, here." "You mustn't do that." "Now where's that finger?" "You good like Martha." "Mm, hm." "She give me apples." "Herman like you." "Are you Herman?" "Me, Herman." "You give me apple?" "Herman give you nice, soft bat." "Agh!" "Agh!" "Oh, Herman!" "No, get away, Herman." "Don't you get me." "L..." "I..." "Herman..." "Go away, now, Herman." "Go away." "What is it, Georgiana?" "I just found this in Emil's room." "Well?" "It belonged to my friend, Martha Mueller." "Are you certain?" "I gave it to her myself." "Martha died last night." "I find her crucifix in Emil's room." "Doesn't that mean Emil is the one." "Herr Brettschneider is seeking?" "This amazes me, Georgiana." "It's impossible." "It rained the night von Else died." "There was mud on Emil's shoes the next morning." "Have you mentioned this to anyone?" "I intend to tell Herr Brettschneider when he calls again." "I can't believe it." "Uh... uh..." "leave this with me." "I want to talk to Emil before you say anything to anyone." "The burgermeister should know at once." "Yes, but all in good time." "Emil has been with me too long for us to jump at conclusions." "Don't say anything until I tell you." "Now send Emil to me." "Very well, Doctor." "That's for the neuritis, and the pepsin..." "That hasenpfeffer was tougher than shoe leather." "And sweet That will help." "At least it won't do any harm." "And, uh, ginger, th..." "That will warm my stomach." "And now a little bicarb of soda." "Ew!" "Ew, hm." "Come on!" "We'll get him now." "Come on, men!" "Come on." "We've got him." "He can't get away from here, now." "Some of you's around that way." "And if he tries to get past you, you know what to do!" "Come on, men." "He can't get outta here." "There he is, men." "Here, boys." "Herman, you're going back to the village with us." "Come on." "We won't hurt ya." "No." "Won't go." "Herman afraid!" "Come on, you're going with us, Herman." "You're going with us." "Come on now." "No!" "Come on men, get him." "Come on, Herman, we won't hurt you." "Come on, Herman." "No!" "No!" "No!" "Agh!" "Come, that settles him." "Yes, let's go." "We've got to go down below." "We've got to make certain." "I won't go down there." "Nobody asked you to." "I'll go myself." "Can you see him?" "He's on a ledge about 50 feet down." "I'll get a rope." "But we've got to make certain, I tell ya." "You must be careful, Emil." "Very careful." "No, it must be." "It must be." "She's no better than the rest." "I've got to go on." "Oh, it's you, Doctor." "I'm sorry to have to disturb you Doctor, but we simply couldn't make Georgiana hear the bell." "That's quite all right, my dear." "Georgiana, I think, has been careless, very careless." "Yes, I've noticed that, too." "In my opinion, she has negana." "That's sleeping sickness." "You know the symptoms, doctor." "At first, I thought it was creeping paralysis, so I stuck a pin in her leg you see." "And there was a splendid reaction of the, uh, reflex motor nerves." "Why, Auntie." "Aha, you're shocked." "So was she." "Won't you join me in some coffee?" "Yes, thanks Doctor, we will." "There are a few questions I'd like to ask you about." "About blood and murderers and vampires, I suppose." "Ha, ha." "Yes, I'm afraid so." "Well, so am I. Well, goodnight..." "If such a thing is possible." "I'm going to bed." "Uh, won't you join us too, Frau Schnappmann?" "Coffee at this hour of the night?" "No, thank you." "I'm going to stick to my monoacid ester sylisonic salad." "Ah, acid, doctor, acid." "Ha, ha." "Goodnight." "What's the news in the village, Karl?" "Have they located Hermann yet?" "No not a trace of him." "I hate to think of that poor misfit being hunted down like a dog." "Do you know, I simply can't bring myself to believe in that vampire theory." "Here, will you pour, Ruth?" "Certainly." "I know, Karl." "Our saner, calmer judgment tells us that such things can't be." "And yet, here, for instance, in this ponderous tone are cited 1,001 phobias and complexes that human beings are heir to." "Some of them are strange, more untenable, even, than werewolves and vampires." "Uh, could I have some more please?" "You drink entirely too much coffee." "Mm, it's my one weakness." "And also, my excuse for tolerating Georgiana's laxity in other things." "She does know how to make good coffee." "Thank you." "She brings it to me every night at exactly 10 o'clock." "And when I've drunk it all, then I know it's time to quit." "And eat breakfast so you can have more coffee." "NOW!" "Georgiana, you mustn't lie like that!" "You'll get yourself atournacolis, you know, stiff neck." "Ge..." "Georgiana." "That was Auntie!" "Auntie!" "Oh, my goodness." "I'm all right." "I'm all right now." "I was $9.." "Emil, help the Frau Schnappmann to her room." "My silly imagination." "I..." "I imagined I saw Georgia..." "It's awful." "Take her away." "The same two wounds, Doctor." "And my last words to her were angry ones." "A petulant reprimand for being late with my coffee." "What time was that?" "About two or three minutes after 10:00." "She's been dead, then, about 45 minutes." "Hm?" "Bloodless, like the rest." "It passes all belief." "Ruth's aunt saw Herman Gleib in the garden this morning." "Could it be that he..." "You were the first one here." "What happened?" "I was in my room reading." "My door was open." "I must have dozed off for a minute or so, because I awoke to hear Frau Schnappmann scream." "You say your door was open?" "Yes, my room is very poorly ventilated." "And you saw nothing?" "Heard nothing unusual?" "Nothing." "Karl." "What is it?" "This crucifix, it belonged to Martha." "See who is, Emil." "Can you positively identify this as belonging to Martha?" "Without a doubt." "I saw it in her room the night she died." "Then how in the world did it get here?" "Herman Gleib was in her room." "He had that crucifix in his hands." "And Herman was here, today." "He may be here now, for all we know." "Who is it?" "It's Karl." "Oh." "How is she?" "She's had a real shock this time, but she'll be all right." "I'm putting her to bed." "Leave her there." "Don't let her out of this room." "And don't you leave it, either." "Why, what do you mean?" "It looks as if Herman Gleib is the killer, after all." "It's possible he may be hiding here in the castle." "Why, what makes you think so?" "I'll tell you later." "Stay in your room." "And keep your door locked." "Don't worry about that." "I heard every word he said, and I don't think there's any use of them searching for Herman." "They should look for a dog, a human-faced dog." "Auntie, the doors and windows are all locked." "There's nothing to be afraid of now." "Why, awe, who said I was afraid?" "I'm not a bit afraid." "No, of course you're not afraid." "But you must get some rest." "Rest in this awful place?" "With dog-faced Hermans, and human-faced bats and blood and murders and vampires?" "Did you find anything, Karl?" "There's an unbroken cobweb in that window." "If Herman did it, he came through the door." "He must have." "And yet, I don't understand how he could find his way up here without us hearing him?" "Yet Emil was asleep, and I was in the library." "Yes, he could have done it." "The facts all point to it." "What was it, Emil?" "The Burgermeister." "He has news for Herr Brettschneider about Herman." "Oh." "Pardon the intrusion, Doctor." "Pardon the intrusion." "I knew Karl was here." "And I thought you wouldn't mind if I ran in to tell him the news." "About Herman?" "Yes." "He fell into the Devil's Well in the cave." "He's dead?" "Dead as a doornail." "This ends our troubles, Karl." "The vampire's dead." "I can feel it in my bones!" "Hm." "Well, your bones may be wrong." "What time did this happen?" "Quite early." "About 9 o'clock." "The cave is nearly two hours from here." "That's why we didn't hear it sooner." "Well, it may interest you to know that there's been another death..." "After your vampire died." "Dr. von Niemann's housekeeper, right here in her own room." "Mother of mercy!" "What are we going to do?" "Well, a natural death wouldn't kill a vampire, Karl." "You know the accepted theory..." "A stake driven through the heart." "Oh, yes, That's the theory, all right." "But... but... but..." "But they did." "They drove a stake through his heart." "Good god!" "Are we living in the Middle Ages?" "It wasn't through my sanction, Karl." "Was Sauer did it." "He told me so himself." "Well, that ends the vampire theory, as far as I'm concerned." "Herman Gleib died in the accepted fashion for killing a vampire." "Oh no, there's some human agency at work here, Doctor." "A madman, who kills to satisfy some violent, sadistic urge." "Yes, you're right, Karl." "I've been a fool." "A superstitious fool." "Did they leave his body in the cave?" "Yes." "Yes they did." "Well, in view of what's happened, don't you think you owe him a decent burial?" "You're right." "In view of what has happened, we do owe him that, Karl." "I'll see to it at once, this very instant." "And I'll make arrangements for Georgiana's removal to the morgue." "Goodnight, Doctor." "Pardon the intrusion." "Goodnight, Gustave." "Pardon the intrusion." "Well, here I am, just where I started weeks ago." "There isn't a single theory that doesn't lead straight into a stone wall." "I've jested about this vampire business because my betterjudgement told me it was a lot of nonsense." "Then I had reached the point where" "I was willing to accept even that, because it seemed to satisfy the equation." "All of it was a bit superstitious." "I don't know which way to turn, where to look, what to look for." "Why should anyone want human blood?" "Why?" "Calm yourself, Karl." "Calm myself?" "Calm myself?" "With all these unsolved murders staring me in the face and no solution in sight?" "How much blood is there in the human body, Doctor?" "About six liters, approximately." "Can you think of any purpose for which that amount of blood might be used?" "No, not even in transfusions." "That's the point which stops me." "There isn't any other use for human blood." "Tch." "Murderers leave clues." "And these atrocities are murders, Doctor." "Those simple fools in the village can believe what they like." "But you and I are sane-thinking people." "And you know and I know, Doctor, that these are murders." "And the last one was done here, in this very house, right under this roof." "All right, I'll start here." "I'm going over every foot of this place, both inside and out." "Nobody, sane or insane, is clever enough to get away with murder without leaving a clue of some sort." "And I'm going to find that clue." "Now, come, Karl." "You mustn't let your nerves run away with you." "Here, these... these will help to give you a good night's sleep." "If there are any clues, they'll be here in the morning when your nerves are calm and your..." "Your mind is clear." "Take my advice and go home and rest." "I imagined 1,000 demons were after me as I came down those stairs." "Ruth, didn't I tell you to stay in your room?" "Yes, but I wanted the doctor to come up and quiet Auntie." "You know, it isn't her imagination this time." "Of course, Ruth." "I'll come right away." "Take my advice, young man." "Go home and go to bed." "Goodnight, Karl." "Goodnight, Ruth." "Goodnight, Karl." "Goodnight, Doctor." "If his lights are on, you must wait, Emil." "Wait until he has gone to bed." "Handle him as you did the others, Emil." "You are strong, very strong." "I am waiting for you." "Waiting for you to bring him to the laboratory." "YOu!" "You're the one!" "What mad thing are you doing?" "Mad?" "Is one who has solved the secret of life to be considered mad?" "Life... created in the laboratory!" "No mere crystalline growth, but tissue..." "Living, growing tissue!" "Life that moves, pulsates, and demands food for its continued growth!" "Huh!" "You shudder in horror." "So did I the first time." "But what will a few lives be weighed in balance against the achievement of biological science?" "Think of it, I have lifted the veil." "I have created life, arrested the secret of life from life." "Now do you understand?" "For the lives of those who have gone before," "I have created life!" "I'll tell Karl." "You may, for tonight Karl's name will be added to yours, and all of those whom this achievement will immortalize." "I didn't take your sleeping tablets, Doctor." "Emil brought them here." "He's the one who murdered them." "Stay where you are." "You'll have a chance to tell everything, Doctor." "I'll take care of von Niemann." "Get her out of here!" "You stay here." "Von Niemann and Emil." "Doctor, Doctor von Niemann?" "Karl, she mustn't see them." "Where is Dr. von Niemann?" "I must see him immediately." "Aunt Gussie, you can't." "He... he can't be disturbed." "Oh, but I must see him." "I simply must." "Oh, that hydrous magnesium sulfate he gave me is affecting me most peculiarly." "You'll pardon me?" "Hydrous magnesium sulfate?" "Why, that's Epsom salts."