“But it wasn’t all that mattered to Hans. He had always been a more curious child than Fritz. Two weeks of collecting rabbits for an unseen employer had proved more than he could take. He had to know what happened to the rabbits once they reached the House of Dr.E.A.D. Even more pressing was his desire to see the mysterious Dr. Diabolicus for himself.
“ ‘Perhaps,’ he said, trying to reason with his brother, ‘if we were to meet Diabolicus, we could convince him to let us help in other ways. Then, we’d not only have the money to get to London but to return home as well.’
“Well, it was hard for Fritz to argue with that kind of logic, especially since their mother’s illness was progressing rapidly. Just the night before, she had boiled a sheepskin coat and called it mutton stew. The guests had not been amused. The brothers agreed that that night, they would find a way to sneak into the castle and speak with Dr. Diabolicus directly.
“Little did they know that the citizens of Kasha-Varnishkes had plans of their own for that evening, plans that would forever alter the destinies of the Transylvanian twins.”
An owl hooted, eerily punctuating the pause in Chester’s narrative. The night had become still, the air heavy. “What happened next?” Howie said, his voice sandpapery with fatigue. “Did Hans and Fritz find out why Diabolicus wanted the rabbits?”
“Oh, they found out, all right,” said Chester. “Would that they hadn’t. But Hans could not contain his curiosity.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” I muttered, thinking of all the trouble Chester’s curiosity had gotten me into at one time or another.
Chester gave me a look but chose not to respond. “Late that afternoon, they delivered the day’s catch as usual,” he continued. “But instead of leaving immediately for home they asked Erda if they could each have a glass of milk. Before answering them, she glanced at the window. ‘Well, all right,’ she said. ‘But you’ll have to hurry. It’s almost dark.’ ‘That’s okay,’ said Hans. ‘We know our way home.’ ‘That isn’t what worries me,’ said Erda, and she went off to the kitchen.
“The moment she had left the room, Hans and Fritz raced quickly up the winding staircase that led to the upper floors of the house. Fritz clutched his brother’s shirttail as they inched their way along the dark hall on the second level. ‘Where are we going?’ Fritz asked nervously. ‘There,’ said Hans, pointing to a pool of light spilling out from under a door at the far end of the hall. He hurried Fritz along, not wanting to be found out by the housekeeper.
“Despite its heaviness, the door opened easily and soundlessly on well-oiled hinges. The boys were not surprised by what they found inside. The candlelit laboratory was filled with buzzing machines, bubbling beakers, ticking clocks, and rabbits. Cages and cages and cages of rabbits.
“ ‘At least we know they’re alive,’ Hans said.
“ ‘Alive and yet not alive,’ said a voice as well-oiled as the door.
“It was then that the boys met Dr. Diabolicus. He stood in the doorway, his pale face a shroud of skin on ancient bones, his lips red with life like overripe berries. He wore a silk robe, black as night with a silver moon and star embroidered on the breast pocket. In his white hands he carried two glasses of milk. ‘These are yours, I believe,’ he said, extending them toward the boys.
“ ‘Th-thank you, sir,’ said Hans, stepping forward. He tried not to show his fear, while Fritz was failing miserably behind him. ‘Won’t you join us?’
“ ‘I don’t drink … milk,’ said Diabolicus.
“Hans’ hands shook as he reached for the glass. ‘Don’t be frightened,’ Diabolicus said. ‘I’m not angry with you.’
“ ‘You’re not?’ said Fritz.
“ ‘Not at all. Without your help, I would have been unable to complete my experiments.’ His eyes gleamed as he looked about the room. ‘These rabbits are all evidence of my success,’ he said. ‘They are, like me, alive—yet not alive.’ Hans and Fritz looked at each other, wondering what it was he meant by that phrase. ‘I have been so lonely, boys,’ said Diabolicus. ‘But now my lonely days are over!’ Opening a cage, he removed a pair of rabbits, white with black markings on their backs. ‘Bella,’ he said. ‘And Boris. These are my special ones. They will accompany me through eternity and be my friends, my soulmates, always. You can understand how much pets mean to someone as lonely as I, can’t you, lads?’ ”
I don’t know about Howie and Dawg, but I got a little teary at that.
“ ‘Wherever I go,’ Diabolicus continued, ‘Bella and Boris shall go with me. And they will never die … never, never.’
“Hans started to ask how this could be, when the sound of pounding footsteps drove the thought from his mind. ‘Hurry,’ the housekeeper cried, as she broke into the room. ‘Hurry, master! They’re coming!’
“ ‘Get hold of yourself, woman! Who’s coming?’
“ ‘The peasants. They’re carrying torches. They’re crying, “The monster must be destroyed!” Oh, master, we must leave at once.’
“ ‘The fools,’ said Diabolicus. ‘Don’t they realize it is Saint George’s Eve, the one night of the year I can’t be destroyed?’
“ ‘But the rabbits,’ said the housekeeper. ‘You don’t know for certain about the rabbits. They could be destroyed. All your research, all your work … all for nothing!’
“Diabolicus looked wildly about the room. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘But we haven’t time to save them all.’ He hugged Bella and Boris to him. ‘I’ll take these two. They shall be the parents of a new breed! Come, we must flee at once! What good fortune that my cousin is no longer using his home in London. Quickly, to the secret tunnel!’
“Without a moment’s hesitation, Hans said. ‘May we go with you, sir?’
“Fritz grabbed his brother’s arm, too shocked to utter a sound. As the noises of the gathering crowd grew louder and louder outside the walls of the castle, Diabolicus considered the lad’s request. ‘I don’t see why not,’ he said, after a while. ‘We’ll be a family,’ he said. ‘A family … forever. Follow me!’
“As the boys ran after Dr. Diabolicus and his housekeeper, Fritz whispered hoarsely to his brother, ‘Are you crazy? What’s gotten into you?’ ‘I’m not crazy at all,’ said Hans. ‘We’re going to London.’
“Yes, thought Fritz, as he boarded the black coach drawn by the black horses. We’re going to London. But will we return?”
The moon was now high in the sky. It would soon be midnight. And Dawg was wide awake.
Chapter 7
A Family Forever
“DID THEY EVER GET to London, Pop?” Howie asked.
“Eventually,” Chester replied. “First, they had to make the arduous journey through Hungary and Austria, Switzerland and France. In each land, Bella and Boris met other rabbits, and in time their numbers grew.”
“Gee,” said Howie, “I’ll bet I know where they found rabbits in France.”
“Where?” Chester said.
“The hutch back of Notre Dame.”
Howie got quite a chuckle out of this. Chester, I could see, was annoyed not to have his story taken seriously.
“And if they weren’t there,” Howie went on, “they could always have checked the Sor-bunny!” He laughed even harder, while a vacancy sign went up in Dawg’s eyes.
Chester’s tail began flicking the ground again. “If you don’t want me to go on,” he said.