English for Everybody - Intermediate reading comprehension

Dracula

Page 74

The Escape

 

I am very tired tonight and feeling sad. I cannot stop thinking about Lucy, and how different things could have been. If I cannot sleep soon, I will have to take sleeping medicine. But I must be careful not to let it become a habit. No, I will take nothing tonight! I will not disrespect Lucy's memory by using drugs. If necessary, I will stay awake all night.

Later.--I am glad I made that decision, and gladder that I kept it. I was moving around in bed unable to sleep, and I had heard the clock strike two times, when the night watchman came to me. He was sent from the ward to tell me that Renfield had escaped. I put on my clothes and ran downstairs immediately. My patient is too dangerous to wander around. His strange ideas could be dangerous to strangers.

The guard was waiting for me. He said he had seen Renfield less than ten minutes ago, apparently sleeping in his bed when he looked through the small window in the door. Then he heard the sound of the window being broken open. He ran back and saw Renfield's feet disappear through the window, so he called for me right away. Renfield was wearing only his nightclothes, so he cannot be very far away.

Vocabulary:

Tired: Feeling a need to sleep or rest; exhausted.
Sleeping medicine: A chemical or drug used to help a person sleep (chloral).
Decision: A choice or promise made after thinking about options.
Apparently: According to the way things appear or seem.
Window in the door: A small opening used to check on a patient or prisoner safely.
Nightclothes: Clothes worn for sleeping in bed (e.g., nightgown or pajamas).

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