`Poole,'repliedthelawyer,`ifyousaythat,itwillbecomemydutytomakecertain。MuchasIdesiretospareyourmaster'sfeelings,muchasIampuzzledaboutthisnote,whichseemstoprovehimtobestillalive,Ishallconsideritmydutytobreakinthatdoor。'
`Ah,MrUtterson,that'stalking!'criedthebutler。
`Andnowcomesthesecondquestion,'resumedUtterson:`Whoisgoingtodoit?'
`Why,youandme,sir,'wastheundauntedreply。
`Thatisverywellsaid,'returnedthelawyer;`andwhatevercomesofit,Ishallmakeitmybusinesstoseeyouarenoloser。'
`Thereisanaxeinthetheatre,'continuedPoole;`andyoumighttakethekitchenpokerforyourself。'
Thelawyertookthatrudebutweightyinstrumentintohishand,andbalancedit。`Doyouknow,Poole,'hesaid,lookingup,`thatyouandI
areabouttoplaceourselvesinapositionofsomeperil?'
`Youmaysayso,sir,indeed,'returnedthebutler。
`Itiswell,then,thatweshouldbefrank,'saidtheother。`Weboththinkmorethanwehavesaid;letusmakeacleanbreast。Thismaskedfigurethatyousaw,didyourecognizeit?'
`Well,sir,itwentsoquick,andthecreaturewassodoubledup,thatIcouldhardlysweartothat,'wastheanswer。`Butifyoumean,wasitMrHyde?-why,yes,Ithinkitwas!Yousee,itwasmuchofthesamebigness;
andithadthesamequicklightwaywithit;andthenwhoelsecouldhavegotinbythelaboratorydoor?Youhavenotforgot,sir,thatatthetimeofthemurderhehadstillthekeywithhim?Butthat'snotall。Idon'tknow,MrUtterson,ifeveryoumetthisMrHyde?'
`Yes,'saidthelawyer,`Ioncespokewithhim。'
`Thenyoumustknow,aswellastherestofus,thattherewassomethingqueeraboutthatgentleman-somethingthatgaveamanaturn-Idon'tknowrightlyhowtosayit,sir,beyondthis:thatyoufeltinyourmarrow-kindofcoldandthin。'
`IownIfeltsomethingofwhatyoudescribe,'saidMrUtterson。
`Quiteso,sir,'returnedPoole。`Well,whenthatmaskedthinglikeamonkeyjumpedupfromamongthechemicalsandwhippedintothecabinet,itwentdownmyspinelikeice。O,Iknowit'snotevidence,MrUtterson;
I'mbook-learnedenoughforthat;butamanhadhisfeelings;andIgiveyoumybible-worditwasMrHyde!'
`Ay,ay,'saidthelawyer。`Myfearsinclinetothesamepoint。Evil,Ifear,founded-evilwassuretocome-ofthatconnection。Ay,truly,Ibelieveyou;IbelievepoorHarryiskilled;andIbelievehismurderer(forwhatpurpose,Godalonecantell)isstilllurkinginhisvictim'sroom。Well,letournamebevengeance。CallBradshaw。'
Thefootmancameatthesummons,verywhiteandnervous。
`Pullyourselftogether,Bradshaw,'saidthelawyer。`Thissuspense,Iknow,istellinguponallofyou;butitisnowourintentiontomakeanendofit。Poole,here,andIaregoingtoforceourwayintothecabinet。
Ifalliswell,myshouldersarebroadenoughtobeartheblame。Meanwhile,lestanythingshouldreallybeamiss,oranymale-factorseektoescapebytheback,youandtheboymustgoroundthecomerwithapairofgoodsticks,andtakeyourpostatthelaboratorydoor。Wegiveyoutenminutes,togettoyourstations。'
AsBradshawleft,thelawyerlookedathiswatch。`Andnow,Poole,letusgettoours,'hesaid;andtakingthepokerunderhisarm,heledthewayintotheyard。Thescudhadbankedoverthemoon,anditwasnowquitedark。Thewind,whichonlybrokeinpuffsanddraughtsintothatdeepwellofbuilding,tossedthelightofthecandletoandfroabouttheirsteps,untiltheycameintotheshelterofthetheatre,wheretheysatdownsilentlytowait。Londonhummedsolemnlyallaround;butnearerathand,thestillnesswasonlybrokenbythesoundofafootfallmovingtoandfroalongthecabinetfloor。
`Soitwillwalkallday,sir,'whisperedPoole;`ay,andthebetterpartofthenight。Onlywhenanewsamplecomesfromthechemist,there'sabitofabreak。Ah,it'sanillconsciencethat'ssuchanenemytorest!
Ah,sir,there'sbloodfoullyshedineverystepofit!Butharkagain,alittlecloser-putyourheartinyourearsMrUtterson,andtellme,isthatthedoctor'sfoot?'
Thestepsfelllightlyandoddly,withacertainswing,foralltheywentsoslowly;itwasdifferentindeedfromtheheavycreakingtreadofHenryJekyll。Uttersonsighed。`Isthereneveranythingelse?'heasked。
Poolenodded。`Once,'hesaid。`OnceIhearditweeping!'
`Weeping?howthat?'saidthelawyer,consciousofasuddenchillofhorror。
`Weepinglikeawomanoralostsoul,'saidthebutler。`Icameawaywiththatuponmyheart,thatIcouldhavewepttoo。'
Butnowthetenminutesdrewtoanend。Pooledisinterredtheaxefromunderastackofpackingstraw;thecandlewassetuponthenearesttabletolightthemtotheattack;andtheydrewnearwithbatedbreathtowherethepatientfootwasstillgoingupanddown,upanddowninthequietofthenight。
`Jekyll,'criedUtterson,withaloudvoice,`Idemandtoseeyou。'
Hepausedamoment,buttherecamenoreply。
`Igiveyoufairwarning,oursuspicionsarearoused,andImustandshallseeyou,'heresumed;`ifnotbyfairmeans,thenbyfoul-ifnotofyourconsent,thenbybruteforce!'
`Utterson,'saidthevoice,`forGod'ssake,havemercy!'
`Ah,that'snotJekyll'svoiceit'sHyde's!'criedUtterson。`Downwiththedoor,Poole!'
Pooleswungtheaxeoverhisshoulder;theblowshookthebuilding,andtheredbaizedoorleapedagainstthelockandhinges。Adismalscreech,asofmereanimaltenor,rangfromthecabinet。Upwenttheaxeagain,andagainthepanelscrashedandtheframebounded;fourtimestheblowfell;butthewoodwastoughandthefittingswereofexcellentworkmanship;
anditwasnotuntilthefifththatthelockburstinsunder,andthewreckofthedoorfellinwardsonthecarpet。
Thebesiegers,appalledbytheirownriotandthestillnessthathadsucceeded,stoodbackalittleandpeeredin。Therelaythecabinetbeforetheireyesinthequietlamplight,agoodfireglowingandchatteringonthehearth,thekettlesingingitsthinstrain,adrawerortwoopen,papersneatlysetforthonthebusinesstable,andnearerthefire,thethingslaidoutfortea;thequietestroom,youwouldhavesaid,and,butfortheglazedpressesfullofchemicals,themostcommonplacethatnightinLondon。
Rightinthemidsttherelaythebodyofamansorelycontortedandstilltwitching。Theydrewnearontiptoe,turneditonitsback,andbeheldthefaceofEdwardHyde。Hewasdressedinclothesfartoolargeforhim,clothesofthedoctor'sbigness;thecordsofhisfacestillmovedwithasemblanceoflife,butlifewasquitegone;andbythecrushedphialinthehandandthestrongsmellofkernelsthathungupontheair,Uttersonknewthathewaslookingonthebodyofaself-destroyer。
`Wehavecometoolate,'hesaidsternly,`whethertosaveorpunish。
Hydeisgonetohisaccount;anditonlyremainsforustofindthebodyofyourmaster。'
Thefargreaterproportionofthebuildingwasoccupiedbythetheatre,whichfilledalmostthewholegroundstorey,andwaslightedfromabove,andbythecabinet,whichformedanupperstoreyatoneendandlookeduponthecourt。Acorridorjoinedthetheatretothedooronthebysheet;
andwiththis,thecabinetcommunicatedseparatelybyasecondflightofstairs。Therewerebesidesafewdarkclosetsandaspaciouscellar。Allthesetheynowthoroughlyexamined。Eachclosetneededbutaglance,foralltheywereemptyandall,bythedustthatfellfromtheirdoors,hadstoodlongunopened。Thecellar,indeed,wasfilledwithcrazylumber,mostlydatingfromthetimesofthesurgeonwhowasJekyll'spredecessor;
butevenastheyopenedthedoor,theywereadvertisedoftheuselessnessoffurthersearchbythefallofaperfectmatofcobwebwhichhadforyearssealeduptheenhance。NowherewasthereanytraceofHenryJekyll,deadoralive。
Poolestampedontheflagsofthecorridor。`Hemustbeburiedhere,'
hesaid,hearkeningtothesound。
`Orhemayhavefled,'saidUtterson,andheturnedtoexaminethedoorinthebystreet。Itwaslocked;andlyingnearbyontheflags,theyfoundthekey,alreadystainedwithrust。
`Thisdoesnotlooklikeuse,'observedthelawyer。
`Use!'echoedPoole。`Doyounotsee,sir,itisbroken?muchasifamanhadstampedonit。'
`Ah,'continuedUtterson,`andthefractures,too,arerusty。'Thetwomenlookedateachotherwithascare。`Thisisbeyondme,Poole,'saidthelawyer。`Letusgobacktothecabinet。'
Theymountedthestairinsilence,andstill,withanoccasionalawestruckglanceatthedeadbody,proceededmorethoroughlytoexaminethecontentsofthecabinet。
Atonetable,thereweretracesofchemicalwork,variousmeasuredheapsofsomewhitesaltbeinglaidonglasssaucers,asthoughforanexperimentinwhichtheunhappymanhadbeenprevented。
`ThatisthesamedrugthatIwasalwaysbringinghim,'saidPoole;
andevenashespoke,thekettlewithastartlingnoiseboiledover。
Thisbroughtthemtothefireside,wheretheeasychairwasdrawncosilyup,andtheteathingsstoodreadytothesitter'selbow,theverysugarinthecup。Therewereseveralbooksonashelf;onelaybesidetheteathingsopen,andUttersonwasamazedtofinditacopyofapiousworkforwhichJekyllhadseveraltimesexpressedagreatesteem,annotated,inhisownhand,withstartlingblasphemies。
Next,inthecourseoftheirreviewofthechamber,thesearcherscametothecheval-glass,intowhosedepththeylookedwithaninvoluntaryhorror。
Butitwassoturnedastoshowthemnothingbuttherosyglowplayingontheroof,thefiresparklinginahundredrepetitionsalongtheglazedfrontofthepresses,andtheirownpaleandfearfulcountenancesstoopingtolookin。
`Thisglasshasseensomestrangethings,sir,'whisperedPoole。
`Andsurelynonestrangerthanitself,'echoedthelawyer,inthesametone。`ForwhatdidJekyll'-hecaughthimselfupatthewordwithastart,andthenconqueringtheweakness:`whatcouldJekyllwantwithit?'hesaid。
`Youmaysaythat!'saidPoole。
Nexttheyturnedtothebusinesstable。Onthedesk,amongtheneatarrayofpapers,alargeenvelopewasuppermost,andbore,inthedoctor'shand,thenameofMrUtterson。Thelawyerunsealedit,andseveralenclosuresfelltothefloor。Thefirstwasawill,drawninthesameeccentrictermsastheonewhichhehadreturnedsixmonthsbefore,toserveasatestamentincaseofdeathandasadeedofgiftincaseofdisappearance;butinplaceofthenameofEdwardHyde,thelawyer,withindescribableamazement,readthenameofGabrielJohnUtterson。HelookedatPoole,andthenbackatthepapers,andlastofallatthedeadmalefactorstretcheduponthecarpet。
`Myheadgoesround,'hesaid。`Hehasbeenallthesedaysinpossession;
hehadnocausetolikeme;hemusthaveragedtoseehimselfdisplaced;
andhehasnotdestroyedthisdocument。'
Hecaughtthenextpaper;itwasabriefnoteinthedoctor'shandanddatedatthetop。`OPoole!'thelawyercried,`hewasaliveandherethisday。Hecannothavebeendisposedofinsoshortaspace;hemustbestillalive,hemusthavefled!Andthen,whyfled?andhow?andinthatcasecanweventuretodeclarethissuicide?O,wemustbecareful。Iforeseethatwemayyetinvolveyourmasterinsomedirecatastrophe。'
`Whydon'tyoureadit,sir?'askedPoole。
`BecauseIfear,'repliedthelawyer,solemnly。`GodgrantIhavenocauseforit!'Andwiththathebroughtthepapertohiseyes,andreadasfollows:MyDearUtterson,-
Whenthisshallfallintoyourhands,Ishallhavedisappeared,underwhatcircumstancesIhavenotthepenetrationtoforesee,butmyinstinctandallthecircumstancesofmynamelesssituationtellmethattheendissureandmustbeearly。Gothen,andfirstreadthenarrativewhichLanyonwarnedmehewastoplaceinyourhands;andifyoucaretohearmore,turntotheconfessionofYourunworthyandunhappyfriend,HenryJekyll`Therewasathirdenclosure,'askedUtterson。
`Here,sir,'saidPoole,andgaveintohishandsaconsiderablepacketsealedinseveralplaces。
Thelawyerputitinhispocket。`Iwouldsaynothingofthispaper。
Ifyourmasterhasfledorisdead,wemayatleastsavehiscredit。Itisnowten;Imustgohomeandreadthesedocumentsinquiet;butIshallbebackbeforemidnight,whenweshallsendforthepolice。'
Theywentout,lockingthedoorofthetheatrebehindthem;andUtterson,oncemoreleavingtheservantsgatheredaboutthefireinthehall,trudgedbacktohisofficetoreadthetwonarrativesinwhichthismysterywasnowtobeexplained。
DRLANYON'SNARRATIVE
OntheninthofJanuary,nowfourdaysago,Ireceivedbytheeveningdeliveryaregisteredenvelope,addressedinthehandofmycolleagueandoldschool-companion,HenryJekyll。Iwasagooddealsurprisedbythis;
forwewerebynomeansinthehabitofcorrespondence;Ihadseentheman,dinedwithhim,indeed,thenightbefore;andIcouldimaginenothinginourintercoursethatshouldjustifytheformalityofregistration。Thecontentsincreasedmywonder;forthisishowtheletterran:10thDecember18-
DearLanyon,-
Youareoneofmyoldestfriends;andalthoughwemayhavedifferedattimesonscientificquestions,Icannotremember,atleastonmyside,anybreakinouraffection。Therewasneveradaywhen,ifyouhadsaidtome,`Jekyll,mylife,myhonour,myreason,dependuponyou,'Iwouldnothavesacrificedmyfortuneormylefthandtohelpyou。Lanyon,mylife,myhonour,myreason,areallatyourmerry;ifyoufailmeto-night,Iamlost。Youmightsuppose,afterthispreface,thatIamgoingtoaskyouforsomethingdishonourabletogrant。Judgeforyourself。
Iwantyoutopostponeallotherengagementsforto-night-ay,evenifyouweresummonedtothebedsideofanemperor;totakeacab,unlessyourcarriageshouldbeactuallyatthedoor;and,withthisletterinyourhandforconsultation,todrivestraighttomyhouse。Poole,mybutler,hashisorders;youwillfindhimwaitingyourarrivalwithalocksmith。
Thedoorofmycabinetisthentobeforced;andyouaretogoinalone;
toopentheglazedpress(letterE)onthelefthand,breakingthelockifitbeshut;andtodrawout,withallitscontentsasthestand,thefourthdrawerfromthetopor(whichisthesamething)thethirdfromthebottom。Inmyextremedistressofmind,Ihaveamorbidfearofmisdirectingyou;butevenifIaminerror,youmayknowtherightdrawerbyitscontents:
somepowders,aphial,andapaperbook。ThisdrawerIbegofyoutocarrybackwithyoutoCavendishSquareexactlyasitstands。
Thatisthefirstpartoftheservice:nowforthesecond。Youshouldbeback,ifyousetoutatonceonthereceiptofthis,longbeforemidnight;
butIwillleaveyouthatamountofmargin,notonlyinthefearofoneofthoseobstaclesthatcanneitherbepreventednorforeseen,butbecauseanhourwhenyourservantsareinbedistobepreferredforwhatwillthenremaintodo。Atmidnight,then,Ihavetoaskyoutobealoneinyourconsulting-room,toadmitwithyourownhandintothehouseamanwhowillpresenthimselfinmyname,andtoplaceinhishandsthedrawerthatyouwillhavebroughtwithyoufrommycabinet。Thenyouwillhaveplayedyourpartandearnedmygratitudecompletely。Fiveminutesafterwards,ifyouinsistuponanexplanation,youwillhaveunderstoodthatthesearrangementsareofcapitalimportance;andthatbytheneglectofoneofthem,fantasticastheymustappear,youmighthavechargedyourconsciencewithmydeathortheshipwreckofmyreason。