The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Page 4

the mouldings; and for close on a generation, no one had appeared
to drive away these random visitors or to repair their ravages.
Mr. Enfield and the lawyer were on the other side of the by-street; but when they came
abreast of the entry, the former lifted up his cane and pointed.
"Did you ever remark that door?" he asked; and when his companion had replied in the
affirmative. "It is connected in my mind," added he, "with a very odd story."
"Indeed?" said Mr. Utterson, with a slight change of voice, "and what was that?"
"Well, it was this way," returned Mr. Enfield: "I was coming home from some place at
the end of the world, about three o'clock of a black winter morning, and my way lay
through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps. Street after
street and all the folks asleep--street after street, all lighted up as if for a procession and
all as empty as a church-- till at last I got into that state of mind when a man listens and
listens and begins to long for the sight of a policeman. All at once, I saw two figures: one
a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of
maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir,
the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible
part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child's body and left her
screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see. It wasn't like
a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut. I gave a few halloa, took to my heels,
collared my gentleman, and brought him back to where there was already quite a group
about the screaming child. He was perfectly cool and made no resistance, but gave me
one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running. The people who had
turned out were the girl's own family; and pretty soon, the doctor, for whom she had been
sent put in his appearance. Well, the child was not much the worse, more frightened,
according to the Sawbones; and there you might have supposed would be an end to it.
But there was one curious circumstance. I had taken a loathing to my gentleman at first
sight. So had the child's family, which was only natural. But the doctor's case was what
struck me. He was the usual cut and dry apothecary, of no particular age and colour, with
a strong Edinburgh accent and about as emotional as a bagpipe. Well, sir, he was like the
rest of us; every time he looked at my prisoner, I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white
with desire to kill him. I knew what was in his mind, just as he knew what was in mine;
and killing being out of the question, we did the next best. We told the man we could and
would make such a scandal out of this as should make his name stink from one end of
London to the other. If he had any friends or any credit, we undertook that he should lose
them. And all the time, as we were pitching it in red hot, we were keeping the women off
him as best we could for they were as wild as harpies. I never saw a circle of such hateful
faces; and there was the man in the middle, with a kind of black sneering
coolness--frightened too, I could see that--but carrying it off, sir, really like Satan. `If you
choose to make capital out of this accident,' said he, `I am naturally helpless. No
gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene,' says he. `Name your figure.' Well, we screwed
him up to a hundred pounds for the child's family; he would have clearly liked to stick
out; but there was something about the lot of us that meant mischief, and at last he struck.
The next thing was to get the money; and where do you think he carried us but to that

place with the door?--whipped out a key, went in, and presently came back with the
matter of ten pounds in gold and a cheque for the balance on Coutts's, drawn payable to
bearer and signed with a name that I can't mention, though it's one of the points of my
story, but it was a name at least very well known and often printed. The figure was stiff;
but the signature was good for more than that if it was only genuine. I took the liberty