chapter8_page46-50

8. The End of Mr. Hyde

One evening after dinner, Utterson is sitting calmly beside his fireplace. Suddenly, Poole

comes to see him. He seems stressed and panicky. Utterson is surprised. What brings you here

at this time with the night, he asks. Is Dr. Jekyll ill?

Mr. Utterson, there is something wrong. I am very worried about Dr. Jekyll. You know,

he shuts himself up in his study. He is not coming out at all these days. This is the eighth

day. Perhaps there is someone in there and wants to kill the doctor. Please come with me and get

him out of that room. He is in great danger, I think. So, the lawyer quickly puts on his hat

and coat. The two men set out for Jekyll's house in the cold and dark night. They walk

through the deserted streets. They finally reach Jekyll's house. All of Jekyll's servants

are waiting in the hall. They are scared and worried, too. Poole tells them not to panic

and to wait quietly. Then he takes a candle from a servant and turns to the lawyer and says,

Please follow me to the back court, sir. Let's go to the laboratory through the back door.

In the laboratory Poole leaves Utterson at the foot of the stairs to the doctor's study.

He goes upstairs and knocks on the door of the study. You have a visitor, sir. Mr. Utterson is

here. He shouts from behind the door. I cannot see him. Tell him that, says the voice inside.

Poole looks down at Utterson at the foot of the stairs and says very quietly,

That is not my master's voice, Mr. Utterson. I know Dr. Jekyll's voice very well after 20

years of working in this house. It is the killer's voice, I think. Yes, this is a different voice,

but if this is a killer, why doesn't he escape? Why is he still in the room? That is very odd,

says the lawyer. He is very confused. Then Poole says, Sometimes I hear the same voice crying

for some kind of medicine. Usually the medicine has a difficult name, so he or it writes the

name down on a piece of paper and throws a note down the stairs. Then he goes in and shuts the door.

After that, I pick up the note and go to different chemists to find that medicine. I leave the

medicine outside the door. When I am gone, he opens the door and takes it, but I can never

find the right medicine at any of the chemists here. They don't have it.

Do you have one of those notes? Utterson asks. Poole searches his pockets and finds one. He

hands it to Utterson. Utterson takes a look at the note. This is Jekyll's own handwriting,

he says. I think so too, but the writing isn't very important. One of the maids is telling me

something more important, says Poole. She sees a stranger in the hall after midnight, but very

rarely, of course. Her bedroom is next to the kitchen. She hears noises coming from the kitchen.

She opens her door slightly and peeps out. She sees the man leaving the kitchen quietly. She

can't see his face. The man has a mask. But that man can be Dr. Jekyll himself. Perhaps

he sneaks into the kitchen for some food, and he doesn't want anyone to see him, I guess,

says Mr. Utterson. But the maid says he is very short. He is like a dwarf. Dr. Jekyll

is a tall man, you know, so that man cannot be Dr. Jekyll. That's true, Poole. I agree with

you now. The man in the room is not Dr. Jekyll. But who can it be? Can it be Hyde? Utterson

thinks for a few seconds, and then he says, Poole, we must break the room's door and go

inside. Now go and fetch an axe and bring me a fireplace poker. But hurry, we will break

the door in ten minutes. Yes, sir, we must save my master's life. I'll get an axe from

the basement. Ten minutes later, the two men are standing behind the study door. Poole

with the axe in his hands, and Utterson with a fire poker. Utterson shouts at Jekyll for

another chance. Jekyll, I must see you right now. Open the door. Utterson, please go away.

Have mercy! cries out the man inside. This is Hyde's voice. I know Poole, break the door

or now cries out Utterson. While Poole is breaking the door, Utterson waits with the

fire poker in his hands. He is ready to attack the stranger inside. Finally, they enter the

study. In the middle of the room, a man is lying with his face down on the floor. The

man is dead. In one of his hands, there is an empty bottle. It is a poison bottle. This

is a suicide, says Utterson. They turn the body over, and examine it. It is Edward Hyde.

He is wearing my master's clothes, says Poole. And Utterson says, we must look for Jekyll

now. I hope he is not dead. So they search the laboratory, and the servants search all

the rooms. They can't find Jekyll or his dead body anywhere. As Utterson and Poole are searching

Jekyll's study, they see several bowls with a white powder in them. Perhaps Jekyll is using

this powder in his strange experiments, says Utterson. Then they see a large mirror in

a corner. They think it is very strange to have a large mirror in a laboratory. Next, they

look at the things on Jekyll's desk. On it, there is a big, sealed envelope with Utterson's

name on it. The handwriting is Jekyll's. Utterson breaks the seal and opens the envelope.

There are three items in it. Jekyll's will, a small note, and a sealed packet. Utterson

reads the will quickly. It is Jekyll's new will. It is the same as the first will in Utterson

safe. But this one says that Jekyll is leaving his property to Utterson, not Hyde. Utterson

is confused again. Then Utterson looks at the note. He turns to Poole and screams. Jekyll

can still be alive. Look, this note has today's date, and Jekyll's own signature. Then he

reads the note. It says, My dear friend Utterson, when you see this note, I won't be there. He

must go home now and read Lanyon's letter first. It has the answers to all of your questions

about me. You must open the sealed packet afterwards.