chapter1_page4-7

The Brutal Man and the Door

It is about three o 'clock on a dark winter morning in London.

A young man named Mr. Enfield is walking in a distant, quiet part of the city.

He is going home.

There is no one in the streets and there are no lights in the windows.

Suddenly Enfield sees a young girl running down a street.

She is eight or nine years old.

She is running because she must fetch the doctor for her sick mother.

At the same time, a crooked, small man comes running from the opposite direction.

The two run into each other and the girl falls down.

The man kicks the poor child and steps on her body.

He continues to run while the girl is screaming and crying on the ground.

Enfield quickly runs after this man and catches him.

In a few minutes, a small crowd of people gather around the girl.

One of the women in the crowd tries to speak to her.

Are you all right, sweetie?

The poor girl cannot answer her.

She is still crying.

I will go and get the doctor, a man says.

And someone says, I'll go and get her parents.

The crowd is very angry at the brutal man.

They look at him with hateful eyes.

He is very scary with a hairy face and wild eyes.

He is not like a man.

He is strange.

He needs a good beating.

One man shouts.

The others all agree and some say, let's beat him.

Some say, he must go to prison for this.

The strange man is afraid of the angry crowd, but he tries to look calm.

At that moment, the doctor finishes examining the girl.

She is not injured.

Thank God.

She is just scared, he says.

Then the girl's father comes running and shouting.

How can you kick and step on my child?

I will kill you.

Just as he is hitting the man's face with his fist, Enfield stops him.

The strange man is really frightened now.

Let me go.

My name is Edward Hyde.

I can give you lots of money.

He says to the father, and he offers to pay him a hundred pounds.

The father is a poor man and his family needs money, so he accepts this offer.

I will write a check.

Come with me.

I'll get my checkbook, says the strange, brutal man to the father.

Enfield and the doctor follow the strange man along with the girl's father.

The man stops in front of a dark, old house with no windows.

He takes out a key from his pocket and unlocks the door of the house.

Wait here, he says to the three men and goes inside.

He shuts the door behind him.

He comes back with a check and gives it to the father.

Enfield looks at the check and reads the name on it.

The check is genuine, but the name is not Edward Hyde.

It is the name of a well -known rich man in London.

Enfield does not mention this to the girl's father or to the doctor.

This strange man is using another man's checkbook.

It is not his money, he says to himself.

Weeks later, on a Sunday afternoon, Mr. Enfield is taking a walk with his friend, Mr. Utterson.

Utterson is a respectable lawyer.

He is well -known in London.

Every Sunday, these two gentlemen walk together in a good part of London in their fashionable clothes.

Now, they are walking down a quiet side street and looking at the buildings around.

The shops and offices on the street are all closed because it is Sunday.

They walk past an old building.

It looks very bad in this nice neighborhood.

It has two floors but has no windows looking onto the street.

It only has a big blue door.

There is no bell or knocker on the door.

How can anyone live here?

It looks horrible, says Utterson, pointing to the building with his cane.

Enfield looks at the door and is surprised.

Oh, I remember this door, he says.

Then he tells Utterson the story of the strange, brutal man and the little girl.

Then he says, and this man is using a respectable rich man's checkbook.

Can you believe it?

Do you know the name of the rich man?

I mean the owner of the checkbook.

Enfield remembers the name, but he doesn't say it to Utterson, so he says, no, I don't.

Is this the rich man's home, I wonder?

Says Utterson.

I don't think so.

This is not the address on the check.

I think the rich man lives in a big square.

I don't remember the name of the square.

Do you know the strange man's name?

Yes, his name is Hyde, Edward Hyde.

What does he look like?

asks Mr. Utterson.

Enfield describes the man, and he adds, he has a key to this place.

Oh, now I think I know the name of the check's owner, says Utterson.

He is a friend of mine, in fact.