1 The story of the door

The strange case of Dr. Jelyll & Mr. Hyde

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Chapter 1 The story of the door It was a cold night in London. The full moon hung low over the city's rickety rooftops, and wisps of fog floated like ghosts through the squalid streets. Two men strode side by side along a lamplit lane, their footsteps echoing around the old walls. Their names were Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield. They walked together every Sunday, but they rarely spoke. Until this night. "You see that door?" Enfield said, prodding his cane towards a dark doorway. "I know a strange story about that door."

Utterson's bushy eyebrows rose in interest. "Go on," he urged. "It was a drizzly night last month," Enfield continued. "I was just leaving a tavern nearby, when a man came charging over the cobbles, so fast he ran straight into a little girl coming from the other direction. The poor child screamed, but the fellow simply trampled over her and kept running." "Surely it was an accident?" Utterson said. "Hardly," Enfield scoffed. "Utterson, the man laughed. I hear it in my head even now- a terrible, high-pitched cackle that sent a shiver down my spine."

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"What did you do?" Utterson asked. "Well, I set off after the man and tackled him. But when I saw his face, I wished I hadn't. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, and his mouth was twisted into a sinister sneer. I swear he looked like the Devil himself." "Come now Enfield," Utterson laughed. "Surely you exaggerate?" "I am not sure that I do, Utterson. The very sight of this man made my stomach turn. Still, I composed myself and dragged him back to the scene of his crime. The girl was crying, and her family yelled for the police." "How did the fellow react to that?" "The man's face broke into a vicious smile. He told them that he wished to avoid a scene, and offered the family a hundred pounds to remain silent about the incident."