18 A Letter from Dr. Jekyll

CHAPTER 18 A Letter from Dr. Jekyll Utterson took the envelope out of his safe. He sat down heavily and began to read Dr. Lanyon's story. "Four days ago, on January 9th, I received an evening delivery of a registered envelope. It was from my old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll. I was very surprised by this, as we had never exchanged letters before. I had seen him the

night before and did not expect contact so soon. I could not imagine what could be so important. My curiosity grew after reading the letter. It ran as follows: Dear Lanyon, You are one of my oldest friends. Although we have had our differences of late on scientific matters, I cannot remember any break in our affection. I am certain that you know I would never think twice about coming to your rescue. At a moment's notice I would be at your side. Lanyon, my life, my honor, and my reason are all at your mercy. If you fail me tonight, I am lost. You might suspect that I am about to ask you to do something shameful. Judge for yourself. I ask that you put everything aside tonight—even if an emergency should

arise—and bring this letter to my house. My butler has his orders. You will find him waiting with a locksmith. I need you to break into my office. Once the door is open, you should enter alone. Remove the far left drawer of the medicine cabinet. You will find it filled with some powders and vials. I am in such a state of panic and worry that I may misdirect you in some way. Therefore, please take the entire drawer and all its contents with you. Take it back to your home. I will send someone to get it. I am concerned about timing. If you leave for my home immediately after receiving this letter, then you should be home well before midnight. There is also the chance that you will be delayed in some way, so allowing you this extra time is best. I ask that you please be

alone at midnight. No servants can be nearby. At midnight, then, I ask that you admit a man who will present himself in my name. Please give him the drawer that you have removed from my office. Your work will be done at this point. If you choose to have further explanation, all will be revealed in the next five minutes. The mere thought of you refusing my request is too much to bear. My mind reels and I'm thrown into fits of panic. Think of me in this hour, in a strange place, full of despair. I know that I am asking a lot of you, but your willingness to help has done wonders for my spirits. Your friend, Henry

"This letter convinced me that Dr. Jekyll was insane. However, I could take no chances. I knew that I must fulfill his wishes. I was not in a position to judge, since I did not know all of the details. And, in the end, the most important fact was that a friend was in great need. Therefore, I did as the letter asked and went directly to Jekyll's home. His butler was waiting for me with a locksmith. He had also received a letter by registered mail from Jekyll. We immediately went to work. It took some time, but the locksmith was at long last successful. The door to the office swung open. I pulled the second drawer from the left, as Jekyll requested. "Once I had returned home I examined the drawer's contents. It was full of powders and vials just as he had said it would be. It was plain to me that these chemicals were of Jekyll's own making. I recognized none of

them. The powder appeared to be some form of salt. The vials were full of a red liquid. It had a very strong odor, almost sickly sweet. I could make no guess at the name of the other chemicals. It was all very strange. The only thing to do now was wait. Eventually this man would come to pick up the drawer. I could not understand what these chemicals had to do with the safety and sanity of Jekyll. All of this convinced me more than ever that Jekyll was insane. I sent my servants to bed and waited in my lab for my midnight visitor."