Later that same afternoon Mr Utterson found his way toDoctor Jekyll’s house．Jekyll’s servant， Poole， let himin at once and took him through the kitchen and across theback garden to the laboratory¹ behind the house．It was thefirst time that Mr Utterson had seen his friend’s laboratory，and he looked around curiously．

The old servant led Mr Utterson through the laboratory andup some stairs to the doctor’s private study above．This was alarge room with tall， glass－fronted cupboards， a large mirrorand a big，businesslike table．A good fire burned in the fireplace³ and beside it sat Doctor Jekyll， looking white and ill． Ina thin， tired voice he welcomed his friend．

‘Have you heard the news？’said Mr Utterson after the oldservant had left．

‘The newsboys were shouting about it in the street，’DoctorJekyll said．‘A terrible business．’

‘Let me ask you something，’said the lawyer．‘Sir DanversCarew was my client， but you are my client⁴ too，and I want toknow what I'm doing．You haven't tried to hide the murderer， have you？’

‘Utterson，I promise you，’cried the doctor，‘I promise youI'll never see him again． I've finished with him for ever． Andnow， indeed， he no longer needs my help．You don't knowhim like I do． He’s safe， quite safe．Believe me，nobody willever hear of Hyde again．’

The lawyer listened with a serious face． He did not like hisfriend’s feverish， excited look．

‘You seem very sure of him，’he replied．‘I hope you’reright．If he is caught and comes to trial，your name may bementioned．’

‘I'm absolutely sure of him，’ answered Jekyll．‘ I can't tellyou how I know，

but I'm certain． But can you please adviseme about one thing？I've received a letter and I don't knowwhether to show it to the police．May I leave it in your hands，Utterson？’

‘You're afraid，I suppose， that the letter will lead the police to Hyde？’asked the lawyer．

‘No，’said Doctor Jekyll．‘I don't care what happens toHyde．I was thinking of my own reputation… Anyway，here is the letter．’

It was written in a strange，pointed handwriting and signed‘Edward Hyde’．‘I am sorry that I have been so ungrateful inthe past for your many generous⁸ acts，’it began．‘Please don't worry about me．I am quite safe and I am certain that I can escape unharmed whenever I wish．’

‘Did this letter come by post？’asked the lawyer．

‘No，’replied Doctor Jekyll．‘There was no postmark on theenvelope．The letter came by hand．’

‘Shall I keep the letter and think about it？’asked Mr Utterson．

‘I want you to decide for me，’answered his client．‘I’ mnot sure of anything any more．’

‘Very well，’said the lawyer．‘Now tell me—the part inyour will about disappearing for three months or more． Wasthat Hyde’s idea？’

‘It was，’whispered Doctor Jekyll．

‘He was planning to murder you，’said the lawyer．‘You've had a lucky escape．’

‘I've had a lesson too，’said his client， in pain and sadness．‘Oh， what a lesson！’ And he covered his face with his hands．

On his way ont of the house， the lawyer stopped and spoketo Poole．

‘By the way，’he said， ‘a letter was handed in today foryour master． Who brought it， and what did he look like？’

‘Nobody came except the postman， sir，’said the servant insurprise．

‘That worries me，’thought Mr Utterson as he walkedhome．‘Clearly the letter arrived by the laboratory door； perhaps it was even written in the study． I must think about thiscarefully．’

In the street the newsboys were still shouting，‘Read allabout it！Terrible murder！’

The lawyer’s thoughts were sad． One of his clients⁹ wasdead，and the life and reputation⁷ of another were in danger．Mr Utterson did not

usually ask anyone for advice． Today，however，was different．

That evening he sat by his fireside with his chief clerk， MrGuest，beside him．The lawyer and his clerk had worked together for many years， and knew and understood each other，Also， Mr Guest had been involved in business with DoctorJekyll and knew him well．

Outside it was foggy and dark，but the room was bright andwarm and there was a bottle of good whisky¹⁰ on the table，

‘This is a sad business about Sir Danvers Carew，’said MrUtterson．

‘Yes indeed，sir．The murderer⁵ was a madman，of course．’

‘I would like your opinion about that，’replied the lawyer．‘I have a letter from the murderer here．’

Mr Guest was interested in the study of handwriting． Hiseyes brightened¹¹ at once．‘A murderer’s letter！’ he said．‘That will be interesting．’He looked carefully at the writing．‘Not a madman， I think，’he said．‘But what unusual handwriting！’

Just then a servant entered with a note．

‘Is that note from Doctor Jekyll？’ asked Mr Guest．‘Ithought I recognized the handwriting．Is it anything private，Mr Utterson？’

‘Only an invitation to dinner．Why？Do you want to seethe¹² letter？’

‘Just for a moment，please，sir．’The clerk put the two letters side by side and studied them carefully．‘Thank you，sir，’he said．‘Very interesting．’

For a moment Mr Utterson hesitated，wondering and worrying．At last he put his thoughts into words．‘Why did youlook at the two letters together？’he asked．

‘Well，sir，in many ways the two are surprisingly similar．’

‘How strange！…Mr Guest，I must ask you not to speakof this business to anyone．’

‘Of course not，sir，’said the clerk．‘You can depend onme．’Shortly¹³ afterwards he said good night to his master andmade his way home．

When he was alone，Mr Utterson locked the two letters inhis cupboard．‘Well！’he thought．‘So Henry Jekyll wrotethat letter for a murderer！’His face was as calm and expressionless as usual，but his heart was filled with fear for his oldfriend．