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‘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 client 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 generous 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 clients wasdead，and the life and reputation 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 whisky on the table，
‘This is a sad business about Sir Danvers Carew，’said MrUtterson．
‘Yes indeed，sir．The murderer 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 brightened 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 seethe 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．’Shortly 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．
5 The death of a friend
Time passed．The search for Mr Hyde continued．SirDanvers Carew was an important and popular man andthe police tried desperately to arrest the murderer and bringhim to trial．But there was no sign of Mr Hyde himself， although the police and the newspapers discovered a lot about hispast life．Nobody，it seemed，could say one good word aboutthe wanted man． He was a cruel， violent man， who had livedan evil life full of hate and jealousy．None of this， however，was any help to the police． Mr Hyde had just disappeared．
As time went by， Mr Utterson became calmer and more atpeace with himself． He was truly sorry that his client， SirDanvers Carew， was dead， but he was also very glad that MrHyde had disappeared． As for Doctor Jekyll， he too appearedcalmer and happier．He came out into the world again．He invited friends to his house and accepted invitations to theirs． Hehad always been a good and generous man．Now，however，hebecame a churchgoer too． He was busy， he spent a lot of timein the fresh air and he looked happy and carefree．For morethan two months he was at peace with himself and the world．
On the 8th of January Mr Utterson was invited to dinner atDoctor Jekyll’s house．Doctor Lanyon was there too．‘This isquite like old times，’thought the lawyer as he watched DoctorJekyll smiling at Doctor Lanyon．
On January 12th，however，and again on the 14th， DoctorJekyll refused to see visitors．
‘The doctor is not well，’explained Poole．‘He hopes youwill forgive him，but he cannot see anyone．’
Mr Utterson called again next day， and again the day afterthat．After two months of almost daily meetings with his oldfriend，the lawyer felt rather lonely．On the sixth evening heinvited his clerk，Mr Guest，to dinner with him， and on theseventh night he went to visit Doctor Lanyon．
Doctor Lanyon made him welcome，but Mr Utterson wasshocked by the change in the doctor’s appearance．His face，which was usually pink and healthy， was grey and thin， andthere was a frightened look in his eyes． He was suddenly anold，sick man．
‘He looks，’said Mr Utterson to himself，‘like a man whoknows he’s dying．’
‘How are you，Lanyon？’he said．‘You don't look well．’
‘I've had a shock，Utterson，’replied Doctor Lanyon．‘Andit will cause my death．I have only a few weeks to live．’Hepaused．‘Well，it comes to us all sooner or later． I've had agood life， on the whole．’
‘Jekyll is ill too，’said the lawyer．‘Have you seen him？’
At the name of Jekyll the look on Doctor Lanyon’s face changed．‘Please，’he said， holding up a trembling hand，‘don't speak that name in this house．’
‘Oh dear，’said Mr Utterson．He hesitated for a moment．‘The three of us have been friends all our lives，Lanyon．Weare too old now to make new friends．Can't you forgive andforget？Perhaps I can help？’
‘Nothing can be done，’replied Doctor Lanyon．‘Ask himyourself．’
‘He won't let me into the house．’
‘That doesn't surprise me， One day，Utterson， after I amdead，you will perhaps learn the full story． Meanwhile， if youcan sit and talk to me of other things， please stay． Just don't mention that person， as it hurts me to think about him．’
As soon as he got home， Mr Utterson wrote to DoctorJekyll．In his letter he asked why Jekyll refused to let him intohis house，and why he and Doctor Lanyon were no longerfriendly．The reply was long and not always easy to understand．
‘I'm not angry with our old friend，’Doctor Jekyll wrote，‘but I agree with him that the two of us must never meetagain．Meanwhile，you must forgive me if from now on I livea very quiet life． If you find my door closed to you，it's because I must travel this dark，dangerous road alone． I havedone wrong and I'm being punished for it，and nobody canhelp me．’
‘What is this？’thought Mr Utterson．‘Hyde has disappeared．Jekyll is his normal self again—at least，he was untillast week． Has he gone mad？’Then he remembered DoctorLanyon's word