![]() ![]() Jekyll - God knows what it was, but it was never Doctor Jekyll." He is adamant: "In the belief of my heart. One day, Poole says, he came into the large room just below Jekyll's private room and there, digging among some crates, was a creature who was so startled at seeing Poole that he cried out "and whipped upstairs." If that were Jekyll, why did it run? Why did it "cry out like a rat?" And why did it wear a mask?Įver the rational lawyer-sleuth, Utterson tries to explain to Poole that, to him, it seems as though Jekyll has been "seized with one of those maladies that both torture and deform the sufferer." The frantically sought-after drug, he hopes, is proof that Jekyll believes that "ultimate recovery" is possible.ĭespite Utterson's rational explanations, Poole is not convinced: "That thing was not my master. More than murky, says Poole: "I've seen him," he adds, referring to whoever lurks behind Jekyll's door. Utterson finally has to admit that this is indeed murky business. Jekyll can hardly be exaggerated." And then in a scribbled postscript, there is: "For God's sake, find me some of the old. At first glance, the note seems to be merely a formal request - nothing amiss - asking that the pharmacist search for the drug "with the most sedulous care." Expense is no consideration, the note stresses, and there is a sense of urgency: "The importance of this to Dr. Utterson asks for some of these notes, and Poole is able to find one, crumpled up in one of his pockets. "The drug is wanted bitter bad," Poole tells Utterson. Poole has done his best to find the exact medicine, but no matter what he has brought back, it has not been "the right stuff." "It" always says that Poole has brought something that is "not pure" and, therefore, Poole has continued to receive orders to go on yet another errand to yet another store. For a week, there's been more papers on the stairs, a closed door, and whimpering. "Whatever it is," he says, it "has been crying night after night for some sort of medicine." Earlier, Jekyll used to cry out for certain medicines and would write his orders on a sheet of paper and throw the paper on the stairs. Logically, he says, if someone had murdered Jekyll, why would he still be in there? Poole then explains more about whoever is in the room. Utterson tries his best to be rational about the mystery. Jekyll was "made away with" at that time, and whoever is in the room now is "a thing known only to heaven." Eight days ago, Poole says, he heard Jekyll cry out the name of God. Poole says that he has worked for Jekyll for twenty years. "Changed," he says, is hardly the word for "Jekyll's" voice. "It seems much changed," he says, trying to conceal his own fears. Politely, Poole says, "Thank you." Then, back in the kitchen, he asks Utterson, "Was that my master's voice?" Utterson grows pale. A strange voice within states that Jekyll will see no one. Poole calls out that Utterson is here, asking to see the doctor. Several of the servants try to speak up, but Poole silences them and leads Utterson through the back garden, warning the lawyer that if "by any chance" Jekyll asks him into his private room, don't go." This advice, along with Poole's barely controlled terror, unnerves Utterson. When they arrive at Jekyll's quarters, a servant opens the door very guardedly, asking, "Is that you, Poole?" Once inside, Utterson finds all of Jekyll's servants "huddled together like a flock of sheep," and when they see Utterson, one maid breaks into "hysterical whimpering." This matter is far more serious than Utterson ever imagined. He fears that there has been "foul play," the nature of which he "daren't say." At this, Utterson grabs up his hat and his greatcoat, and the two men set forth in the wild, cold March night for Jekyll's house. He offers Poole a glass of wine to calm him, and although Poole accepts it, he neglects to drink it as he hesitatingly tells Utterson about his fears concerning Dr. One evening after dinner, Utterson is sitting peacefully beside his fireplace when he receives a visit by a very agitated and upset Mr. ![]()
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