4. The Carew Muder Case, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Carew Muder Case (chapter 4) of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, read by Anna Butterworth

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The carew murder case. Nearly ayear later, in the month of October
eighteen, London was startled by acrime of singular ferocity, and rendered all
the more notable by the high positionof the victim. The details were few
and startling. A maid servant livingalone in a house not far from the

(00:22):
river, had gone upstairs to bedabout eleven. Although a fog rolled over
the city in the small hours,the early part of the night was cloudless,
and the lane which the maid's windowoverlooked was brilliantly lit by the full
moon. It seemed she was romanticallygiven, for she sat upon her box,
which stood immediately under the window,and fell into a dream of musing.

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Never, she used to say,with streaming tears when she narrated that
experience, never had she felt moreat peace with all men, or thought
more kindly of the world. Andas she so sat, she became aware
of an aged, beautiful gentleman withwhite hair, drawing near along the lane,
and advancing to meet him, anotherand very small gentleman, to whom

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at first she paid less attention.When they had come within speech, which
was just under the maid's eyes,the older man bowed and accosted the other
with a very pretty manner of politeness. It did not seem as if the
subject of his address were of greatimportance. Indeed, from his pointing,
it sometimes appeared as if he wereonly inquiring his way. But the moon

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shone on his face as he spoke, and the girl was pleased to watch
it. It seemed to breathe suchan innocent and old world kindness of disposition,
yet with something high too, asof a well founded self content.
Presently, her eye wandered to theother, and she was surprised to recognize
in him a certain mister Hyde,who had once visited her master, and

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for whom she had conceived a dislike. He had in his hand a heavy
cane with which he was trifling,But he answered never a word, and
seemed to listen with an ill containedimpatience. And then all of a sudden
he broke out in a great flameof anger, stamping with his foot,
brandishing the cane, and carrying on, as the maid described it, like

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a madman. The old gentleman tooka step back, with the air of
one very much surprised and a triflehurt, and at that mister Hyde broke
out of all bounds and clubbed himto the earth, And next moment,
with ape like fury, he wastrampling his victim under foot and hailing down
a storm of blows, under whichthe bones were audibly shattered, and the

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body jumped upon the roadway. Atthe horror of these sights and sounds,
the maid fainted. It was twoo'clock when she came to herself and called
for the police. The murderer waslong gone ago, but there lay his
victim in the middle of the lane, incredibly mangled. The stick with which
the deed had been done, althoughit was of some rare and very tough

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and heavy wood, had broken inthe middle under the stress of this insinate
cruelty, and one splintered half hadrolled in the neighboring gutter. The other,
without doubt, had been carried awayby the murder. A purse and
gold watch were found upon the victim, but no cards or papers, except
a sealed and stamped envelope which hehad been probably carrying to the post,

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and which bore the name and addressof mister Utherson. This was brought to
the lawyer the next morning before hewas out of bed, and he had
no sooner seen it and been toldthe circumstances than he shot out a solemn
lip. I shall say nothing tillI have seen the body, said he.

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This may be very serious. Havethe kindness to wait while I dress.
And with the same grave countenance,he hurried through his breakfast and drove
to the police station, whither thebody had been carried. As soon as
he came into the cell, henodded, yes, said he I recognize

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him. I am sorry to saythat this is Sir Danver's carew good God,
sir, exclaimed the officer. Isit possible? And the next moment
his eye lighted up with professional ambition. This will make a deal of noise,
he said, and perhaps you canhelp us to the man. And

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he briefly narrated what the maid hadseen and showed the broken stick. Mister
Utterson had already quailed at the nameof Hyde, but when the stick was
laid before him, he could doubtno longer broken and battered as it was.
He recognized it for one that hehad himself presented many years before to

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Henry Jekyll. Is this mister Hydea person of small status? Sure,
he inquired, particularly small and particularlywicked looking, is what the maid calls
him, said the officer, misterUtterson reflected, and then raising his head,
if you will come with me inmy cab, he said, I

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think I can take you to hishouse. It was by this time about
nine in the morning, and thefirst fog of the season, a great
chocolate colored pall lowered over Heaven.But the wind was continually charging and routing
these embattled vapors, so that asthe cab crawled from street to street,
mister Utterson beheld a marvelous number ofdegrees and hues of twilight. For here

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it would be dark like the backend of evening, and there would be
a glow of a rich, luridbrown, like the light of some strange
conflagration. And here, for amoment the fog would be quite broken up,
and a haggard shaft of daylight wouldglance in between the swarm curling wreaths.
The dismal quarter of Soho seen underthese changing glimpses, with its muddy

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ways and slatternly passengers, and itslamps which had never been extinguished or had
been kindled afresh to combat this mournfulreinvasion of darkness seemed in the lawyer's eyes
like a district of some city ina nightmare. The thoughts of his mind,
besides, were of the gloomiest dye, And when he glanced at the

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companion of his drive, he wasconscious of some touch of that terror of
the law and the law's officers,which may at times assail the most honest.
As the cab drew up before theaddress indicated, the fog lifted a
little and showed him a dingy street, a gin palace, a low French
eating house, a shop for theretail of penny numbers and two penny salads.

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Many ragged children huddled in the doorways, and many women of many different
nationalities passing out key in hand tohave a morning glass. And the next
moment the fog settled down again uponthat part as brown as umber, and
cut him off from his blackguardly surroundings. This was the home of Henry Jekyll's

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favorite, of a man who washeir to a quarter of a million sterling.
An ivory faced and silvery haired oldwoman opened the door. She had
an evil face, smooth by hypocrisy, but her manners were excellent. Yes,
she said, this was mister Hyde's, but he was not at home.
He had been in that night verylate, but he had gone away

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again in less than an hour.There was nothing strange in that his habits
were very irregular, and he wasoften absent. For instance, it was
nearly two months since she had seenhim till yesterday. Very well, then
we wished to see his rooms,said the lawyer, And when the woman
began to declare it was impossis Ihad better tell you who this person is?

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He added, This is Inspector,newcomen of Scotland Yard. A flash
of odious joy appeared upon the woman'sface. Ah, said she. He
is in trouble. What has hedone? Mister Utterson and the Inspector exchanged
glances. He don't seem a verypopular character, observed the latter. And

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now, my good woman, justlet me and this gentleman have a look
about us. In the whole extentof the house, which but for the
old woman, remained otherwise empty,mister Hyde had only used a couple of
rooms, but these were furnished withluxury and good taste. A closet was
filled with wine, the plate wasof silver, the napery elegant, a

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good picture hung upon the walls,a gift, as Otterson supposed, from
Henry Jekyll. He was much ofa connoisseur, and the carpets were of
many piles and agreeable in color.At this moment, however, the rooms
bore every mark of having been recentlyand hurriedly ransacked. Clothes lay about the

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floor with their pockets inside out.Lockfast drawers stood open, and on the
hearth there lay a pile of grayashes, as though many papers had been
burned from these embers. The inspectordisinterred the butt end of a green check
book, which had resisted the actionof the fire. The other half of
the stick was found behind the door, and as this clinched his suspicions,

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the officer declared himself delighted. Avisit to the bank, where several thousand
pounds were found to be lying tothe murderous credit, completed his gratification.
You may depend upon it, sir, he told mister Utterson, I have
him in my hand. He musthave lost his head, or he never

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would have left the stick, or, above all, burn the check book.
Why money's life to the man.We have nothing to do but wait
for him at the bank and getout the handbills. This last, however,
was not so easy of accomplishment,for mister Hyde had numbered few familiars.

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Even the master of the servant maidhad only seen him twice. His
family could nowhere be traced, andhe had never been photographed, and the
few who could describe him differed widely, as common observers will. Only on
one point were they agreed, andthat was the haunting sense of unexpressed deformity
with which the fugitive impressed his beholders.