CHAPTER ONE

A Terrible Scene

One sunny Sunday morning in London, two well-dressed men were about to crass a street. They were Mr Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer, and his young cousin, Richard Enfield. Suddenly, a carriage with horses came up beside them, and the cabman leaned down from his seat, waving his whip.

"Good morning, gentlemen," the cabman called with a hopeful smile. "Are you going to church on this fine Sunday? I'll take you there in two moments or less!"

Mr Utterson never spoke unless it was important. He frowned at the cabman, and motioned with his hand for him to go away. But Richard gave the man a friendly smile and shook his head.

"No, my good man, we are out for a walk, which we take every Sunday. That's the way to see interesting things in London."

They crossed a few streets and soon found themselves in a dirty-looking neighborhood. Slowly they walked down a small street full of shops. Mr Utterson stopped to look at some interesting objects sitting in a store window.

Suddenly Richard touched his arm and spoke in a serious sounding voice. "Do you see that door across the street, Cousin? That door reminds me of something very strange that happened to me."

Mr Utterson looked at the old door with the fading paint. It belonged to a two-story building that was one of several built around a courtyard. Because there were no windows at the front of the building, it looked strange and a little frightening.

Mr Utterson was usually not interested in strange stories, but now he became curious. "Really? What does the door remind you of?"

Richard took him away from the store and spoke very softly. "I was coming home alone from a party on a dark winter night. There were some lights in the street, but no people. Everyone was asleep, and I heard only my own footsteps. Not far from here, as I neared a corner, I suddenly saw two people. One, coming up one street, was a little girl, running as hard as she could. And coming up an alley on the side was a short, dark shadow of a man, walking quickly. I saw they were going to run into each other at the corner, but there was nothing I could do. It happened very fast. They hit one another, and the child was knocked off her feet. I heard her cry out in pain. By that time, I was running toward them to help in any way that I could."

Richard did not notice his cousin looking almost frightened as he listened to the story. If he had noticed, he would have stopped talking, and been amazed, for Gabriel John Utterson rarely showed his emotions, even to his many friends.

Richard spoke faster now, his eyes flashing with anger. "The man had the wind knocked out of him for a moment. But instead of picking the child up, he crushed her with his feet! You may find it hard to believe, Cousin, but I swear it is true! He stepped right on her and over her, and continued to walk away! The child's screams were terrible. I ran after the man and grabbed him by his coat. The face he showed me was hideous and ugly. For a terrible moment, I wondered if this was a man or an animal!"

(end of section)