CHAPTER TWO

Blackmail

"Did this ... this man try to fight with you?" asked Mr Utterson.

"No," answered Richard. "He did not seem to care at all. He did not resist me as I took him back to the child. By this time, a group of people had gathered around her, because they had heard her screams. They were the child's family, who lived two houses down from the corner. Luckily, a doctor soon joined the group. The little girl had been sent to get him, because her mother was sick. He told us that she was only hurt a little, but she was of course badly frightened.

"All this time I kept a tight hold on the man. He seemed so ugly and frightening to me that I hated to touch him. I could see the others hated him too, for his appearance as well as for what he had done. Even the doctor, who is accustomed to terrible sights, would not go near him."

"Why? Was he deformed?" asked Mr Utterson. "Or scarred on his face?"

Richard shook his head. "No, but there was a feeling of deformity about him. He looked like everyone else and yet he did not. There was something strange and horrible about his appearance. He seemed like an evil animal on the inside. I cannot speak more clearly than that. Perhaps his nature was evil, so that he made others hate and fear him. I do not know."

"But what about the door? You said your adventure involved that door across the street," said the lawyer, who was good at getting people to tell their stories quickly.

"Yes, I'm coming to that," said Richard. "We were all so angry that we promised to destroy his name in London society. We told him we would tell everyone what he had done. Then the man became rather frightened, although he tried to hide it. At last he offered money to the child's family. At first it was only a few pounds, but finally we made him give the family one hundred pounds. In return, we would say nothing. Of course, he was not carrying so much money on him. So he took the child's father, the doctor and me to the door we are looking at now. He took out a key, opened the door, and went in. When he came out, he had ten pounds in gold and the other ninety pounds in a check."

"But here, cousin, is the mystery, for the check was signed by a very well-known man! I will not tell you his name, because he is a very important man in his profession. He is also respected for his goodness and good deeds."

"Of course, we said we thought that the check must be a fake one. But this man said he could stay with us until the bank opened in the morning and then take us with him so he could cash the check in our presence."

Mr Utterson's face was sad as he turned away from his cousin and said, "The check was good, I am sure."

"Yes," said Richard eagerly. "I was coming to that. Well, by this time it was early morning. I took everyone back to my rooms, gave them breakfast, and then we went together to the bank. The bank gave the strange man the money without arguing. Then he calmly gave the money to the child's father, as if he gave away a hundred pounds every day. But since it was not his money, I am sure he did not care!

"So I call that house across the street 'Blackmail House'. That door must be an underground entrance to the home of this important, good gentleman that I cannot name. This evil person must have some control over the gentleman. In short, he must be blackmailing him!"

After this interesting end to the talk, Richard stopped talking. The two men continued walking along the street. But Mr Utterson wanted to know more.

"Did you try to find out why the gentleman was being blackmailed?" he asked. His voice was as calm as always, but Richard could see he was interested.

"No," said Richard. "I didn't want to know any more about it. One day, I saw the address of that important gentleman in the newspaper. It is in this neighborhood, right in this area. If that old door leads into his house somehow, I don't want to know for sure. The houses in that courtyard are so close together;it is hard to separate one house from another. If the gentleman has a guilty secret, which he pays the ugly man to keep hidden, then I am certainly not the person to try and find it out." Richard nodded his head, happy with himself.

Mr Utterson was not done yet. "You are sure the blackmailer used a key?" he asked. His voice sounded like a lawyer's voice, as if he were in the courtroom.

"Cousin, I have told you so," answered Richard, surprised that Utterson doubted him. "In fact, I walked by here last week and saw him use the key again to open that door! Oh, he has a key, make no mistake about that."

Mr Utterson said quietly, "Richard, aren't you surprised that I do not press you to tell me the name on the check?"

"Yes, I am," said the younger man. "I would be terribly curious if I were you. I suppose that as one grows older, one doesn't want any more surprises. Is that it?"

Mr Utterson shook his head. "No. I do not ask the name because I already know it."

Richard stood still. "You know it?"

Mr Utterson had continued walking and now he looked back, motioning Richard to follow. "Yes, I'm afraid I do. I agree with your decision not to examine the matter more closely. You are right not to interfere in the lives of others. But also, perhaps, you should not pass on gossip, as you have done with me today."

Richard looked embarrassed. "You are right, of course. I talk too much. Well, I will promise you I shall never talk about this subject again. Do you approve of that?"

The lawyer smiled at his young cousin with affection. "Yes, except for one thing. First, will you answer one question about the incident?"

"Of course, cousin." Richard thought his cousin looked pale.

With a great effort, Mr Utterson kept his voice calm and quiet as he asked, "Do you know the name of the man who entered that door with a key, the one who hurt the child?"

"Yes, of course," said Richard. "He told us his name was Mr Hyde."

(end of section)