him enough that I could put the table between us .
48
‘ Sir ,’ I said . ‘ What have you done ?’
‘ What Jekyll has wanted to do for years . I finally killed the old man . And do you know what the final straw was ? This evening he lit a cigar and dropped ash onto our carpet . After that , Jekyll knew what needed to happen .’
‘ What ? What are you talking about ?’
‘ Don ’ t puzzle yourself , young man . Soon it won ’ t matter .’ He reached down and lifted the kitchen table into the air . He threw it away as though it was a child ’ s toy and stomped towards me .
I grabbed a frying pan from the kitchen counter and swung it at him . He caught it in one hand and wrenched it away from me .
‘ Boy . I am tired , and I ’ m drunk . Make this easy on yourself and relent . Otherwise , this will end badly for you . More badly , I should say .’
He had backed me into a corner of the kitchen , and I reached behind me for something , anything to fight back with . My hands touched something wooden , and I whipped it around at Hyde ’ s hand as it reached towards me . The wooden handled knife cleaved through two of his fingers and he let out a howl like a wounded beast of the plains .
I ran from him as fast as I could , up the stairs and onto the streets of London . I ran and ran and ran until I came to the docks .
The first ship I saw , a cargo vessel , was happy to accept my money for a berth and even offered me work . I