A cold rain fell and the street lights looked strange in the mist. The public-houses (places where people drink alcohol) were closing. Groups of men and women stood near the doors. Some people laughed loudly and others screamed.
Dorian Gray sat in a hansom (a small carriage pulled by a horse). He wore his hat low over his face. Dorian Gray looked at the dirty city with sad eyes. He thought about the words of Lord Henry Wotton.
Lord Henry Wotton once said that the body can heal the soul. Dorian Gray believed this secret. He often tried to forget his life in this way. He was going to an opium den (a secret place where people smoke a strong drug to forget their problems).
The moon was low and yellow in the sky. Large clouds covered the moon sometimes. The streets became small and dark. The carriage drove through many puddles of water.
Dorian Gray thought about his soul. His soul felt very sick. He killed Basil Hallward, and the blood was on his hands. Dorian Gray could not fix this crime, but he could forget it.
The carriage moved slowly. Dorian Gray told the driver to go faster. Dorian Gray felt a strong hunger for the drug. His throat felt hot and his delicate hands shook.
The carriage stopped at a dark street. Dorian Gray saw the tall masts (the long wooden poles that hold sails) of ships nearby. The air was full of thick, white fog. Dorian Gray paid the driver and walked toward the water.
Dorian Gray walked for eight minutes. He found a small, old house between two large factories. He knocked on the door in a special way. A person opened the door and Dorian Gray went inside.
The room was long and the ceiling was low. It was very dirty. There was sawdust (very small pieces of wood) on the floor. Some men from other countries sat near a small stove.
Dorian Gray saw a young man with yellow hair. The young man was Adrian Singleton. Adrian Singleton used a long pipe to smoke. Adrian Singleton looked at Dorian Gray and nodded.
"Are you here, Adrian Singleton?" Dorian Gray asked. Adrian Singleton said he had no other place to go. His friends did not speak to him now. Adrian Singleton only wanted the drug.
Dorian Gray looked at the people in the room. They looked strange and sad on their old beds. Dorian Gray felt fear because of his memories. He saw the eyes of Basil Hallward in his mind.
Dorian Gray went to the bar with Adrian Singleton. A man gave them a bottle of brandy (a strong type of alcohol). Two women came near them. Dorian Gray did not want to talk to the women.
One woman laughed at Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray became angry and stamped his foot. He gave the woman some money. He told the woman to never talk to him again.
Dorian Gray walked to the door. The woman laughed a loud, ugly laugh. She called Dorian Gray "Prince Charming." A sailor heard this name and jumped up.
Dorian Gray walked quickly through the rain. Suddenly, someone grabbed Dorian Gray from behind. A man pushed Dorian Gray against a wall. The man held Dorian Gray’s throat with a strong hand.
Dorian Gray saw a revolver (a small gun that a person can hold in one hand). The man pointed the gun at Dorian Gray’s head. "What do you want?" Dorian Gray asked. The man told Dorian Gray to stay quiet.
The man was James Vane. He said Dorian Gray destroyed the life of Sibyl Vane. Sibyl Vane was the sister of James Vane. James Vane wanted to kill Dorian Gray for many years.
Dorian Gray was very afraid. Then he had a clever idea. Dorian Gray asked when Sibyl Vane died. James Vane said she died eighteen years ago.
Dorian Gray laughed. He told James Vane to look at his face under the light. James Vane pulled Dorian Gray to a lamp. Dorian Gray looked like a young man of twenty years.
James Vane was shocked. He thought he made a mistake. This man looked too young to hurt Sibyl Vane eighteen years ago. James Vane let Dorian Gray go.
Dorian Gray looked at James Vane sternly. He told James Vane that he almost committed a crime. Dorian Gray told James Vane to go home. Then Dorian Gray walked away slowly.
James Vane stood alone and shook with fear. Then a woman from the bar walked to him. She asked why James Vane did not kill Dorian Gray. She said Dorian Gray was a very bad man.
James Vane said the man was too young. But the woman laughed a bitter laugh. She said it was eighteen years since Dorian Gray made her life bad. She said Dorian Gray never changed.
The woman swore she told the truth. She said people believe Dorian Gray sold himself to the devil. James Vane ran to the corner of the street. But Dorian Gray was gone.