Later the same evening Dorian Gray was at a party. He smiled and talked, and looked as young and as good-looking as ever. But his head ached and at dinner he could not eat anything. When Lord Henry asked him if he felt unwell, Dorian said that he was tired and would go home early.

At home he felt worse. Although the room was warm, his hands shook with cold. He wanted to forget for a while -- to escape from the prison of his real life, and to lose himself in dreams.

He found the house that he was looking for and went into a long, low room. Men were lying on the dirty floor, a sailor was asleep on a table and two women were drinking at the bar. As Dorian hurried up the narrow stairs, the sweet, heavy smell of opium came to meet him and he smiled in pleasure. But in the room he saw a young man who had once been his friend. He turned away, and went downstairs again to drink at the bar.

At midnight, in old dirty clothes, he left the house again and went to the East End of London. There he knew places where he could get opium -- dark, evil places where people bought and sold the beautiful, terrible dreams of opium. He had been there many times before.

"Don't talk to me," said Dorian angrily, and walked towards the door.

The sleeping sailor woke up when he heard these words, and as Dorian left the house, the sailor hurried after him.

"I remember you! You're Prince Charming, aren't you?" she shouted after him.

Dorian walked quickly along the road, but as he reached a corner, hands closed around his neck. A man pulled him backwards and pushed him against a wall. Dorian fought wildly, and pulled the hands away. Then he saw the gun in the man's hand.

One of the women spoke to him.

"You destroyed the life of Sybil Vane," answered the sailor, "and Sybil Vane was my sister. She killed herself because of you. I've been looking for you for years, but I only knew the name that she used to call you -- Prince Charming. Well, tonight I heard your name, and tonight you're going to die."

"What do you want?" he said quickly.

"Keep quiet," said the man. "If you move, I'll shoot you."

"You're crazy. What have I done to you?"

Dorian Gray grew sick with fear. "I never knew her. I've never heard of her. You're crazy," he cried. Suddenly he had an idea. "How long ago did your sister die?" he asked.

James Vane stared after him in horror. Then a woman's hand touched his arm.

"A boy?" The woman laughed. Her voice was hard. "It's eighteen years since I met Prince Charming. And his pretty face hasn't changed in all that time. It's true, I promise you."

"Why didn't you kill him?" she asked. "He's evil."

"Eighteen years ago," James Vane replied. "Why do you ask me?"

James Vane stared at Dorian. Then he pushed him towards the light, and in the light he saw the face of a boy of twenty. This man was too young. He was not the man who had destroyed his sister's life.

"Go home, and put that gun away, before you get into trouble," said Dorian. And he walked quickly away.

"Eighteen years," laughed Dorian Gray. "Take me to the light and look at my face."

"My God!" he cried. "I nearly murdered you!"

"He's not the man that I'm looking for," answered the sailor. "The man who I want must be nearly forty now. That man is only a boy."

James Vane ran to the corner of the road, but Dorian Gray had disappeared.

A week later Dorian Gray was at his house in the country, where he had invited Lord Henry and several other friends. Among them was the pretty Lady Monmouth and her much older husband. Lady Monmouth was amusing and clever, and seemed to like Dorian Gray very much. One afternoon, as they laughed and talked together during tea, Dorian went out to fetch a flower for Lady Monmouth's dress. Lord Henry smiled at Lady Monmouth.

She laughed. "Oh, men are much more interesting when they're dangerous."

"I hope you're not in love with Dorian, my dear. He's very dangerous."

Just then they heard the sound of a heavy fall. Lord Henry ran out of the room and found Dorian lying unconscious on the floor. When Dorian opened his eyes, Lord Henry said, "My dear Dorian, you must take care of yourself. You're not well."

As he dressed for dinner in his room, Dorian remembered what he had seen and cold fear ran through him like a knife. He had seen a face watching him at the window and he had recognized it. It was the face of James Vane.

The next day he did not leave the house. In fact, for most of the day he stayed in his room, sick with fear. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw again the sailor's face. He tried to tell himself that he had dreamt it. Yes, it was impossible. Sybil Vane's brother did not know his name, and was probably on his ship at sea. No, of course he had not seen James Vane's face at the window.

Dorian stood up slowly. "I'm all right, Harry. I'm all right."

Two days passed and Dorian grew less afraid. On the third day, a clear, bright winter morning, Dorian joined his friends on a shooting-party. With Lady Monmouth by his side, he walked to the edge of the forest where the men were shooting at birds and small animals. The cold air and the sounds and smells of the forest filled Dorian with happiness. Suddenly one of the men shot into the trees near them. There were two cries in the morning air -- the cry of an animal and the cry of a man, both in pain.

There were shouts and calls from the men, and then a man's body was pulled from the trees. Dorian turned away in horror. Bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere.

But the fear stayed with him, dream or no dream.

People began to walk back towards the house. Lord Henry came over to tell Dorian that the man was dead.

Dorian shook his head. "Oh, Harry," he said slowly, "I feel that something terrible is going to happen to some of us -- to me, perhaps."

Lord Henry laughed at this idea. "What could happen to you, Dorian? You have everything in the world that a man can want. Forget about this accident. It was just an accident -- not murder." Then he added with a smile, "But it would be very interesting to meet a person who had murdered somebody."

Upstairs in his room Dorian's body shook with fear like a leaf in the wind. He felt that he could not stay another night in the house. Death walked there in the sunlight. He decided to return immediately to London and to visit his doctor. His servant came to pack his clothes, and while he was doing this, he told Dorian that the dead man was a sailor, but no one knew his name.

Dorian smiled and tried to speak calmly. "It's nothing," he said quietly. "But please excuse me. I think I must go and lie down."

"What a terrible thing to say!" cried Lady Monmouth. "Don't you agree, Mr Gray? Mr Gray! Are you ill again? Your face is so white!"

"A sailor!" cried Dorian. He jumped to his feet. A wild hope filled him. "I must see the body at once."

He hurried to the house where the body lay, and when he uncovered the face of the dead man, he saw that it was James Vane. He cried with happiness, and knew that now he was safe.