- The
- Body
- Snatchers
- is
- a
- short
- story
- by
- the
- Scottish
- author
- Robert
- Louis
- Stevenson
- (1850–1894).
- First
- published
- in
- the
- Pall
- Mall
- Christmas
- "Extra"
- in
- December
- 1884,
- its
- characters
- were
- based
- on
- criminals
- in
- the
- employ
- of
- real-life
- surgeon
- Robert
- Knox
- (1791–1862)
- around
- the
- time
- of
- the
- notorious
- Burke
- and
- Hare
- murders
- (1828).
- A
- group
- of
- friends
- share
- a
- few
- drinks,
- when
- an
- eminent
- doctor,
- Wolfe
- Macfarlane,
- enters.
- One
- of
- the
- friends,
- Fettes,
- recognizes
- the
- name
- and
- angrily
- confronts
- the
- new
- arrival.
- Although
- his
- friends
- all
- find
- this
- behaviour
- suspicious,
- none
- of
- them
- can
- understand
- what
- might
- lie
- behind
- it.
- It
- transpires
- that
- Macfarlane
- and
- Fettes
- had
- attended
- medical
- school
- together,
- under
- the
- famous
- professor
- of
- anatomy,
- Robert
- Knox.
- Their
- duties
- included
- taking
- receipt
- of
- bodies
- for
- dissection,
- and
- paying
- the
- pair
- of
- shifty
- and
- suspicious
- men
- who
- supplied
- them.
- On
- one
- occasion,
- Fettes
- identifies
- a
- body
- as
- that
- of
- a
- woman
- he
- knew,
- and
- is
- convinced
- she
- has
- been
- murdered.
- But
- Macfarlane
- talks
- him
- out
- of
- reporting
- the
- incident,
- lest
- they
- are
- both
- implicated
- in
- the
- crime.
- Later,
- Fettes
- meets
- Macfarlane
- at
- a
- tavern,
- along
- with
- a
- man
- named
- Gray,
- who
- treats
- Macfarlane
- in
- a
- rude
- manner.
- The
- following
- night,
- Macfarlane
- brings
- Gray's
- body
- along
- as
- a
- dissection
- sample.
- Although
- Fettes
- is
- now
- certain
- that
- his
- friend
- has
- committed
- murder,
- Macfarlane
- again
- convinces
- him
- to
- keep
- his
- silence,
- persuading
- him
- that
- if
- he
- is
- not
- courageous
- enough
- to
- perform
- such
- manly
- deeds
- as
- these,
- he
- will
- end
- up
- as
- just
- another
- victim.
- The
- two
- men
- make
- sure
- the
- body
- is
- comprehensively
- dissected,
- destroying
- any
- forensic
- evidence.
- Fettes
- and
- Macfarlane
- continue
- their
- work,
- without
- being
- implicated
- in
- any
- crime.
- However,
- when
- a
- shortage
- of
- bodies
- leaves
- their
- mentor
- in
- need,
- they
- are
- sent
- to
- a
- country
- churchyard
- to
- exhume
- a
- recently
- buried
- woman.
- As
- they
- are
- driving
- back
- with
- the
- body
- seated
- between
- them,
- they
- begin
- to
- feel
- nervous
- and
- stop
- to
- take
- a
- better look.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
