-
Unit 7
The Chaser
John Henry
Collier
1
Alan Austen, as nervous as
a kitten, went up certain dark and creaky stairs
in the
neighborhood of Pell Street, and
peered about for a long time on the dim hallway
before
he found the name he wanted
written obscurely on one of the doors.
2
He pushed open this door, as he had
been told to do, and found himself in a tiny
room,
which
contained
no
furniture
but
a
plain
kitchen
table,
a
rocking-
chair,
and
an
ordinary
chair.
On
one
of
the
dirty
buff-
coloured
walls
were
a
couple
of
shelves,
containing in all
perhaps a dozen bottles and jars.
3
An
old
man
sat
in
the
rocking-chair,
reading
a
newspaper.
Alan,
without
a
word,
handed him the card he
had been given. “Sit down, Mr. Austen,” said the
old man very
politely.
“I am
glad to make your acquaintance.”
4
“Is
it
true,”
asked
Alan,
“that
you
have
a
certain
mixture
that
has
…
er
…
quite
extraordinary effects?”
5
“My dear
sir,”
replied
the
old
man,
“my stock
in
trade
is
not
very
large
—
I don’t
deal in laxatives and teething mixtures
—
but such as it is, it is
varied. I think nothing I
sell has
effects which could be precisely described as
ordinary.”
6
“Well, the fact
is …” began Alan.
7
“Here,
for example,” interrupted
the
old man, reaching for
a
bottle
from
the
shelf.
“Here
is
a
liquid
as
colourless
as
water,
almost
tasteless,
quite
imperceptible
in
coffee,
wine,
or
any
other
beverage.
It
is
also
quite
imperceptible
to
any
known
method
of
autopsy.”
8
“Do you mean it is a poison?” cried
Alan, very muc
h horrified.
9
“Call
it
a
glove
-
cleaner
if
you
like,”
said
the
old
man
indifferently.
“Maybe
it
will
clean
gloves.
I
have
never
tried.
One
might
call
it
a
life-
cleaner.
Lives
need
cleaning
sometimes.”
10
“I want nothing of that sort,” said
Alan.
11
“Probably it is just as
well,” said the old man. “Do you know the price of
this? For
one teaspoonful, which is
sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never
less. Not a penny
less.”
12
“I hope all your mixtures are not as
expensive,” said Alan appre
hensively.
13
“Oh dear, no,” said the old
man. “It would be no good charging that sort of
price for
a love potion, for example.
Young people who need a love potion very seldom
have five
thousand dollars. Otherwise
they would not need a love potion.”
14
“I am glad to hear that,” said Alan.
15
“I look at it like this,” said the old
man. “Please a customer with one article, and he
will come back when he needs another.
Even if it is more costly. He will save up for it,
if
necessary.”
16
“So,” said Alan, “you really do sell
love potions?”
17
“If
I
did
not
sell
love
potions,”
said
the
old
man,
reaching
for
another
bottle,
“I
should not have mentioned
the other matter to you. It is only when one is in
a position to
oblige that one can
afford to be so
confidential. “
18
“And these potions,” said Alan. “They
are not just … just … er …”
19
“Oh, no,” said the old man. “Their
effects are permanent, and extend far beyond the
mere casual impulse. But they include
it. Oh, yes they include it. Bountifully,
insistently.
Everlastingly.”
20
“Dear
me!”
said
Alan,
attempting
a
look
of
scientific
detachment.
“How
very
interesting!”
21
“But consider
the spiritual side,” said the old man.
22
“I do, indeed,” said Alan.
23
“For indifference,” said the old man,
“they substitute devotion. For scorn, adoration.
Give one tiny measure of this to the
young lady
—
its flavour is
imperceptible in orange
juice, soup, or
cocktails
—
and however gay
and giddy she is, she will change altogether.
She will want nothin
g but
solitude and you.”
24
“I can hardly
believe it,” said Alan. “She is so fond of
parties.”
25
“She
will
not
like
them
anymore,”
said
the
old
man.
“She
will
be
afraid
of
the
pretty girls you may
meet.”
26
“She will actually be
jealous?” cried Alan in a rapture. “Of me?”
27
“Yes, she will want to be everything to
you.”
28
“She is, already. Only she
doesn’t care about it.”
29
“She
will,
when
she
has
taken
this.
She
will
care
intensely.
You
will
be
her
sole
interest in life.”
30
“Wonderful!” cried Alan.
31
“She will want to know all you do,”
said the old man. “All that has happened to you
during the day. Every word of it. She
will want to know what you are thinking about, why
you smile suddenly, why you are looking
sad.”