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. 鈥淪it down, Mr. Austen,鈥?nbsp;said the old man very
politely.
鈥淚 am glad to make your acquaintance.鈥?nbsp;
4
鈥淚s
it
true,鈥?nbsp;
asked
Alan,
鈥渢hat
you
have
a
certain
mixture
that
has
鈥?nbsp;
er
鈥?nbsp;
quite
extraordinary effects?鈥?nbsp;
5
鈥淢y dear
sir,鈥?nbsp;
replied
the
old man,
鈥渕y stock
in
trade
is
not
very
large
鈥?/p>
I don鈥檛
deal in laxatives and teething mixtures
鈥?/p>
but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing I
sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordinary.鈥?nbsp;
6
鈥淲ell, the fact is 鈥︹�?nbsp;began Alan.
7
鈥淗ere,
for example,鈥?nbsp;interrupted
the
old man, reaching for
a
bottle
from
the
shelf.
鈥淗ere
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.鈥?nbsp;
8
鈥淒o you mean it is a poison?鈥?nbsp;cried Alan, very muc
h horrified.
9
鈥淐all
it
a
glove
-
cleaner
if
you
like,鈥?nbsp;
said
the
old
man
indifferently.
鈥淢aybe
it
will
clean
gloves.
I
have
never
tried.
One
might
call
it
a
life-cleaner.
Lives
need
cleaning
sometimes.鈥?nbsp;
10
鈥淚 want nothing of that sort,鈥?nbsp;said Alan.
11
鈥淧robably it is just as well,鈥?nbsp;said the old man. 鈥淒o you know the price of this? For
one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never less. Not a penny
less.鈥?nbsp;
12
鈥淚 hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,鈥?nbsp;said Alan appre
hensively.