Alan Austen, as nervous as a kitten, went up certain dark and creaky stairs in the neighborhood of Pell Street.
He pulled open the door, as he had been told to do, and found himself in a tiny room.
Is it true? That you have a certain mixture that has-er-quite extraordinary effects
I think nothing I sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordinary.
Here is a liquid as colorless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any other beverage.
Do you mean poison!?
I want nothing of the sort
Call it glove-cleaner if you like, maybe it will clean gloves. I have never tried. One might call it life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning sometimes.
Probably it is just as well. Do you know the price of this? For one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars.
I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive.
I 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.