37 Then closes.
“你好。”
“不，多謝了。我這就要出門。”
波特點點頭。
“那我過會兒來，可以嗎？”他問。
“不用了，”那婦人回答道。
她關上了門。
波特眼里沒有流露絲毫神情。
他轉向下一個人家。
門開了。
隨即又關上。

38 He doesn't get a chance to speak. Porter's expression never changes. He stops at every home in his territory. People might not buy now. Next time. Maybe. No doesn't mean never. Some of his best customers are people who repeatedly turned him down before buying.
他連開口說話的機會都沒有。波特的表情從不改變。他敲開自己推銷區內的每一個家門。人們現在可能不買什么。也許下一次會買。現在不買不等于永遠不買。他的一些老客戶都是那些多次把他拒之門外而后來才買的人。

39 He makes his way down the street.

40 "I don't want to try it."

41 "Maybe next time."

42 "I'm sorry. I'm on the phone right now."

43 "No."
他沿著街道往前走。
“我不想試用這個產品。”
“也許下次試一試。”
“對不起。我在打電話。”
“不要。”

44 Ninety minutes later, Porter still has not made a sale. But there is always another home.

45 He walks on.

46 He knocks on a door. A woman appears from the backyard where she's gardening. She often buys, but not today, she says, as she walks away.

47 "Are you sure?" Porter asks.

48 She pauses.

49 "Well..."
90分鐘之后，波特仍沒能賣出一件物品。不過，下面有的是人家。
他繼續向前走。
他敲響一扇門。一位正在拾掇花園的婦女從后院走了出來。她常常買他的東西，不過今天不買，她說著走開了。
“你真的不買什么？”波特問。
她遲疑了一下。
“那么……”

50 That's all Porter needs. He walks as fast as he can, tailing her as she heads to the backyard. He sets his briefcase down and opens it. He puts on his glasses, removes his brochures and begins his sales talk, showing the woman pictures and describing each product.
波特要的就是這一遲疑。他盡可能快步上前，跟著她朝后院走去。他放下公文包，打了開來。他戴上眼鏡，拿出產品介紹小冊子，開始推銷，給那位婦人看圖片，詳細介紹每一個產品。

51 Spices?

52 "No."

53 Jams?

54 "No. Maybe nothing today, Bill."

55 Porter's hearing is the one perfect thing his body does. Except when he gets a live one. Then the word "no" does not register.
調料？
“不要。”
果醬？
“不要。恐怕今天不要什么，比爾。”
波特的聽覺是他身上惟一沒有一點毛病的功能。只有當他察覺對方有可能買他東西的時候才會發生例外。這個時候，他是聽不見“不”字的。

56 Pepper?

57 "No."

58 Laundry soap?

59 "Hmm."

60 Porter stops. He smells blood. He quickly remembers her last order.

61 "Say, aren't you about out of soap? That's what you bought last time. You ought to be out right about now."

62 "You're right, Bill. I'll take one."
胡椒粉？
“不要。”
洗衣皂？
“嗯。”
波特停了下來。他嗅到了獵物。他很快記起了她上次的訂單。
“對了，你肥皂差不多用完了吧？你上次買的就是這個。現在該差不多用完了。”
“沒錯，比爾。我買一塊。”