Alan Austen went up certain dark and creaky stairs and peered about for a long time on the dime landing before he found the name he wanted written obscurely on one of the doors. He pushed open this door and found himself in a tiny room, which contained no furniture but a plain kitchen table, a chair and a rocking-chair. On one of the dirty buff-coloured walls were a couple of shelves, containing in all perhaps a dozen bottles and jars. An old man sat in the rocking-chair, reading a newspaper. Alan, without a word, handed him the card he had been given.
艾倫·奧斯丁走進漆黑的樓梯間里，踏著吱吱作響的樓梯，向樓上走去。他在光線昏暗的樓梯口瞇著眼看了好一陣子，才在其中一扇房門上找到了他想要找的那個名字，盡管字跡有些模糊不清。他推門進去。房間很小，幾乎沒什么家具，只有一張不起眼的餐桌、一把普普通通的椅子和一把搖椅。淡黃色的墻壁臟兮兮的，其中一面墻上裝著三兩副貨架，上面擺放著大概十幾個瓶瓶罐罐。一位老人坐在搖椅上，正看著報紙。艾倫默不作聲地把自己之前收到的那張卡片遞給了老人。
"Sit down, Mr. Austen," said the old man very politely. "I am glad to make your acquaintance." "Is it true," asked Alan, "that you have a certain mixture that has-er-quite extraordinary effects?" "My dear sir," replied the old man, "my stock in trade is not very large -I don't deal in laxatives-but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing I sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordinary."
“請坐，奧斯丁先生，”老人非常有禮貌地說。“很高興認識你。” “聽說您這里有那種……呃……效果非同尋常的藥水，”艾倫問道，“這是真的嗎？”“親愛的先生，”老人回答說，“我這里藥品的存貨并不多——我可不賣瀉藥什么的——不過，我這里藥的品種也不算少。而且我覺得，我賣的藥的效果都不是“尋常”二字能夠描述得了的。”
"Well, the fact is. . ." began Alan. "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."
“嗯，是這么回事......”艾倫打算切入正題。“比如這個，”老人打斷他的話，伸手取下貨架上的一個瓶子。“這種藥水看上去跟水沒什么兩樣，無色、基本無味，摻在咖啡、葡萄酒或任何其他飲料中完全不會被察覺到，且?guī)缀醪粫蝗魏我阎氖瑱z方法檢驗出來。”
"Do you mean it is a poison?" cried Alan, very much horrified. "One might call it a life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning sometimes." Said the old man. "I want nothing of that sort," said Alan. "Do you know the price of this?” the old man continued. “For one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never less. Not a penny less."
“您的意思是它是一種毒藥？”艾倫非常驚恐地喊了起來。“我們可以管它叫‘生命清潔劑’。有時候，我們的生命也需要清潔一下。”老人回答說。“我可不想買那種東西”艾倫說。“你知道它有多貴嗎？”老人繼續(xù)說道，“只要一茶匙，保證‘藥到病除’，但這一茶匙我要收五千美元，一分錢不能少。”
"I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive," said Alan apprehensively. "Oh dear, no," said the old man. " Young people who need a love potion for example, very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion."
“希望您的藥水可別都這么貴，”艾倫有些擔憂地說。“放心吧，不會的，”老人接話道。“比如，需要愛情魔藥的年輕人，就很少有人付得起五千美元，否則他們也不會需要愛情魔藥了。”
"I am glad to hear that," said Alan. "So, you really do sell love potions?" "If I did not sell love potions," said the old man, reaching for another bottle, "I should not have mentioned this other matter to you. It is only when one is in a position to oblige that one can afford to be so confidential."
“您這么說我就放心了，”艾倫說。“所以，您這里真的在賣愛情魔藥？”“如果我沒有出售愛情魔藥的話，”老人說，伸手去拿另一個瓶子，“我也不會跟你提剛才那種藥了。若沒那個本事，怎會如此坦誠相告？”
"And these potions," said Alan. "They are not just-just-er-" "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."
“還有，這種愛情魔藥，”艾倫說，“它不只是……僅僅……呃……”“當然不是，”老人回答說，“它的藥效是永久性的，遠不止一時的沖動。但沖動也是它的藥效之一。哦，對了，藥效中絕對包括沖動，而且是那種濃烈的、持久的、永恒的沖動。”
"Dear me!" said Alan, attempting a look of scientific detachment. "How very interesting!" "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 want nothing but solitude and you. She will not want to go out, because she will be afraid of the pretty girls you may meet when she’s away." "She will actually be jealous?" cried Alan in a rapture. "Yes, she will want to be everything to you. If you are an hour late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has caught you."
“哦，天哪！”艾倫說，努力讓自己看上去更加科學客觀。“這太有趣了！”老人接著說：“我的愛情魔藥能夠?qū)⒗淠娲蔁釔郏荒軌驅(qū)⑤p蔑替代成愛慕。只要取很少的劑量讓那位少女喝下——摻在橙汁、湯或雞尾酒中很難察覺到它的味道——無論她多么輕浮、多么輕佻，她都會徹底發(fā)生改變，除了與你廝守一生，別無他求。她將不再喜歡出去拋頭露面，因為她會害怕她不在你身邊時，你會遇到漂亮女孩。”“她真的會嫉妒嗎？”艾倫已按捺不住自己的狂喜，喊了起來。“是的，她會想要成為你生命中的一切。如果你晚回家一個小時，她就會擔驚受怕。她會認為你被殺害了，或者認為你被某個狐貍精勾引走了。”
"Dear me!" said Alan, attempting a look of scientific detachment. "How very interesting!" "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 want nothing but solitude and you. She will not want to go out, because she will be afraid of the pretty girls you may meet when she’s away." "She will actually be jealous?" cried Alan in a rapture. "Yes, she will want to be everything to you. If you are an hour late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has caught you."
“哦，天哪！”艾倫說，努力讓自己看上去更加科學客觀。“這太有趣了！”老人接著說：“我的愛情魔藥能夠?qū)⒗淠娲蔁釔郏荒軌驅(qū)⑤p蔑替代成愛慕。只要取很少的劑量讓那位少女喝下——摻在橙汁、湯或雞尾酒中很難察覺到它的味道——無論她多么熱情，輕浮，她都會徹底發(fā)生改變，除了與你廝守一生，別無他求。她將不再喜歡出去拋頭露面，因為她會害怕她不在你身邊時，你會遇到漂亮女孩。”“她真的會嫉妒嗎？”艾倫已按捺不住自己的狂喜，喊了起來。“是的，她會想要成為你生命中的一切。如果你晚回家一個小時，她就會擔驚受怕。她會認為你被殺害了，或者認為你被某個狐貍精勾引走了。”
"I can hardly imagine Diana like that!" cried Alan, overwhelmed with joy. "You will not have to use your imagination," said the old man. "And, by the way, since there are always sirens, if by any chance you should, later on, slip a little, you need not worry. She will forgive you, in the end. She will be terribly hurt, of course, but she will forgive you-in the end. And, of course, she will never give you the least, the very least, grounds for-uneasiness."
“我很難想象黛安娜會那樣！”艾倫繼續(xù)喊著說道，已完全喜形于色。“你不必去過多想象了，”老人說。 “而且，順便說一下，因為世上總會有狐貍精，即便你萬一不小心開了個小差兒，你也不必擔心。她最后一定會原諒你。當然，她會受到極大的傷害。但她最終肯定會原諒你。而且，當然，她絕對不會讓你感到任何不自在，一點兒也不會。”
"And how much," said Alan, "is this wonderful mixture?" "It is not as dear," said the old man, "as the life-cleaner, as I sometimes call it. No. That is five thousand dollars, never a penny less. One has to be older than you are, to indulge in that sort of thing. One has to save up for it."
艾倫問：“這么神奇的藥水要多少錢？”“沒有生命清潔劑那么貴，”老人回答說，“我有時把那種藥稱為‘生命清潔劑’。那東西可不便宜，要五千美元，而且一分錢不能少。你還年輕，還不到沉溺于那種藥水的年紀。年輕人得多存些錢才買得起。”
"But the love potion?" said Alan. "Oh, that," said the old man, opening the drawer in the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirty-looking phial. "That is just a dollar." "I can't tell you how grateful I am," said Alan, watching him fill it. "I like to oblige," said the old man. "Then customers come back, later in life, when they are better off, and want more expensive things. Here you are. You will find it very effective." "Thank you again," said Alan. "Good-bye." "Au revoir," said the man.
“那愛情魔藥呢？”艾倫問道。“哦，那個啊，”老人邊說邊拉出了餐桌的抽屜，取出一個看起來很臟的小藥瓶。“一瓶只要一美元。”“真是感激不盡，”艾倫一邊說，一邊看著老人裝滿小藥瓶。“很高興為你效勞，”老人說， “以后，顧客的年紀再長些，經(jīng)濟狀況更好了，想要買更貴的東西的時候，他們就會成為我的回頭客。拿好了。你會發(fā)現(xiàn)它是非常有效的。”“再次感謝您，”艾倫說。最后，艾倫與老人相互道別。