# Short Fiction — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

- [Lord Oakhurst’s Curse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/lord-oakhurst-s-curse.md): The chapter introduces Lord Oakhurst's curse, a mysterious and ominous force that affects the characters and events in the story, setting the stage for themes of deception and consequence.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): Lord Oakhurst lies dying in his castle, reflecting on his past romance with his young wife while she mourns and eats caramels. The servants move quietly, and the scene is filled with the fragrance of summer and the inevi
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): Sir Everhard FitzArmond, a famous London physician, arrives at Oakhurst Hall to attend to the dying Lord Oakhurst. He pronounces Lord Oakhurst dead, and Lady Oakhurst, after a moment of confusion, breaks open her husband
- [III: The Curse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii-the-curse.md): Sir Everhard FitzArmond is attacked by Lord Oakhurst's pack of curs as he leaves Oakhurst Castle, prompting him to utter a terrible curse before fleeing in his carriage.
- [Bexar Scrip No. 2692](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/bexar-scrip-no-2692.md): The chapter describes the General Land Office in Austin, Texas, and the history of Bexar Scrip No. 2692, a missing land file. It follows the land agent Sharp, who discovers a fatal defect in the title of a widow's land a
- [Queries and Answers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/queries-and-answers.md): A humorous collection of fictional newspaper queries and answers, offering witty, ironic, and satirical responses to a variety of questions about investments, literature, geography, grammar, law, and local Texas life.
- [Aristocracy Versus Hash](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/aristocracy-versus-hash.md): A hungry, homeless representative from Soapstone County recounts his failed attempts to find affordable boarding in Austin, where aristocratic landladies—widows of governors, generals, and other high-born figures—charge 
- [Fickle Fortune or How Gladys Hustled](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/fickle-fortune-or-how-gladys-hustled.md): A satirical tale of love, fortune, and betrayal. Bertram D. Snooper, a poor lawyer, loses his suit for Gladys Vavasour-Smith's hand. After a fifteen-year interval, he returns wealthy as the heir to the Tom Bean estate, o
- [A Strange Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-strange-story.md): In Austin, John Smothers disappears one night while fetching medicine for his daughter's colic. His daughter later marries John Smith and has a daughter named Pansy. Years later, on the anniversary of the disappearance, 
- [The Great French Detective, in Austin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-great-french-detective-in-austin.md): A political intrigue unfolds in Austin involving a French detective and a successful scheme.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): The famous French detective Tictocq arrives in Austin under an assumed name and is approached by the Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee, Platform No. 2, who seeks his help in recovering a pair of socks stolen
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): The chapter describes a high-society party in Austin, Texas, hosted by Mrs. Rutabaga St. Vitus for her daughter's debut. The guests include local socialites, a pants salesman, and a pianist named Professor von Bum. The p
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii.md): Tictocq presents his report on the stolen socks case to a room of Populists and Democrats, revealing his investigation and the arrest of Professor von Bum, while the Populist Candidate protests that it is a political tri
- [Tracked to Doom](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/tracked-to-doom.md): A parody of detective fiction set in Paris, featuring the detective Tictocq tracking the murderer Gray Wolf through a cellar crime scene, a duchess's salon, and a cathedral spire, ending with a twist where identities are
- [A Snapshot at the President](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-snapshot-at-the-president.md): A reporter from The Rolling Stone in Austin, Texas, is sent to Washington, D.C., to interview President Cleveland. After a series of comedic misunderstandings—including being mistaken for a dynamiter due to his wooden 'r
- [Three Paragraphs](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/three-paragraphs.md): A dying woman's feverish ramblings are transcribed by a humorist who desperately tries to fill a column of humorous copy, but her final moments reveal the tragic cost of his work.
- [A Lunar Episode](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-lunar-episode.md): A surreal scene on the moon depicts a violent struggle between two men on a precipice, ending with one hurling the other toward Earth. The Man in the Moon casually remarks that this is the third such incident that week, 
- [The Sensitive Colonel Jay](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-sensitive-colonel-jay.md): A stranger waiting peacefully on a hotel porch is suddenly shot at by a tall man who mistakes his pipe-tapping for an insult. The shooter, Colonel Jay, apologizes profusely and invites the stranger for a drink to make am
- [The Distraction of Grief](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-distraction-of-grief.md): A pastor visits a young widow to discuss funeral arrangements for her recently deceased husband. Deeply absorbed in her grief, she mishears his question about a funeral sermon and instead responds about the color red har
- [A Sporting Interest](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-sporting-interest.md): After a workplace accident kills a man, his coworkers send Mike to break the news to the young widow. She asks if it was 'spontaneous combustion or snakes,' revealing she had bet on whisky, and expresses disappointment a
- [Had a Use for It](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/had-a-use-for-it.md): A man brings a lengthy handwritten refutation of the President's message to a Texas newspaper editor, who, desperate for content to fill his pages, accepts it and then has his staff erase the text to reuse the paper.
- [The Old Landmark](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-old-landmark.md): An old man returns to his hometown after twenty years, only to find it transformed into a modern city. Desperate for a familiar sight from his youth, he joyfully discovers one unchanged relic—a garbage pile—and dies peac
- [Getting at the Facts](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/getting-at-the-facts.md): A night editor, preparing for his shift, receives a poem from a young lady. He misinterprets the poem as a news report of a fatal accident and attempts to rewrite it as a news item, much to the poetess's indignation. She
- [Too Wise](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/too-wise.md): A man in Houston, who prides himself on being shrewd and detecting frauds, dismisses a shady-looking man offering a diamond ring for a dollar, believing it to be a con. He later discovers his wife lost her real solitaire
- [Answers to Inquiries](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/answers-to-inquiries.md): A brief, humorous exchange in which a young schoolboy attempts to ask an arithmetic question about grocery prices, only to be cut off and redirected to the advertising manager.
- [Hush Money](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/hush-money.md): A man known for his practical jokes tells a friend that an alderman has been taking hush money, leading to a rumor that spreads through town. When the alderman confronts him and gives him two black eyes, the man is force
- [Relieved](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/relieved.md): A wealthy Houston capitalist, living frugally on eleven dollars a week despite his fortune, is confronted by a desperate man who threatens him with a package he claims contains dynamite. The capitalist is terrified until
- [A Villainous Trick](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-villainous-trick.md): The chapter describes a theatrical performance of 'Monbars' in Houston, where the actor playing the villain exploits a stage convention—the reading aloud of a letter being written—to eavesdrop and gain information for hi
- [Book Reviews](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/book-reviews.md): A satirical review of Noah Webster's dictionary and the Houston City Directory, praising their alphabetical arrangement and wholesome content with exaggerated, ironic admiration.
- [A Conditional Pardon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-conditional-pardon.md): A newlywed couple returns to seek forgiveness from the bride's father, who instead demands financial compensation for her upkeep. The chapter also includes humorous commentary on pension claims and proverbial wisdom.
- [Bill Nye](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/bill-nye.md): A tribute to the late humorist Bill Nye, celebrating his unique American humor characterized by sharp contrasts, kindliness, and harmless wit. The chapter reflects on his understanding of human nature, his ability to ill
- [A Guarded Secret](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-guarded-secret.md): The narrator defends women's ability to keep secrets, arguing that the joke that women cannot keep secrets is false and ungrateful. He contrasts women's loyalty and discretion with men's tendency to babble, citing Adam a
- [A Universal Favorite](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-universal-favorite.md): This chapter introduces Miss Annie Williams of Philadelphia, the most popular and beloved young lady in the United States, whose portrait is more widely sought than that of any famous beauty or notable figure. Despite he
- [Willing to Compromise](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/willing-to-compromise.md): A man with a red tie enters a bar and attempts to solicit donations for a silver service for the battleship Texas and for Cuban patriots, but the bartender deflects his requests with sarcastic offers of tainted drinks be
- [Ridiculous](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ridiculous.md): A short, humorous editorial note recounts a nonsensical riddle left at the office by a young man who fled immediately. The riddle compares the coming Sunday to a very young body because 'it's neck's weak,' which the edit
- [Guessed Everything Else](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/guessed-everything-else.md): A persistent peddler with a long nose attempts to sell various household goods to a woman who repeatedly tries to tell him that her family has smallpox. He misinterprets her interruptions and continues his sales pitch un
- [A Slight Mistake](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-slight-mistake.md): A man posing as a poet tries to sell a spring poem to a newspaper, but the business manager dismisses him as a time-waster. After being insulted, the man reveals he is actually a wealthy advertiser for a sarsaparilla fir
- [A Good Story Spoiled](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-good-story-spoiled.md): In a tough saloon, a drunken desperado orders everyone to drink. One small, determined man initially declines but then calmly approaches and accepts, spoiling a potential newspaper story.
- [Revenge](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/revenge.md): The chapter presents a satirical editorial from the Houston Post and a retaliatory piece from the Kyle Star-Vindicator, which uses flowery, overwrought language to describe spring as a form of revenge against criticism.
- [No Help for It](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/no-help-for-it.md): A Houston grocer offers his clerk, John, a partnership in the business as a cost-cutting measure, but John anxiously declines, citing his youth and family responsibilities. The grocer insists, revealing the ironic twist 
- [Not So Much a Tam Fool](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/not-so-much-a-tam-fool.md): A man attempts to return a dozen extra eggs he received by mistake, but the grocer, suspicious of a con, insists on giving him more eggs to avoid being cheated later.
- [A Guess-Proof Mystery Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-guess-proof-mystery-story.md): The chapter presents a satirical take on the popular trend of guess-contest mystery stories, offering a synopsis that challenges readers to guess the ending for a cash prize, with the claim that it is easy to write an un
- [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/chapter-i.md): Judge Smith, a respected citizen of Plunkville, is found murdered in his bed under bizarre and excessive circumstances, with multiple fatal wounds and strange clues left at the scene. The coroner's verdict is suicide.
- [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/chapter-ii.md): The judge's daughter Mabel, aged eighteen, is beautiful and inherits his life insurance of $100,000. She had threatened him with a revolver and axe the night before his murder. Her fiancé Charlie is seen fleeing the scen
- [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/chapter-iii.md): A mysterious lady in mourning arrives in Plunkville, registering as Jane Bumgartner. A Chinaman is arrested for the judge's murder despite his denial. The lady faints upon smelling Charlie's cigarette smoke. Mabel breaks
- [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/chapter-iv.md): During the trial of a Chinaman for murder, Jane Bumgartner testifies that she witnessed the detective murder Judge Smith at the behest of the minister who conducted the funeral, and reveals that Mabel is Charlie's stepmo
- [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/chapter-v.md): Thomas R. Hefflebomer arrives and confesses to murdering the judge during a fit of mental aberration. Mabel later marries a man named Tompkins, whom she met two years later at Hot Springs.
- [An Inspiration](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-inspiration.md): A reporter encounters a shabbily dressed man sitting on a box in the rain, assumes he is a tramp, and offers him charity. The man reveals he actually owns the nearby buildings and is worried about costly repairs. The rep
- [Coming to Him](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/coming-to-him.md): A man obsessed with the latest scientific discoveries and health warnings harasses a friend on the street, bombarding him with dire facts about microbes, nail-biting, water bacteria, and chlorine gas, until the friend es
- [His Pension](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/his-pension.md): A member of Hood's brigade tells a joke to a Post's representative about a man in Indiana who applied for a pension after having his 'retreat cut off' at the Battle of Gettysburg, playing on the double meaning of the phr
- [The Winner](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-winner.md): Three old cronies, after a performance, go to a saloon and begin telling tall tales over drinks. The judge proposes a lying contest for a mint julep, and the colonel starts a story that is quickly interrupted as too impr
- [Hungry Henry's Ruse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/hungry-henry-s-ruse.md): A con artist posing as a state agent uses a series of fake product pitches to gain entry to a home, then reveals his true intent by demanding supper under threat.
- [One Consolation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/one-consolation.md): After breakfast, Adam leaves for his daily work of labeling animal cages. Eve speaks privately to the parrot, recounting how Adam complained about the biscuits she made, and she retorted that at least his mother never ma
- [An Unsuccessful Experiment](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-unsuccessful-experiment.md): An old colored preacher in Texas attempts to emulate the fiery preaching style of Rev. Sam Jones, but his harsh accusations against members of his congregation lead to a physical brawl instead of spiritual awakening.
- [Even Worse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/even-worse.md): Two men in Houston struggle through a rainy, muddy night, exchanging a darkly humorous remark about their miserable conditions, comparing them unfavorably to hell.
- [The Shock](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-shock.md): A pale, shaken man stumbles into a Houston drug store and is given several doses of whisky by the clerk to recover from a shock. He explains that he had playfully dangled a toy spider in front of a red-faced man, only to
- [The Cynic](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-cynic.md): A brief dialogue between a Junior and Senior Partner reveals a business transaction where a firm sends an extra $50 to cover a pricing error, prompting the Senior Partner to insist on shipping C.O.D. The chapter then shi
- [Speaking of Big Winds](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/speaking-of-big-winds.md): A traveler with a bronzed face and distinguished air regales a group of men at the Lamlor with tales of South American wind storms and the intelligence of wild cattle. A Topeka flour drummer counters with a tall tale abo
- [An Original Idea](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-original-idea.md): A woman in Houston, known for her original ideas, sets up a home bar to keep her husband from going to saloons. Her husband, Robert, initially stunned, plays along and drinks heavily, leading to a drunken confrontation w
- [Calculations](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/calculations.md): A long-haired temperance advocate approaches a red-nosed man at the Grand Central Depot, attempting to persuade him with a financial calculation about the cost of drinking. The red-nosed man, a self-proclaimed calculator
- [A Valedictory](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-valedictory.md): The narrator, writing as the 'Some Postscripts' columnist for the Post, laments that his creative vein has run dry after being exposed by a Brenham Press brother. He reflects on the fleeting nature of his brilliance and 
- [Solemn Thoughts](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/solemn-thoughts.md): A group of traveling salesmen from different cities gather on a spring night in a Southern town, sharing stories and a growing sense of homesickness. Their sentimental reflections on home and family are interrupted when 
- [Explaining It](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/explaining-it.md): A brief anecdote about a Texas legislator at a chrysanthemum show who, when asked if he was in the House during the last session, quips that he was in the House but the Senate had him for about forty-five dollars when th
- [Her Failing](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/her-failing.md): Two Houston girls on bicycles encounter a fluffy girl riding in a buggy with a young man. After she passes, one girl criticizes her as 'too effeminate,' revealing a subtle commentary on gender expectations and social jud
- [A Disagreement](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-disagreement.md): A Houston citizen complains about Mr. Bergman, the opera house manager, who refused to give him a half-price ticket despite the man's deafness in one ear, instead insisting he should pay double because it would take him 
- [An Expensive Veracity](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-expensive-veracity.md): A Houston man, inspired by Sam Jones's sermons against lying, resolves to tell the absolute truth. His blunt honesty at breakfast offends his wife, and his harsh comment to his wealthy aunt costs him an $8,000 inheritanc
- [Grounds for Uneasiness](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/grounds-for-uneasiness.md): Professor Sousa is invited to dine with a wealthy but stingy Houston citizen. After dinner, he plays classical piano pieces, but his host becomes restless and asks for livelier music because a wood-sawing worker in the b
- [Recognition](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/recognition.md): A woman returns home confidently after securing a job as a female impersonator, celebrating the world's recognition of women as equals to men, while her husband anxiously prepares supper.
- [His Doubt](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/his-doubt.md): A young married couple in a modest home discuss financial responsibility and the future, with the wife speaking sentimentally about their new baby and the husband misinterpreting her words as a desire to buy a piano on c
- [A Cheering Thought](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-cheering-thought.md): A man, feeling guilty after hearing a sermon by Sam Jones, attempts to confess his sins and turn himself in at a police station. The officer reassures him that the sermon likely targeted someone else, lifting his spirits
- [What It Was](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/what-it-was.md): A couple, George and his unnamed partner, are having an intimate moment on a dark lawn in Houston when the woman reveals that something is coming between them—his watch.
- [Identified](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/identified.md): A stranger attempts to cash a draft at a Houston bank but is repeatedly asked for identification. After presenting letters, business cards, and even his monogrammed shirt, the cashier remains unsatisfied. Finally, the st
- [Red Conlin's Eloquence](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/red-conlin-s-eloquence.md): A group of men discuss great orators, but an old cattleman insists none compare to Red Conlin, a natural talker from Texas. He recounts how Red's eloquence saved the day after the men accidentally lynched an innocent man
- [Marvelous](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/marvelous.md): A humorous anecdote about a man known for his clever reasoning who, despite his logical prowess, is forgetful about everyday tasks. His wife ties a string around his finger to remind him to make purchases, but he misinte
- [The Stranger's Appeal](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-stranger-s-appeal.md): A tall, angular man from Massachusetts, dressed like a country preacher, stops in a small Texas town and appeals to a group of men on the post-office porch about the recent brutal burnings of African Americans. After the
- [The Colonel’s Romance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-colonel-s-romance.md): A group of middle-aged men sit around a stove, sharing tobacco and reminiscing about their old homes. The colonel recounts returning to his hometown of Crosstree, Alabama, after fifteen years, where he discovers a long-l
- [A Narrow Escape](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-narrow-escape.md): A meek-looking man enters a Houston saloon and recounts a past incident where he shot a hole behind the bar, threatening the bartender. The bartender responds with a threat of his own, but the man backs down, claiming hi
- [A Years Supply](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-years-supply.md): A wealthy man, moved by a chance encounter with a poor little girl named Susie Tompkins, gives her a package he claims will last her and her mother a year. Upon returning home, the mother unwraps it to find a calendar.
- [Slightly Mixed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/slightly-mixed.md): A Houston racing man enthusiastically discusses his new wife and his prized filly, both named Bessie, leading to humorous confusion as he ambiguously shifts between praising his wife and his horse.
- [Knew What Was Needed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/knew-what-was-needed.md): A gentleman from Ohio on a hunting trip stops in a Houston saloon late at night. After ordering a drink, he asks the black bartender about local game. The bartender, noticing the man's shotgun, hands him a six-shooter in
- [Some Ancient News Notes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/some-ancient-news-notes.md): A satirical piece presenting fictional 'ancient' newspaper fragments discovered on Mt. Sinai, humorously showing that human nature and sensational journalism have existed for millennia, with biblical figures reimagined a
- [A Sure Method](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-sure-method.md): An editor uses a $20 bill to kill poets who submit poor work, finding it more effective than a gun or club, with the coroner always ruling heart failure.
- [A Tragedy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-tragedy.md): The Caliph of the Indies demands one final tale from Scheherezade, threatening her life if it is a stale joke. She protests that her story is too gross to tell, and after insisting, the Caliph has her executed, revealing
- [A Houston Romance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-houston-romance.md): A popular young society man in Houston mysteriously disappears, leaving behind his fashionable life and a good bank balance. A year later, a former associate discovers him living as a Franciscan monk in an Alpine monaste
- [Nothing New Under the Sun](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/nothing-new-under-the-sun.md): A starving genius, isolated in a freezing attic, experiences a moment of creative triumph as he writes what he believes to be an original masterpiece. After eating bread and cheese wrapped in an old newspaper, he discove
- [A Matter of Loyalty](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-matter-of-loyalty.md): Two men converse at Grand Central depot, where one recounts defending his second cousin Tom Achiltree from being called a liar by physically assaulting the accuser. The other man affirms the principle of resenting such i
- [By Easy Stages](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/by-easy-stages.md): A departed soul from Galveston arrives at the gates of the underworld, insisting on a gradual transition rather than an immediate ascent to Heaven, highlighting a desire for slow, manageable change.
- [Taking No Chances](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/taking-no-chances.md): Mark Twain and his manager consider visiting Madagascar based on descriptions from an atlas, but Twain loses interest upon learning about the enormous epyornis bird and its massive eggs.
- [The Other Side of It](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-other-side-of-it.md): A man plays a practical joke on his wife by cutting out a small advertisement from the newspaper to test her curiosity. When she obtains a complete copy of the paper, she misinterprets the missing clipping as an attempt 
- [The Bruised Reed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-bruised-reed.md): A popular preacher, satisfied with his fiery sermon condemning vice, is confronted in his study by Creepy Jake, a ragged and wounded man who had guided him through the Tenderloin. Jake reveals that he was thrown out of t
- [Journalistically Impossible](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/journalistically-impossible.md): A new reporter, trained in a school of journalism, is asked by his editor why he failed to report a suicide as instructed. The reporter explains the impossibility of describing a throat cut 'from ear to ear' when the dec
- [The Power of Reputation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-power-of-reputation.md): A solemn man in a silk hat enters a San Antonio hotel bar and, due to a case of mistaken identity, is treated as a famous wit by a fat man and the other patrons. His every mundane remark is met with uproarious laughter, 
- [A Personal Insult](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-personal-insult.md): A young woman in Houston becomes engaged to a famous Texas baseball shortstop, but he breaks the engagement after she gives him a beautifully bound edition of Coleridge's 'The Ancient Mariner' for his birthday. The short
- [Reconciliation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/reconciliation.md): A married couple, Charles and Viola, begin by reconciling after a quarrel, expressing love and promising never to argue again. Their affectionate banter quickly devolves into a bitter fight, with insults and physical vio
- [Buying a Piano](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/buying-a-piano.md): A Houston lawyer decides to buy his wife a piano for Christmas, but his inquiry attracts relentless piano agents who pursue him everywhere—at his office, on the streetcar, and even at home. His frustration escalates into
- [Too Late](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/too-late.md): General Splasher is alerted that Spotted Lightning, a peaceful Kioma chief, has kidnapped his daughter Inez. A cavalry rescue party sets out, but upon arrival they find Inez has already scalped Spotted Lightning, leading
- [A New Microbe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-new-microbe.md): A Houston man, an amateur scientist, skips a church supper to study bayou water under his microscope. After hours of work, he believes he has discovered a new deadly bacterium and plans to name it after his wife. She the
- [A Story for Men](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-story-for-men.md): Mrs. Jessamine, an average but genuine Houston housewife and mother, reads a newspaper article about child cruelty while her children play with dangerous items. She falls asleep and dreams a terrifying nightmare in which
- [Just a Little Damp](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/just-a-little-damp.md): A Galveston man falls overboard from a steamer near Aransas Pass, refuses rescue attempts, insists he is walking on the bottom, and ultimately drowns, demonstrating his scorn for any port claiming deep water.
- [Her Mysterious Charm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/her-mysterious-charm.md): Roland Pendergast confronts Gabrielle Smithers in a conservatory, confessing his perplexing attraction to her despite listing her perceived flaws. Gabrielle reveals her secret: when helping him with his overcoat, she ref
- [Why He Hesitated](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/why-he-hesitated.md): A man with a haggard countenance enters the editorial offices of the Post and pours out his tale of woe to the literary editor, claiming to be Hezekiah Skinner, whose wife has run off with a neighbor named William Wagsta
- [Convinced](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/convinced.md): A beautiful young woman, frustrated by insincere suitors, consults her plain but practical friend Marian for advice on how to discern genuine admiration. Marian suggests she recite a dramatic poem poorly and observe the 
- [How It Started](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/how-it-started.md): A reporter visiting a small town is warned by an old resident about a potential shooting due to a long-standing feud between the editor and the Judkins family. The feud began when a poem written to Miss Judkins was heavi
- [His Dilemma](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/his-dilemma.md): An elderly man visits a drug store seeking advice on whether to dye his white whiskers to win the affection of a widow, while also fearing being drafted into a potential war due to the Monroe Doctrine. After the clerk re
- [Something for Baby](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/something-for-baby.md): A poor, thinly dressed girl enters a fancy drygoods store on Main Street during the Christmas season, clutching a dime from her mother. She timidly asks a clerk for something for baby, but when pressed, reveals that baby
- [A Righteous Outburst](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-righteous-outburst.md): A down-on-his-luck man enters a toy shop, feigning grief over his daughter's Christmas wish for a red wagon, but the proprietor exposes him as a repeat con artist who previously claimed a different daughter's name. The m
- [A Green Hand](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-green-hand.md): A Houston jeweler recounts to a friend how an inexperienced but honest clerk lost him a customer by actually saving a diamond pin for a married man, who was then forced to buy it as a Christmas present for his wife.
- [A Fatal Error](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-fatal-error.md): A man recounts a Christmas Day blunder where he accidentally sent a bill payment to his wife and a dismissive note to a merchant, leading him to fear his wife's imminent arrival and take out a life insurance policy.
- [The Rake-Off](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-rake-off.md): A man feigns bankruptcy at an auction, using a child's rocking-horse to conceal a roll of bills, which he retrieves after the auctioneer's sympathetic gesture.
- [The Telegram](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-telegram.md): A young lady visits a telegraph office in Houston to send a message about a ring, but struggles with the cost and later returns to request an underscore and violet extract.
- [An Opportunity Declined](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-opportunity-declined.md): A farmer encounters a stranger claiming to be an engineer for a new railroad from Columbus, Ohio, to Houston, who attempts to swindle him by offering a false opportunity to sell his land for a depot. The farmer sees thro
- [The Confession of a Murderer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-confession-of-a-murderer.md): A narrator confesses to killing a mosquito, describing the intense hatred and relief they feel after finally destroying the insect that had tormented them for months. The confession is revealed to be a humorous twist, as
- [A Startling Demonstration](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-startling-demonstration.md): A cautionary tale about the dangers of mind reading, illustrated by a story of a young man in Houston who marries a mind reader. After a period of happiness, she reads his thoughts about another woman and knocks him down
- [Leap Year Advice](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/leap-year-advice.md): A humorous editorial piece offering advice to spinsters on how to take advantage of the 1896 leap year to propose marriage, including a letter from a woman who unsuccessfully proposed to 27 men in 1892 and a satirical gu
- [After Supper](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/after-supper.md): Mr. Sharp attempts to compliment his wife on her enduring beauty and charm, but Mrs. Sharp dismisses his romantic overtures by reminding him it is lodge night and advising him not to stay out too late.
- [His Only Opportunity](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/his-only-opportunity.md): A local politician attends a theatrical performance in Houston, hoping to be called a gentleman by a magician who asks to borrow a hat, as he has not been addressed respectfully in years.
- [Correcting a Great Injustice](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/correcting-a-great-injustice.md): A recently disclosed medical revelation explains that women over thirty-five wear tall hats at the theater not out of selfishness, but to protect themselves from the painful effects of bright light on their aging skulls.
- [Getting Acquainted](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/getting-acquainted.md): A rusty-coated man with a distinguished air visits a new grocer in Houston under the pretense of welcoming him to the community, but the grocer quickly sees through his act and reveals the man's unpaid debt from the prev
- [City Perils](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/city-perils.md): Jeremiah Q. Dilworthy, a Houston resident who promised his wife he would abstain from drinking for a year, breaks his promise and goes out with friends. While walking home on a rainy night, he staggers to the side of the
- [Jack the Giant Killer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/jack-the-giant-killer.md): A little girl visits the editorial office and asks for the story of Jack the Giant Killer. The literary editor, sporting editor, and railroad editor each attempt to tell the story in their own specialized jargon, but non
- [No Time to Lose](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/no-time-to-lose.md): A young mother rushes home in a panic after her son Tommy is bitten by a possibly rabid dog, but her immediate concern is ironing a blue skirt before she can go for the doctor, revealing a comedic misalignment of priorit
- [Paderewski's Hair](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/paderewski-s-hair.md): Colonel Warburton Pollock recounts two tall tales: how Paderewski got his famous hair after being scalped by Nat Goodwin and John L. Sullivan in Africa, and a dangerous encounter with Australian sheep ranchers enraged by
- [Binkley's Practical School of Journalism](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/binkley-s-practical-school-of-journalism.md): A ragged man named Binkley recounts to a Post Man how he founded a school of journalism that combined practical training with a real newspaper. After hiring a staff of inexperienced but enthusiastic students, the paper p
- [The Apple](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-apple.md): A youth rejects the apple of life in pursuit of success, fame, fortune, power, and knowledge. He climbs a treacherous mountain with a Spirit, ages into an old man, and upon reaching the peak, receives an apple that is ro
- [A Pastel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-pastel.md): A tense, moonlit confrontation between a man and a woman outside a brightly lit room. The man pleads desperately with the woman, who initially resists but eventually relents—not out of moral persuasion, but because he re
- [A Night Errant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-night-errant.md): The narrator reflects on the mingling of tragedy and comedy in everyday life, observing the hidden nobility and vice among all social classes. On a cold Saturday night, the Post Man visits the sickbed of Crip, a nine-yea
- [Board and Ancestors](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/board-and-ancestors.md): A gaunt, hungry man recounts his frustrating search for affordable boarding in Houston, where every landlady claims high social lineage and charges exorbitant rates for the privilege of their company. He seeks a lowborn,
- [An X-Ray Fable](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-x-ray-fable.md): A man with a Cathode Ray travels the country revealing people's true thoughts for a fee. In a certain town, sweethearts Reuben and Ruth each secretly hire him to discover whom the other truly loves. The man takes X-ray p
- [The Sporting Editor on Culture](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-sporting-editor-on-culture.md): A young lady from the Houston Young Ladies' Society of Ethical Culture visits the newspaper office seeking the literary editor, but instead encounters the sporting editor, who misunderstands her mission and offers advice
- [A Question of Direction](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-question-of-direction.md): A horrified gentleman from Boston is shocked to learn from a colonel that a man was shot and killed by the presiding officer at a debating society meeting for making a motion considered out of order. The colonel nonchala
- [The Prisoner of Zembla](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-prisoner-of-zembla.md): A king, enraged by his daughter Princess Astla's disobedience, announces a tournament where the victor will win her hand. The princess's lover, a poor student, competes and wins, but instead of claiming the princess, he 
- [Lucky Either Way](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/lucky-either-way.md): The chapter critiques a grammatical error in a magazine story, using it as a springboard to discuss the realities of marriage. It argues that getting married is easy, but the real challenge lies in the obligations that f
- [The "Bad Man"](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-bad-man.md): A seemingly dangerous outlaw terrorizes a Texas town, only to be revealed as a harmless acquaintance of a small, determined drummer who collects an old debt.
- [Simmon's Saturday Night](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/simmon-s-saturday-night.md): A naive cattleman from Encinal County, Mr. Simmons, arrives in Houston on his first trip out of Texas. He is quickly befriended by a well-dressed stranger, Captain Clancy, who claims to be a railway paymaster. After shar
- [The Wounded Veteran](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-wounded-veteran.md): A group of Northern tourists encounter an elderly Black man with a bandaged arm at a Houston train depot. Assuming he is a wounded Civil War veteran, they collect donations and offer to help him secure a pension. However
- [Her Ruse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/her-ruse.md): A Houston lady shares a clever trick she used to keep her husband John at home at night. After he forgot his umbrella and returned home, she pretended to mistake him for another man named Tom, causing him to stop his nig
- [Why Conductors Are Morose](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/why-conductors-are-morose.md): A streetcar conductor recounts an incident where a fashionably dressed lady asks to be notified when the car reaches Peas Avenue, but upon arrival, she only uses the stop to teach her little boy the letter 'P' before tel
- [Led Astray](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/led-astray.md): Kathleen O'Malley, a happy young Irish woman engaged to Fergus O'Hollihan, becomes distressed when she sees Fergus with William K. Meeks, a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. Fergus begins to change, growin
- [The Mirage on the Frio](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-mirage-on-the-frio.md): A group of men on a fishing trip along Buffalo Bayou listen as a sheep man recounts a strange experience from 1880 in La Salle County. After being lost overnight, he saw a mirage of his ranch eighteen miles away, showing
- [The Legend of San Jacinto](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-legend-of-san-jacinto.md): A Post reporter visits the San Jacinto battleground seeking local legends, but instead encounters a hermit who attempts to tell an endlessly nested, recursive story about the legend, passing through generations of teller
- [In Mezzotint](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/in-mezzotint.md): A successful young doctor returns home late after losing a patient to cerebrospinal meningitis. He recounts to his wife how the patient died of a broken heart after being discarded by a woman. Later, the doctor discovers
- [Whiskey Did It](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/whiskey-did-it.md): A philanthropist at the Market House square observes a small policeman arresting a large negro man. When asked what caused his downfall, the man replies 'whisky,' but explains that it was the policeman who was drunk, not
- [How Willie Saved Father](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/how-willie-saved-father.md): Six-year-old Willie Flint, a beautiful child with long golden curls, lives with his hardworking father and mother in Houston. When his father falls ill after overworking, Willie overhears his parents' worries about money
- [Veriton Villa](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/veriton-villa.md): Penelope Cook, a Boston schoolteacher engaged for fifteen years to Cyrus, travels to Texas to teach at a private school. She stays with the aristocratic DeVere family, where she encounters a chaotic household: Mrs. DeVer
- [A Mystery of Many Centuries](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-mystery-of-many-centuries.md): The chapter reflects on the historical mystery and reverence surrounding women's locomotion, contrasting the romanticized, mysterious past with the modern reality brought about by the bicycle costume. It laments the loss
- [The Good Boy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-good-boy.md): A young boy named James tries to defend a lady from rude boys, only to be scolded by the lady herself for his well-meaning but misguided chivalry.
- [The Dissipated Jeweler](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-dissipated-jeweler.md): A detective, Thomas Keeling, is hired by a woman who suspects her husband of infidelity. She orchestrates a plan to catch him with another woman, but the scheme backfires when it is revealed that the woman with the jewel
- [Sufficient Provocation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/sufficient-provocation.md): Two Houston negroes are brought before a recorder for fighting. One explains that he struck the other with a chair after the latter's vivid description of eating a ripe watermelon caused him to drool into his French harp
- [The Pint Flask](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-pint-flask.md): A prominent Houston colonel, a teetotaler and churchgoer, finds a pint whisky flask on his desk and, in a series of unfortunate events, is forced to carry it in his pocket. The flask cracks in church, leading to gossip a
- [An Unknown Romance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-unknown-romance.md): A chance encounter between a chamois hunter and a peasant girl in the Alps is recalled years later on the wedding day of Pelham Van Winkler and Augusta Vance, both of whom secretly treasure the memory of that meeting and
- [How She Got in the Swim](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/how-she-got-in-the-swim.md): George W. St. Bibbs and his wife Molly live happily in Houston until George's love of fashionable society leads him to attend a high-toned ball without her. Feeling left out, Molly decides to attend the ball herself, dre
- [An Odd Character](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-odd-character.md): A Post reporter encounters a mysterious tramp on the San Jacinto Street bridge who claims to be highly educated, over two centuries old, and in possession of a magical ring from a Buddhist priest in Benares that grants u
- [The Barber Talks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-barber-talks.md): A barber recounts two anecdotes while shaving a reluctant customer: first, about his brother Bill whose whiskey-laden breath attracted customers and led to a saloon license violation; second, about being called to shave 
- [The Sunday Excursionist](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-sunday-excursionist.md): A satirical critique of the Sunday excursionist, whose forced jollity and intrusive good nature become a source of misery for fellow passengers, highlighting the vulgarity of manufactured happiness.
- [Barbershop Adventure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/barbershop-adventure.md): The Post Man reluctantly endures a harrowing barbershop visit, where the barber tells two tall tales: one about a young woman who mistakes a shave for a kiss, and another about a bald man whose hair miraculously grows af
- [Somebody Lied](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/somebody-lied.md): Two farm hands, an old man and his son, enter a saloon to experience getting drunk for the first time after selling their produce for more than expected. They drink several whiskies but feel terrible, regret their decisi
- [The Lotus and the Cockleburrs](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-lotus-and-the-cockleburrs.md): Johnny Atwood, a U.S. Consul in Vibora, orchestrates a scheme to sell shoes by using cockleburrs as a marketing gimmick, ultimately marrying Rosine Hemstetter. His partner Billy Keogh later encounters Pink Dawson, who ha
- [The Proem](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-proem.md): The proem introduces the setting of Coralio in the fictional republic of Anchuria, where President Miraflores died by suicide after fleeing with government funds and the American opera singer Isabel Guilbert. Isabel subs
- [Fox-in-the-Morning](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/fox-in-the-morning.md): Goodwin and Keogh receive a coded message from Englehart revealing that President Miraflores has fled the capital with the treasury and the opera singer Isabel Guilbert. They plan to intercept the fugitives before they c
- [The Lotus and the Bottle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-lotus-and-the-bottle.md): Consul Willard Geddie, content in the tropical paradise of Coralio, works on his yearly report and contemplates his life away from Ida. He finds a mysterious bottle containing a letter from Ida, but his pride prevents hi
- [Smith](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/smith.md): A flamboyant stranger named Smith arrives in Coralio on his yacht, the Rambler, and interacts with the local consul, Willard Geddie, and Dr. Gregg. Smith's visit is brief and mysterious; he vanishes by morning, leaving b
- [Caught](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/caught.md): Frank Goodwin confronts Isabel Guilbert and the fugitive President Miraflores in a Coralio inn, demanding the return of stolen treasury funds. After a tense exchange, Miraflores commits suicide, and Goodwin hides the val
- [Cupid's Exile Number Two](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/cupid-s-exile-number-two.md): Johnny Atwood, a young Southerner from Dalesburg, Alabama, becomes the new U.S. consul in Coralio after being rejected by Rosine Hemstetter. He befriends Billy Keogh and settles into the leisurely life of the consulate. 
- [The Phonograph and the Graft](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-phonograph-and-the-graft.md): Billy Keogh recounts how he and Henry Horsecollar helped Homer P. Mellinger, a private secretary in a tropical country, use a phonograph to maintain his honest graft. Mellinger, homesick for New York, uses a musical soir
- [Money Maze](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/money-maze.md): Colonel Emilio Falcon, private secretary to the new president of Anchuria, arrives in Coralio to investigate the disappearance of the treasury money taken by the late President Miraflores. He interviews witnesses, includ
- [The Admiral](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-admiral.md): In the republic of Anchuria, a new government under President Losada seeks to replenish its treasury after the previous administration's corruption. During a cabinet meeting enlivened by champagne, Minister of War Don Sa
- [The Flag Paramount](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-flag-paramount.md): Don Sabas Placido, a fugitive revolutionary leader, attempts to escape Coralio by sea with two officers. They commandeer a sloop under the command of a crazed admiral, who recognizes Sabas as a traitor and steers toward 
- [The Shamrock and the Palm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-shamrock-and-the-palm.md): On a sweltering night in Coralio, five men gather outside the photography studio of Keogh and Clancy. Clancy recounts his past adventures as a filibuster in Guatemala, where he was tricked into working on a railroad unde
- [The Remnants of the Code](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-remnants-of-the-code.md): Beelzebub Blythe, a drunkard and sponger, reaches his lowest point in Coralio after being kicked out of a saloon. Desperate for money to feed his addiction, he attempts to blackmail Frank Goodwin, threatening to reveal t
- [Shoes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/shoes.md): Johnny Atwood, the U.S. consul in Coralio, is in a state of lotus-eating despair after fleeing from Rosine Hemstetter. He and Billy Keogh mock a letter from Dalesburg inquiring about opening a shoe store in the tropics, 
- [Ships](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ships.md): Johnny Atwood and Billy Keogh execute a scheme to sell shoes in Coralio by secretly planting cockleburrs in the grass, causing a demand for footwear. After a successful run, Johnny confesses to his fiancée Rosine and to 
- [Masters of Arts](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/masters-of-arts.md): Billy Keogh and Carry White scheme to paint a portrait of the president of a Latin American country for $10,000, with White struggling between his artistic ideals and the commercial nature of the work. After completing t
- [Dicky](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/dicky.md): Dicky Maloney, an Irishman living in Coralio with his devoted wife Pasa, is imprisoned after assaulting the comandante who made advances toward her. Despite his dire situation and lack of money, Dicky remains hopeful upo
- [Rouge Et Noir](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/rouge-et-noir.md): Political unrest in Anchuria reaches a boiling point as President Losada's unpopular administration faces opposition from the Vesuvius Fruit Company. During the annual presidential procession to Coralio, a silent, disapp
- [Two Recalls](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/two-recalls.md): Shorty O'Day recounts his failed mission to capture J. Churchill Wahrfield, who turns out to be the president of Anchuria, leading to his dismissal from the Columbia Detective Agency. The chapter also sets up the return 
- [The Vitagraphoscope](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-vitagraphoscope.md): This chapter presents a series of disconnected vaudeville-like scenes, including an artist's struggle and a chance encounter, a beach scene in Nice where a woman writes 'Isabel' and a man writes 'Anchuria', and a tropica
- [Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/whistling-dick-s-christmas-stocking.md): Whistling Dick, a tramp known for his musical talent, arrives in New Orleans and encounters a policeman who recognizes him. He later joins a group of tramps who plan to rob a plantation owner on Christmas Eve. Dick refus
- [Georgia's Ruling](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/georgia-s-ruling.md): The Commissioner, still grieving over the death of little Georgia, is confronted by the land-shark firm of Hamlin and Avery, who seek to exploit a vacancy in the Chiquito River valley. Inspired by the accidental likeness
- [Bulger's Friend](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/bulger-s-friend.md): Old Bulger, the town's eccentric and reclusive miser, joins the Salvation Army as a bass drummer. He reveals to the sergeant that a mysterious 'friend' has driven him to ruin, yet he cannot give this friend up. As a seve
- [A Blackjack Bargainer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-blackjack-bargainer.md): Yancey Goree, a disreputable lawyer and broken gambler, has lost everything to the courthouse poker gang and now lives in poverty and alcoholism. The Garveys, a backwoods couple who struck it rich selling their land for 
- [The Duplicity of Hargraves](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-duplicity-of-hargraves.md): Major Talbot and his daughter Miss Lydia are struggling financially in Washington, D.C. They take in a boarder, H. Hopkins Hargraves, a young actor who ingratiates himself with the major by listening to his endless stori
- [The Passing of Black Eagle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-passing-of-black-eagle.md): The chapter recounts the rise and mysterious disappearance of Black Eagle, a notorious border bandit, beginning with the story of a hobo named Chicken Ruggles who swindles a boy's dollar and rides a freight train south. 
- [Cherchez La Femme](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/cherchez-la-femme.md): Reporters Robbins and Dumars revisit the unsolved mystery of Madame Tibault's missing twenty thousand dollars, entrusted to the late Mr. Gaspard Morin. After a fruitless investigation, they attend the auction of the Litt
- [Friends in San Rosario](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/friends-in-san-rosario.md): A stern bank examiner, J.F.C. Nettlewick, arrives in San Rosario to inspect the First National Bank. The cashier and teller are nervous under his cold, methodical scrutiny. Meanwhile, Major Tom Kingman, president of the 
- [The Marionettes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-marionettes.md): Doctor James, a physician by day and a safe-cracker by night, is called to attend to Mr. Chandler, who has collapsed. He discovers the man's abusive nature and his wife's suffering. After a confrontation, Chandler dies, 
- [By Courier](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/by-courier.md): A young man, forbidden from speaking or writing to his beloved, employs a streetwise boy as a courier to deliver a final appeal before he departs for an Alaskan expedition. The lady, initially resolute, reveals her accus
- [Madame Bo-Peep, of the Ranches](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/madame-bo-peep-of-the-ranches.md): Octavia Beaupree, recently widowed and now impoverished after Colonel Beaupree's estate proves worthless, decides to manage her only remaining asset—a Texas sheep ranch called the Rancho de las Sombras. She travels to th
- [An Afternoon Miracle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-afternoon-miracle.md): On a sweltering afternoon, Lieutenant Bob Buckley of the Texas Rangers, secretly a physical coward who forces himself into danger, investigates a disturbance caused by Leandro Garcia, who has crossed the border disguised
- [A Call Loan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-call-loan.md): Long Bill Longley, a wealthy cattleman turned bank president, faces a crisis when a bank examiner discovers an unsecured $10,000 call loan made to his friend Tom Merwin. Merwin, unable to raise the money through conventi
- [The Struggle of the Outliers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-struggle-of-the-outliers.md): Lawrence Holcombe, a prosperous businessman, repeatedly visits a poor cottage to court Katie Flynn, an Irish beauty, but faces opposition from Danny Conlan, a former middleweight champion who wants Katie for himself. Aft
- [A Professional Secret](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-professional-secret.md): Dr. Satterfield Prince, a physician to the wealthy, is consulted by Mrs. Galloway Rankin about her daughter Annabel's mysterious affliction. Mrs. Rankin believes the condition is hereditary, stemming from a historic feud
- [Cupid à la Carte](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/cupid-la-carte.md): Jeff Peters recounts his courtship of Mame Dugan, a waitress who despises men for their constant eating. Through a series of deceptions and a change of scenery, Jeff wins her over by taking her to a fancy restaurant, whe
- [A Departmental Case](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-departmental-case.md): Luke Standifer, the Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics, and History, encounters a faded woman in his office who seeks help from the governor. She is Mrs. Sharp, the daughter of his old friend Amos Colvin, and the wife
- [Round the Circle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/round-the-circle.md): Sam Webber, a sheep rancher, dresses up for a business trip but gets lost in the brush after arguing with his wife Marthy about her reading. Remorseful, he resolves to be kinder and buy her books, only to find he has rid
- [The Cactus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-cactus.md): Trysdale, standing in his bachelor apartment after a wedding, reflects on his lost love and his own vanity. He recalls how he allowed her to believe he was a Spanish scholar, and how she sent him a cactus as her answer t
- [The Renaissance at Charleroi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-renaissance-at-charleroi.md): Grandemont Charles, a Creole gentleman working as a clerk, dreams of reviving his family's former glory. He spends his savings to rent and furnish the ancestral plantation home, Charleroi, for a single grand dinner party
- [Hearts and Hands](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/hearts-and-hands.md): On an eastbound train, a young woman named Miss Fairchild encounters an old acquaintance, Mr. Easton, who is handcuffed to another man. The glum-faced man explains that Easton is a marshal escorting him to prison for cou
- [A Ghost of a Chance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-ghost-of-a-chance.md): Mrs. Kinsolving is distressed after Mrs. Fischer-Suympkins spreads a story of seeing a ghost carrying a hod in the Kinsolving mansion, which she sees as a malicious slight to the family's social standing. To counter this
- [Art and the Bronco](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/art-and-the-bronco.md): Lonny Briscoe, a cowboy artist from the San Saba country, paints a large Western scene that becomes a sensation at the state Capitol. Senator Kinney champions a bill to purchase the painting for two thousand dollars, pra
- [Hygeia at the Solito](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/hygeia-at-the-solito.md): Cricket McGuire, a down-on-his-luck prizefighter and sport, loses his last money betting on a fixed fight and is found coughing on a San Antonio depot platform by cattleman Curtis Raidler. Raidler takes him to his ranch,
- [Sound and Fury](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/sound-and-fury.md): A comedic dialogue between Mr. Penne, a novelist, and his amanuensis Miss Lore, as they work on a romantic serial installment. Miss Lore repeatedly misunderstands or misinterprets Mr. Penne's dictation, leading to humoro
- [Roads of Destiny](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/roads-of-destiny.md): David Mignot, a young poet, leaves his village of Vernoy after a quarrel with Yvonne, seeking fame and fortune in Paris. He sets out on the road, believing it will lead him to his destiny.
- [The Left Branch](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-left-branch.md): David Mignot, a shepherd and poet, stumbles into the Silver Flagon inn where the imperious Marquis de Beaupertuys forces him to marry his niece, Lucie de Varennes, after she defied her uncle's arranged marriage. David ac
- [The Right Branch](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-right-branch.md): David, a young poet from Vernoy, leaves his village and travels to Paris, where he takes lodging in a dilapidated house on Rue Conti. He encounters a beautiful, mysterious woman on the stairs who charms him and later man
- [The Main Road](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-main-road.md): David Mignot, a shepherd and aspiring poet, leaves his wife Yvonne and home in Vernoy after a quarrel, but returns when he realizes his love for her. They marry, but his obsession with poetry leads to neglect of his floc
- [The Robe of Peace](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-robe-of-peace.md): Johnny Bellchambers, a famously well-dressed New York socialite, mysteriously disappears. Nearly a year later, his friends Tom Eyres and Lancelot Gilliam discover him living as Brother Ambrose in a remote Swiss monastery
- [A Retrieved Reformation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-retrieved-reformation.md): Jimmy Valentine, a skilled safecracker, is released from prison and initially returns to his criminal ways. However, after falling in love with Annabel Adams in Elmore, he reinvents himself as Ralph Spencer, a respectabl
- [One Dollar's Worth](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/one-dollar-s-worth.md): District Attorney Bob Littlefield and his fiancée Nancy Derwent go plover shooting, but are ambushed by Mexico Sam, a vengeful ex-convict who has threatened Judge Derwent and Littlefield. Meanwhile, Littlefield is prosec
- [While the Auto Waits](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/while-the-auto-waits.md): A young man and a woman meet in a park at twilight. She presents herself as a wealthy socialite weary of luxury, while he claims to be a lowly restaurant cashier. After their conversation, she leaves and he follows her, 
- [The Guardian of the Accolade](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-guardian-of-the-accolade.md): Uncle Bushrod, an elderly Black servant devoted to the Weymouth family, discovers the bank president Mr. Robert Weymouth secretly removing a satchel from the bank vault late at night. Believing Mr. Robert is about to abs
- [October and June](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/october-and-june.md): A young Captain, only nineteen years old, proposes to Theodora Deming, who declines because she believes their age difference is too great. The Captain, who has never seen real combat, accepts her decision and eventually
- [The Marquis and Miss Sally](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-marquis-and-miss-sally.md): Two young men, John Bascom and Charles Norwood, arrive at the Diamond-Cross ranch in Texas seeking work. The superintendent hires them, and they are introduced to the camp as 'The Marquis and Miss Sally'—a nickname for t
- [Out of Nazareth](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/out-of-nazareth.md): J. Pinkney Bloom, a promoter, accompanies Colonel and Mrs. Blaylock on a steamboat journey, having sold them a lot in the speculative boomtown of Skyland. When the boat stops at Cold Branch instead, Bloom learns the Colo
- [The Atavism of John Tom Little Bear](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-atavism-of-john-tom-little-bear.md): Jeff Peters recounts his partnership with John Tom Little Bear, an educated Cherokee Indian, and their scheme to run a medicine show in Kansas. The story explores the tension between John Tom's education and his reversio
- [The Whirligig of Life](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-whirligig-of-life.md): Justice Benaja Widdup presides over the divorce of Ransie and Ariela Bilbro, a mountain couple who cannot get along. After a five-dollar fee and a decree, Ariela demands alimony, which Ransie pays. The Justice later reco
- [The Fourth in Salvador](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-fourth-in-salvador.md): Billy Casparis recounts his disastrous attempt to run an ice factory in Salvador, where he loses a thousand-dollar forfeit after inspectors discover his 'ice' is actually a block of glass. On the Fourth of July, he and f
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): A new recruit, James Hayes, joins a troop of Texas Rangers in camp. He arrives with a horned frog named Muriel, which he treats as a companion, demonstrating the frog's loyalty and surprising the other rangers.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): Jimmy Hayes becomes a popular member of the ranger camp due to his good nature and humor, particularly his pet horned frog Muriel. When the Mexican desperado Sebastiano Saldar attacks the camp, Jimmy disappears during th
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii.md): Nearly a year after the events of the previous chapter, Lieutenant Manning and his rangers discover the skeletal remains of three Mexican raiders and a lone defender in a hog-wallow prairie. The defender, identified only
- [Tobin's Palm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/tobin-s-palm.md): Tobin and his friend Jawn go to Coney Island to distract Tobin from the disappearance of his sweetheart, Katie Mahorner. Tobin visits a palmist who predicts trouble from a dark man and a light woman, a financial loss, a 
- [The Lonesome Road](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-lonesome-road.md): The narrator meets Deputy-Marshal Buck Caperton, who, instead of telling a tale of adventure, recounts the story of his friend Perry Rountree's transformation after marriage. Perry, once a wild and reckless companion, ha
- [Confessions of a Humorist](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/confessions-of-a-humorist.md): A man recounts his rise as a local humorist, his transition to professional writing, and the toll it takes on his relationships and creativity. After his editor drops him for declining quality, he joyfully reveals he has
- [At Arms with Morpheus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/at-arms-with-morpheus.md): The narrator recounts how his friend Tom Hopkins, a wealthy former medical student, accidentally takes morphine instead of quinine, leading to a dangerous overdose. The narrator and other doctors work to keep Tom awake, 
- [The Princess and the Puma](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-princess-and-the-puma.md): Ripley Givens, foreman of the Espinosa Ranch, encounters Josefa O'Donnell at a water hole and attempts to rescue her from a Mexican lion, only to have her shoot the lion herself. To salvage his pride, he claims the lion 
- [A Chaparral Christmas Gift](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-chaparral-christmas-gift.md): The chapter recounts the origin of the Frio Kid, born from jealousy after Rosita McMullen marries Madison Lane on Christmas Day. The Kid disrupts the wedding, kills a sheepman, and becomes a notorious outlaw. Years later
- [The Sphinx Apple](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-sphinx-apple.md): A stagecoach traveling from Paradise to Sunrise City is forced to stop due to a heavy snowstorm. The passengers take shelter in the abandoned house of Redruth, a man who became a hermit after a failed romance. To pass th
- [The Pimienta Pancakes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-pimienta-pancakes.md): While laid up with an injured ankle, the narrator asks camp cook Judson Odom for pancakes, prompting Jud to recount his humorous and deceptive rivalry with Jackson Bird over the affections of Miss Willella Learight and t
- [The Social Triangle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-social-triangle.md): The story follows three men from different social strata—Ikey Snigglefritz, a poor tailor's apprentice; Billy McMahan, a powerful district leader; and Cortlandt Van Duyckink, a wealthy socialite—each of whom seeks valida
- [The Elusive Tenderloin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-elusive-tenderloin.md): The narrator reflects on the elusive nature of New York's Tenderloin district, arguing it is more a concept than a place. His friend Bill Jeremy from the West comes to New York seeking the Tenderloin's reputed sin and ex
- [A Chaparral Prince](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-chaparral-prince.md): Lena, an eleven-year-old girl working as a kitchenmaid at the Quarrymen's Hotel, writes a desperate letter to her mother after her only comfort, a book of Grimm's Fairy Tales, is taken away. She threatens to drown hersel
- [The Ferry of Unfulfilment](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-ferry-of-unfulfilment.md): A man from Nome, Henry Blayden, spots a beautiful girl from Sieber-Mason's department store on a New York street and follows her onto a ferry. He tries to woo her with sincerity and talk of his gold dust wealth, but she 
- [The Pendulum](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-pendulum.md): John Perkins, a man trapped in a monotonous married routine, experiences a sudden emotional upheaval when his wife Katy leaves unexpectedly to visit her sick mother. Left alone, he realizes how much he depends on her and
- [The Hypotheses of Failure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-hypotheses-of-failure.md): Lawyer Gooch juggles multiple clients in his office, each presenting hypothetical divorce cases that turn out to be interconnected. A soulful woman (Mrs. Billings) wants to divorce her husband for a literary man; a nervo
- [Transformation of Martin Burney](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/transformation-of-martin-burney.md): Martin Burney, an Irish laborer working on the Speedway along the Harlem River, is denied tobacco by his tyrannical boss, Dennis Corrigan, after falling into debt. Deprived of his only comfort, Burney grows increasingly 
- [A Little Local Colour](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-little-local-colour.md): The narrator seeks authentic New York local color and is guided by Rivington, a self-proclaimed expert on the city. Their quest leads them to the Bowery, where they encounter a well-spoken young man who debunks the myth 
- [A Newspaper Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-newspaper-story.md): A single newspaper, fresh off the press, sets off a chain of serendipitous events throughout the city. It reunites a young couple, causes a carriage accident that leads to a romantic revelation, enables a policeman to re
- [A Madison Square Arabian Night](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-madison-square-arabian-night.md): Carson Chalmers, feeling melancholy, invites a homeless man named Sherrard Plumer to dine with him. Plumer, a once-successful portrait painter ruined by his uncanny ability to reveal hidden character in his subjects, sha
- [The Champion of the Weather](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-champion-of-the-weather.md): Bud Kingsbury, a guide on a hunting trip in the Kiowa Reservation, reveals his ability to identify a New Yorker by their brief weather comment. He recounts his own experience in New York City, where he felt starved for g
- [On Behalf of the Management](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/on-behalf-of-the-management.md): Sully Magoon recounts the story of his friend Denver Galloway, a natural-born manager who has never invested his own money but excels at running other people's enterprises. Denver takes on the role of campaign manager fo
- [The Enchanted Kiss](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-enchanted-kiss.md): Samuel Tansey, a timid drugstore clerk secretly in love with his landlady's daughter Katie Peek, is goaded by his friends' taunts into a rebellious night of drinking absinthe. His intoxicated wanderings through San Anton
- [The Adventures of Shamrock Jolnes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-adventures-of-shamrock-jolnes.md): The narrator recounts a day spent with Shamrock Jolnes, a New York detective who demonstrates his powers of observation and deduction. Jolnes deduces details about acquaintances and strangers, including a man on a street
- [After Twenty Years](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/after-twenty-years.md): A policeman on his beat encounters a man waiting in a doorway for a friend he hasn't seen in twenty years. The man, Bob, explains that he and his childhood friend Jimmy Wells made a pact to meet at that spot exactly two 
- [The Sparrows in Madison Square](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-sparrows-in-madison-square.md): A young aspiring writer arrives in New York City, believing the literary tradition that writing about the sparrows in Madison Square will guarantee a $15 sale to the Sun. After writing an inspired piece, his manuscript i
- [Lost on Dress Parade](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/lost-on-dress-parade.md): Towers Chandler, a young architect earning $18 per week, saves $1 each week to afford one evening of luxury every ten weeks. On one such evening, dressed as a wealthy clubman, he helps a girl who slips on ice. He invites
- [The Reformation of Calliope](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-reformation-of-calliope.md): Calliope Catesby, a notorious troublemaker in Quicksand, engages in a violent shootout with the city marshal and his posse. During the chaos, his mother arrives by train, unaware of his criminal reputation. To spare her 
- [Witches’ Loaves](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/witches-loaves.md): Miss Martha Meacham, a lonely baker with a sympathetic heart, takes a special interest in a regular customer she believes to be a poor artist. She secretly inserts butter into his stale bread loaves as a kind gesture, on
- [New York by Camp Fire Light](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/new-york-by-camp-fire-light.md): Bud Kingsbury, a hunter and guide from the Creek Nation, recounts his experiences in New York City while on a hunting trip. He describes a dinner at the home of old man Sterling, where he politely overlooks Miss Sterling
- [The Romance of a Busy Broker](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-romance-of-a-busy-broker.md): Harvey Maxwell, a frenzied New York broker, is so consumed by his work that he forgets he married his stenographer, Miss Leslie, the previous evening. Amid a chaotic day of trading, he abruptly proposes to her, only to b
- [A Matter of Mean Elevation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-matter-of-mean-elevation.md): The Alcazar Opera Company's successful tour reaches Macuto, Venezuela, where the singer Mlle. Nina Giraud captivates audiences, including indigenous tribes who pay with gold dust. She mysteriously vanishes before a perfo
- [The Brief Debut of Tildy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-brief-debut-of-tildy.md): In Bogle's Chop House, a humble Eighth Avenue restaurant, two waitresses serve the customers: the beautiful and popular Aileen and the plain, overlooked Tildy. While Aileen receives constant attention and gifts from male
- [Holding Up a Train](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/holding-up-a-train.md): A former outlaw recounts the methods, ease, and dangers of train robbery in the Old West, describing his first holdup in 1890, the importance of surprise, the psychology of passengers, and the constant threat of betrayal
- [The Easter of the Soul](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-easter-of-the-soul.md): Mr. 'Tiger' McQuirk, a marble-cutter on strike, experiences a strange, restless feeling he cannot identify. Dismissing his mother's suggestion of spring, he wanders through the city, noticing subtle signs of the season. 
- [Ulysses and the Dogman](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ulysses-and-the-dogman.md): The chapter introduces the phenomenon of 'dogmen' in New York City—men forced by their wives to walk pampered, ill-tempered dogs each evening. One such dogman, Sam Telfair, encounters an old Western friend, Jim Berry, wh
- [The Complete Life of John Hopkins](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-complete-life-of-john-hopkins.md): John Hopkins, an ordinary man living a mundane life in a New York flat with his wife, experiences a sudden series of adventures after stepping out to buy a cigar. He gets into a fight with the cigar store owner over a ni
- [The Caliph and the Cad](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-caliph-and-the-cad.md): Corny Brannigan, a truck driver, enjoys dressing in evening clothes and mingling with high society on Broadway, pretending to be a gentleman. One night, he intervenes when a man mistreats a lady, fights him, and helps he
- [The Door of Unrest](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-door-of-unrest.md): The narrator, an editor of the Montopolis Weekly Bugle, encounters an old, strangely dressed man named Michob Ader who claims to be the Wandering Jew, condemned to live until Judgment Day for striking Jesus. The narrator
- [The Emancipation of Billy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-emancipation-of-billy.md): Billy Pemberton, son of the revered ex-Governor Pemberton, struggles with being overshadowed by his father's legacy in Elmville. After receiving a prestigious judicial appointment, he initially feels pride but realizes i
- [A Harlem Tragedy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-harlem-tragedy.md): Mrs. Fink envies her friend Mrs. Cassidy, who is proudly beaten by her husband Jack and rewarded with gifts afterward. Seeking to provoke her own passive husband Martin into striking her, Mrs. Fink attacks him, but he re
- [Dougherty's Eye-Opener](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/dougherty-s-eye-opener.md): Big Jim Dougherty, a sport who neglects his wife Delia, finally takes her out to dinner after three years. At the restaurant, she blossoms into a charming socialite, captivating his friends and making Jim realize his neg
- [The Rubber Plant's Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-rubber-plant-s-story.md): A sentient rubber plant narrates its life story, moving from owner to owner in New York City flats and furnished rooms. It observes the lives of its various owners, including a pony ballet dancer, a refined comedy team, 
- [The Gold That Glittered](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-gold-that-glittered.md): A Colombian general, Gen. Perrico Ximenes Villablanca Falcon, arrives in New York to purchase arms for revolutionaries. He is targeted by con man 'Spider' Kelley, who pretends to help him buy rifles from a fake Secretary
- [A Lickpenny Lover](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-lickpenny-lover.md): Masie, an eighteen-year-old saleslady at the Biggest Store, catches the eye of wealthy painter and millionaire Irving Carter. Despite his social standing, Carter becomes infatuated with her and proposes an unconventional
- [The Missing Chord](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-missing-chord.md): The narrator stays overnight at Rush Kinney's sheep-ranch, where he hears beautiful piano music played by Mrs. Kinney. Kinney then tells the story of how he met his wife, Marilla, and the piano she plays—a story involvin
- [A Dinner at ⸻](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-dinner-at.md): The narrator, an author, struggles to control his fictional character, Van Sweller, who insists on dining at a named restaurant for social atmosphere. After a series of disputes over behavior and setting, the author phys
- [One Thousand Dollars](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/one-thousand-dollars.md): Young Robert Gillian inherits exactly one thousand dollars from his wealthy uncle, with the stipulation that he must account for how he spends it. After consulting a friend, a cab driver, and a blind man, he gives the mo
- [A Comedy in Rubber](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-comedy-in-rubber.md): This chapter satirizes the phenomenon of 'rubbering'—the compulsive curiosity of New Yorkers who gather to gawk at any accident or unusual event. It follows William Pry and Violet Seymour, two dedicated 'rubberers' who m
- [The Defeat of the City](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-defeat-of-the-city.md): Robert Walmsley, a successful Manhattan lawyer who married the aristocratic Alicia Van Der Pool, returns to his rural family farm after years of city life. During the visit, he sheds his urban polish and revels in rustic
- [The Pride of the Cities](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-pride-of-the-cities.md): A New Yorker and a man from Topaz City, Nevada, engage in a competitive conversation at a roof-garden table, each boasting about the superiority of their respective hometowns. The New Yorker extols New York's hotels, pol
- [The Greater Coney](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-greater-coney.md): Dennis Carnahan, out of work and having quarreled with his sweetheart Norah Flynn, visits the newly reformed Coney Island seeking distraction. Instead of enjoying the modernized amusements, he finds himself drawn to the 
- [Transients in Arcadia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/transients-in-arcadia.md): In a hidden Broadway hotel that offers a cool, luxurious escape from the summer heat, a woman posing as Madame Héloise D'Arcy Beaumont and a man calling himself Harold Farrington enjoy a week of high-class leisure. On th
- [The Lady Higher Up](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-lady-higher-up.md): In a whimsical midnight conversation between the Statue of Liberty and the Diana statue atop Madison Square Garden, the two goddesses gossip about the dullness of New York City society, the absurdities of modern life, an
- [The Foreign Policy of Company 99](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-foreign-policy-of-company-99.md): Engine Company No. 99's hose-cart driver John Byrnes is an ardent Japan supporter during the Russo-Japanese War, tracking the conflict on a war map. An immigrant named Demetre Svangvsk inadvertently causes a crash that i
- [Two Renegades](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/two-renegades.md): The narrator encounters his friend Barnard O'Keefe marching with Confederate Veterans in the Gate City of the South. O'Keefe explains that he owes his life to the Confederate States of America, which intervened four mont
- [A Tempered Wind](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-tempered-wind.md): Jeff Peters recounts his partnership with Buckingham Skinner, a con artist who poses as a rustic farmer to secure small loans from loan companies. They later form the Golconda Gold Bond and Investment Company, a fraudule
- [The Roads We Take](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-roads-we-take.md): Shark Dodson and Bob Tidball rob the Sunset Express, killing a guard and a fellow outlaw. After escaping, Bob's horse is injured, and Shark kills Bob to take the entire loot. The scene then shifts to reveal that Shark is
- [The Furnished Room](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-furnished-room.md): A young man, searching tirelessly for his lost love Eloise Vashner, rents a furnished room in a decaying West Side boarding house. The room is filled with the stale residue of countless transients. Overcome by a sudden, 
- [The Diamond of Kali](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-diamond-of-kali.md): A reporter investigates a story about General Marcellus B. Ludlow and his possession of a legendary blue diamond once used as the eye of the goddess Kali. The General recounts his daring theft of the gem from a Thug temp
- [A Little Talk About Mobs](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-little-talk-about-mobs.md): A tall gentleman from Indiana and a New Yorker debate the nature of mobs in New York City, with the tall man arguing that local mobs are largely performative and harmless, contrasting them with a lynching he participated
- [Suite Homes and Their Romance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/suite-homes-and-their-romance.md): Claude Turpin and his wife Vivien live a lavish New York lifestyle on his $200 monthly salary, dining out constantly and accumulating debt. When Turpin suspects Vivien of overspending, an anonymous letter leads him to ra
- [The Caliph, Cupid and the Clock](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-caliph-cupid-and-the-clock.md): Prince Michael, heir to the Electorate of Valleluna, disguised as a ragged park lounger, observes a young man anxiously watching a clock. The young man reveals he is waiting for a white silk scarf signal from his beloved
- [Makes the Whole World Kin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/makes-the-whole-world-kin.md): A burglar of the third type enters a home expecting a routine job, but when the homeowner wakes and reveals he cannot raise his left arm due to rheumatism, the burglar discovers they share the same affliction. Their shar
- [The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-love-philtre-of-ikey-schoenstein.md): Ikey Schoenstein, a timid druggist, pines for Rosy Riddle but is too shy to act. His rival, Chunk McGowan, asks Ikey for a love potion to ensure Rosy will elope with him. Ikey gives him a sleeping powder instead, then ti
- [The Rathskeller and the Rose](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-rathskeller-and-the-rose.md): Actress Posie Carrington, a small-town girl who made it big on Broadway, is courted by actor Highsmith who disguises himself as a rustic old friend from her hometown of Cranberry Corners to win the role of 'Sol Haytosser
- [A Sacrifice Hit](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-sacrifice-hit.md): Allen Slayton, an aspiring author, submits his novelette 'Love Is All' to the Hearthstone Magazine, which uses a unique system of having various non-professional readers evaluate manuscripts. Knowing that sentimental sto
- [The Sleuths](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-sleuths.md): A man named Meeks comes to New York from the West to find his missing sister, Mary Snyder. After unhelpful advice from a policeman and a city detective, he hires the famous private detective Shamrock Jolnes, who uses ela
- [The Theory and the Hound](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-theory-and-the-hound.md): The narrator recounts a story told by his friend J. P. Bridger, a U.S. consul on the island of Ratona, about Sheriff Taylor Plunkett of Chatham County, Kentucky, who arrives on the island to capture Wade Williams, a wife
- [The Coming-Out of Maggie](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-coming-out-of-maggie.md): Maggie Toole, a plain factory girl, surprises her friend Anna by revealing she has a gentleman escort for the weekly Clover Leaf Social Club dance. She introduces Terry O'Sullivan, a charming and well-dressed stranger, w
- [Squaring the Circle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/squaring-the-circle.md): A philosophical discourse on the conflict between nature's curves and the city's straight lines introduces the tale of Sam Folwell, the last of the Kentucky feudists, who travels to New York City to kill his hereditary e
- [Hearts and Crosses](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/hearts-and-crosses.md): Webb Yeager, foreman turned prince-consort after marrying Santa McAllister, the cattle queen, laments his loss of authority on the Nopalito Ranch. His friend Baldy Woods encourages him to assert himself. Webb recalls the
- [The Ransom of Mack](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-ransom-of-mack.md): After striking it rich in a gold mine, Andy Donovan and his friend Mack Lonsbury retire to the small town of Pina to enjoy a quiet life of leisure. While Andy is away on business, Mack is elected justice of the peace and
- [The Cop and the Anthem](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-cop-and-the-anthem.md): Soapy, a homeless man in New York City, seeks to be arrested and sent to Blackwell's Island prison for the winter. He attempts various schemes—smashing a window, dining without paying, harassing a woman, and stealing an 
- [Christmas by Injunction](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/christmas-by-injunction.md): In the mining town of Yellowhammer, Cherokee plans a grand Christmas celebration with a tree and gifts, but the town has no children. Trinidad and the Judge set out to borrow children from nearby settlements, facing repe
- [The Green Door](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-green-door.md): Rudolf Steiner, a true adventurer, receives a mysterious card reading 'The Green Door' from a fantastically dressed African man on the street. Intrigued, he follows the clue to a green door in a dim hallway, where he fin
- [The Church with an Overshot-Wheel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-church-with-an-overshot-wheel.md): At the Eagle House in Lakelands, the beloved Father Abram Strong, a former miller, forms a bond with a young guest named Miss Rose Chester. Through a series of events—including an organ note that triggers a memory and a 
- [The Badge of Policeman O’Roon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-badge-of-policeman-o-roon.md): Ellsworth Remsen, a wealthy Knickerbocker, helps his war comrade O'Roon secure a job as a mounted policeman. When O'Roon gets drunk before duty, Remsen impersonates him and ends up rescuing a beautiful woman and her fath
- [A Ramble in Aphasia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-ramble-in-aphasia.md): Elwyn C. Bellford, a successful Denver lawyer, suffers a sudden attack of aphasia due to overwork, forgetting his identity and past. He adopts the name Edward Pinkhammer, a Kansas druggist, and travels to New York. There
- [The Making of a New Yorker](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-making-of-a-new-yorker.md): Raggles, a poet who lives his verses and studies cities as individuals, arrives in Manhattan expecting to find its unique soul. Instead, he is met with cold indifference, egotism, and a sense of being utterly ignored. Af
- [A Service of Love](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-service-of-love.md): Joe Larrabee and Delia Caruthers, a young married couple pursuing art and music in New York, secretly take menial jobs to support each other's studies, each inventing a fictional patron to hide their sacrifices. Their de
- [Psyche and the Pskyscraper](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/psyche-and-the-pskyscraper.md): Daisy, a young woman working in a candy store and living in a cramped hall bedroom, is courted by two men: Joe, who runs a tiny store and offers her a simple, loving life, and Dabster, a pretentious philosopher who dazzl
- [A Cosmopolite in a Café](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-cosmopolite-in-a-caf.md): The narrator sits in a crowded café and meets E. Rushmore Coglan, a man who claims to be a true cosmopolite—a citizen of the world with no attachment to any specific place. Coglan derides patriotism and local pride, argu
- [The Girl and the Habit](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-girl-and-the-habit.md): Miss Merriam, a cashier at Hinkle's restaurant, is adored by male patrons for her beauty and wit. She is adopted by a wealthy elderly banker, Mr. McRamsey, and his wife, becoming Miss Rosa McRamsey. Despite her new socia
- [Vanity and Some Sables](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/vanity-and-some-sables.md): Kid Brady leaves the Stovepipe Gang to work as a plumber for his girlfriend Molly McKeever. After eight months, he buys her an expensive set of Russian sables, which leads to a confrontation with Detective Ransom, who su
- [The Unknown Quantity](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-unknown-quantity.md): Dan Kinsolving inherits $2 million from his father, who made the fortune by cornering the flour market and overcharging bread buyers. Seeking to make restitution, Dan consults his socialist friend Kenwitz, who argues tha
- [Babes in the Jungle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/babes-in-the-jungle.md): Billy Keogh reunites with Montague Silver in New York, where Silver boasts about the ease of swindling naive city dwellers. They meet a man posing as J.P. Morgan, who mentions a rare painting he desperately wants. Silver
- [The Song and the Sergeant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-song-and-the-sergeant.md): A dispute among the cast of 'A Gay Coquette' over who is responsible for a failing scene escalates into a public disturbance, leading to their arrest. At the police station, the sergeant allows them to perform the disput
- [Man About Town](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/man-about-town.md): The narrator embarks on a quest to define the elusive 'Man About Town' type in New York City, seeking definitions from a bartender, a Salvation Army lassie, a critic, and a reporter. After a night of searching, he is str
- [Memoirs of a Yellow Dog](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/memoirs-of-a-yellow-dog.md): A yellow dog narrates his life as a pet in a New York flat, suffering under a doting but suffocating mistress and sympathizing with her henpecked husband. After learning from a neighbor's terrier that the husband escapes
- [Mammon and the Archer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/mammon-and-the-archer.md): Old Anthony Rockwall, a wealthy soap manufacturer, tries to help his son Richard win the hand of Miss Lantry before she sails for Europe. Richard believes money cannot buy him the time or social access needed to propose,
- [The Detective Detector](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-detective-detector.md): The narrator walks with Avery Knight, a notorious criminal, who boasts he can find the detective assigned to catch him within 48 hours. After Knight commits a murder in Central Park, he uses a reverse-induction method to
- [Little Speck in Garnered Fruit](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/little-speck-in-garnered-fruit.md): Kid McGarry, a champion welterweight boxer, is on his honeymoon. His bride craves a peach, but it is early spring and out of season. Determined to fulfill her wish, he searches the city, eventually tipping off the police
- [The Shocks of Doom](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-shocks-of-doom.md): Vallance, recently disinherited and penniless, finds himself in Madison Square Park where he meets Ide, a vagrant who is terrified of inheriting a fortune the next day. Vallance helps Ide through the night, but the next 
- [Extradited from Bohemia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/extradited-from-bohemia.md): Medora Martin, a naive art student from Harmony, Vermont, is drawn into New York's Bohemian scene by the flamboyant Mr. Binkley. After a night at the Café Terence, she is overcome with guilt and writes a dramatic farewel
- [The Red Roses of Tonia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-red-roses-of-tonia.md): Tonia Weaver's Easter hat is delayed due to a burned trestle on the International Railroad. Two suitors, Wells Pearson and Thompson Burrows, race to Lone Elm Crossing to fetch a replacement hat. Pearson returns with a ha
- [Springtime à la Carte](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/springtime-la-carte.md): Sarah, a freelance typist in New York, survives a cold winter by typing menu cards for Schulenberg's Home Restaurant in exchange for meals. As spring approaches, she is heartbroken over not receiving letters from her far
- [Between Rounds](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/between-rounds.md): A May evening at Mrs. Murphy's boardinghouse begins with a domestic quarrel between the McCaskeys, which is interrupted by the news that Mrs. Murphy's little boy, Mike, is lost. The entire boardinghouse community becomes
- [Tommy's Burglar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/tommy-s-burglar.md): A young boy named Tommy encounters a burglar in his home. Instead of being afraid, Tommy engages the burglar in a meta-fictional conversation about the clichés and conventions of burglar stories, pointing out the predict
- [The Marry Month of May](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-marry-month-of-may.md): In a humorous tale about the deceptive power of spring, old Mr. Coulson, a wealthy gout-ridden invalid, is stirred by May's influence to propose to his housekeeper, Mrs. Widdup. His daughter, the cold and calculating Mis
- [The Girl and the Graft](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-girl-and-the-graft.md): Ferguson Pogue, a self-proclaimed grafter, recounts a scheme involving a wealthy New Yorker named Vaucross and a woman from Kansas, Artemisia Blye. Pogue arranges for Vaucross to court Artemisia publicly and write passio
- [The Call of the Tame](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-call-of-the-tame.md): Greenbrier Nye, a Rough Rider from Arizona, visits New York City and reunites with his old friend Longhorn Merritt, who has become a city dweller. Over drinks and dinner, Greenbrier laments Merritt's transformation from 
- [According to Their Lights](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/according-to-their-lights.md): Two down-and-out men, young Murray and the Captain, have fallen from respectable positions and now survive on the streets of New York. The Captain is offered money to testify against a former friend and inspector, but re
- [Roses, Ruses and Romance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/roses-ruses-and-romance.md): Ravenel, a poet, laments the death of romance in modern literature to his friend Sammy Brown, a broker's clerk. Sammy dismisses Ravenel's complaints and leaves for a date, revealed to be with a girl from the old mansion 
- [The Voice of the City](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-voice-of-the-city.md): The narrator embarks on a quest to discover the 'Voice of the City'—the essential, unified expression of New York's multitudes. He asks various people: Aurelia, a bartender, a policeman, a poet, and a newsboy. Each respo
- [Hostages to Momus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/hostages-to-momus.md): A group of men, including the narrator, Billy Keogh, and others, engage in a series of humorous and deceptive schemes, culminating in a practical joke involving a fake hush-money payment to an alderman, highlighting them
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): The narrator and Caligula Polk, after fleeing from Mexican authorities, find themselves in Mountain Valley, Georgia, where they experience the local cuisine and reflect on their travels and tastes.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): After breakfast, the narrator and Caligula observe the dilapidated town of Mountain Valley and its prominent citizen, Colonel Jackson T. Rockingham. Caligula, inspired by a newspaper account of the Raisuli kidnapping cas
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii.md): The narrator and Caligula kidnap Colonel Jackson T. Rockingham, president of the Sunrise & Edenville Tap Railroad, and hold him for a $10,000 ransom. They set up a luxurious camp with fine food and wine, and the colonel,
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iv.md): The narrator and Caligula continue their kidnapping scheme, receiving a series of railroad officials who arrive under a white flag. They prepare an elaborate feast, but Major Tucker reveals that the ransom raised is only
- [Sisters of the Golden Circle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/sisters-of-the-golden-circle.md): A newlywed couple, James and Hattie Williams, ride on a Rubberneck sightseeing auto in New York City. A girl in a tan jacket and her companion, a young man, are also aboard. The girl and Hattie exchange a quick, meaningf
- [The Dog and the Playlet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-dog-and-the-playlet.md): On a sweltering July evening in New York City, the narrator and his friend Hollis debate the nature of dramatic dialogue—whether people in real life express profound emotions in grand, theatrical language or in plain, ev
- [An Adjustment of Nature](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-adjustment-of-nature.md): The narrator recounts a story from three years ago about his friend Kraft, a painter who believes in the 'Unerring Artistic Adjustment of Nature.' They frequent Cipher's restaurant, where the magnificent waitress Milly w
- [A Midsummer Knight's Dream](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-midsummer-knight-s-dream.md): A man who insists New York City is the best summer resort is revealed to be sacrificing his own comfort to send his wife and children to the mountains. Through a daydream, he relives a youthful summer romance where he wo
- [The Lost Blend](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-lost-blend.md): Con Lantry, a shy bartender in love with his boss's daughter Katherine, learns about two men, Riley and McQuirk, who are trying to recreate a miraculous alcoholic blend they accidentally made in Nicaragua. The secret ing
- [An Unfinished Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-unfinished-story.md): Dulcie, a department store worker earning six dollars a week, is invited to dinner by a wealthy man she calls 'Piggy.' She excitedly prepares for the date, but after looking at a portrait of General Kitchener on her dres
- [Nemesis and the Candy Man](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/nemesis-and-the-candy-man.md): The chapter interweaves two narratives: the strained romantic relationship between Honoria Clinton and young Ives, who seeks forgiveness before she sails, and the candy man's resistance to the flirtations of Mademoiselle
- [The City of Dreadful Night](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-city-of-dreadful-night.md): During a heat wave, the Park Commissioner and other authorities decree that residents of tenements like the Beersheba Flats must sleep in Central Park. The narrator, Carney, describes the chaotic and uncomfortable night 
- [The Skylight Room](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-skylight-room.md): Miss Leeson, a poor working girl, rents a tiny, coffin-like skylight room in Mrs. Parker's boarding house for two dollars a week. Despite her poverty, she maintains a cheerful spirit and whimsically names a star she sees
- [The Assessor of Success](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-assessor-of-success.md): Morley, a cynical and manipulative man, navigates New York City by exploiting others' trust and naivety. He cons an old man looking for his son, swindles a child sent to buy medicine, and reflects on his ability to decei
- [From Each According to His Ability](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/from-each-according-to-his-ability.md): Vuyning, a bored clubman, is approached by Emerson, a self-proclaimed crook from the West, who admires Vuyning's impeccable style and seeks his advice on dressing properly. Vuyning agrees to help, and Emerson reveals he 
- [The Poet and the Peasant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-poet-and-the-peasant.md): A poet who has lived close to nature writes a pastoral poem that an editor rejects as 'too artificial.' In retaliation, a group of friends conspire to have Conant, a city-dwelling writer, submit a fabricated nature poem 
- [A Bird of Bagdad](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-bird-of-bagdad.md): The Margrave August Michael von Paulsen Quigg, a modern-day Caliph Harun Al Rashid, runs a modest restaurant in Fourth Avenue and spends his nights seeking adventure and aiding the distressed. One evening, he encounters 
- [The Plutonian Fire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-plutonian-fire.md): The narrator recounts the story of his friend Pettit, a writer from Alabama who struggles to write convincing love stories in New York. After falling in love with a New York girl, Pettit experiences genuine emotion and f
- [The Guilty Party](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-guilty-party.md): The chapter contrasts two domestic scenes: a neglectful father who refuses to play checkers with his daughter, and the turbulent relationship between Kid Mullaly and his fiancée Liz, who feels betrayed when the Kid plans
- [The Last Leaf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-last-leaf.md): In Greenwich Village, two young artists, Sue and Johnsy, share a studio. Johnsy falls seriously ill with pneumonia and becomes convinced that she will die when the last leaf falls from an old ivy vine outside her window.
- [Elsie in New York](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/elsie-in-new-york.md): After her father's death, young Elsie Beatty ventures into New York City seeking work, armed only with a letter from her father's former employer, Mr. Otter. Along the way, she is repeatedly intercepted by well-meaning b
- [The Clarion Call](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-clarion-call.md): Detective Barney Woods confronts Johnny Kernan, the murderer of Millionaire Norcross, but is unable to arrest him due to a past debt of gratitude. Kernan, arrogant and boastful, taunts the police and the press, even call
- [The Tale of a Tainted Tenner](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-tale-of-a-tainted-tenner.md): A ten-dollar bill narrates its own life story, describing its circulation through New York City, its encounters with various people and other currency, and its eventual donation by a gambler named Old Jack to a poor woma
- [Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/two-thanksgiving-day-gentlemen.md): Stuffy Pete, a poor man, sits on his usual bench in Union Square on Thanksgiving Day, already stuffed from an unexpected feast provided by two old ladies. The Old Gentleman, who has fed Stuffy a Thanksgiving dinner annua
- [Blind Man's Holiday](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/blind-man-s-holiday.md): Lorison, a man with a shifting perspective on life, falls in love with a girl he meets at a cheap restaurant in New Orleans. After a hasty marriage performed by Father Rogan, his bride disappears, leaving him in a state 
- [Telemachus, Friend](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/telemachus-friend.md): The narrator meets Telemachus Hicks, who recounts the story of his friendship with Paisley Fish and how it was tested when both fell in love with the widow Mrs. Jessup. They agree to court her fairly in each other's pres
- [A Double-Dyed Deceiver](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-double-dyed-deceiver.md): The Llano Kid, a young outlaw on the run after killing a man in a poker game in Laredo, steals a horse and flees to the coastal town of Buenas Tierras. There, he meets Thacker, the American consul, who hatches a scheme t
- [The Gift of the Magi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-gift-of-the-magi.md): Della Young, with only $1.87 to buy a Christmas present for her husband Jim, sells her beautiful long hair to a wigmaker for $20. She uses the money to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's prized gold watch. When Jim retur
- [The Duel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-duel.md): Two friends from the West, William and Jack, come to New York City to seek their fortunes. Four years later, they meet for lunch. William has embraced the city, becoming a successful businessman, while Jack, an artist, d
- [The Thing's the Play](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-thing-s-the-play.md): A newspaper reporter recounts to a writer a story he failed to turn into a humorous column: the tale of Helen Barry, who married Frank Barry twenty years ago. On her wedding night, the best man John Delaney, mad with jea
- [The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-rubaiyat-of-a-scotch-highball.md): Bob Babbitt, a young man in New York, decides to quit drinking after overhearing a friend describe him as 'full as a boiled owl.' His sudden sobriety disrupts the bohemian lifestyle he and his wife Jessie have built, whi
- [The Buyer from Cactus City](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-buyer-from-cactus-city.md): John Platt, junior partner of Navarro & Platt from Cactus City, Texas, travels to New York to buy goods for the spring season. He meets suit model Helen Asher and immediately proposes marriage, offering a diamond ring. M
- [The Harbinger](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-harbinger.md): Mr. Peters, a lazy loafer, conspires with his friends Ragsy and Kidd to steal a dollar from his wife, Mrs. Peters. After failed attempts at intimidation and deception, he tries a sentimental approach, calling her endeari
- [The Day Resurgent](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-day-resurgent.md): Danny McCree, a hard-working young man, grapples with the meaning of Easter Sunday while caring for his blind father, who longs to hear about the 'hippopotamus' from a history book. After a day of wandering and questioni
- [The Fool-Killer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-fool-killer.md): The narrator recounts the legend of Jesse Holmes, the Fool-Killer, a mythic figure invoked in the South to punish fools. He describes his friend Kerner, a talented but foolish artist who has disinherited his wealthy fath
- [The Handbook of Hymen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-handbook-of-hymen.md): Sanderson Pratt and Idaho, two miners, spend a winter snowed in, each studying a book: Pratt's 'Herkimer's Handbook of Indispensable Information' and Idaho's poetry by Homer K. M. After striking pay ore, they settle in R
- [Brickdust Row](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/brickdust-row.md): Blinker, a wealthy gentleman, is delayed in New York City by business matters and decides to escape to Coney Island. On the boat, he meets Florence, a millinery trimmer, and they spend the day together. During the return
- [Sociology in Serge and Straw](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/sociology-in-serge-and-straw.md): The narrator critiques a sociologist's praise of the Van Plushvelt family as an 'uplift' symbol, pointing out the irony that young heir Haywood Van Plushvelt, dressed in neat, expensive clothes, confronts the ragged vill
- [Girl](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/girl.md): Hartley, a broker, tracks down Vivienne Arlington to propose a life in the suburbs. Vivienne hesitates, mentioning another suitor, Rafford Townsend. Hartley confronts Townsend and sends him away, then insists Vivienne ac
- [A Ruler of Men](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-ruler-of-men.md): The narrator encounters Kansas Bill Bowers, an old friend selling gadgets on a New York street. They reminisce, and Bill recounts his time in a tropical country with Barney O'Connor, an Irishman who becomes embroiled in 
- [The Trimmed Lamp](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-trimmed-lamp.md): The story contrasts the lives and philosophies of two young working women, Lou and Nancy, who move to the city from the country. Lou works in a laundry, earns good wages, and is content with her life and her faithful sui
- [The Higher Abdication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-higher-abdication.md): Curly, a hardened tramp, drifts into San Antonio and is taken in by rancher Ranse Truesdell, who attempts to reform him through discipline, work, and moral instruction. Despite Curly's resistance and relapses, Ranse pers
- [Calloway's Code](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/calloway-s-code.md): H.B. Calloway, a special correspondent for the New York Enterprise during the Russo-Japanese War, devises a clever code using common newspaper phrases to bypass a new censor and send crucial battle plans. The coded cable
- [The Country of Elusion](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-country-of-elusion.md): Grainger, a subeditor, seeks escape in Bohemia after a trying day. He visits Mary Adrian, and they dine at Café André, a self-proclaimed Bohemian restaurant. The chapter satirizes the pretensions of Bohemian culture, con
- [The Ethics of Pig](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-ethics-of-pig.md): Jeff Peters recounts his attempt to find an honest partner for his 'unillegal' graft operations. He meets Rufe Tatum in the remote town of Mount Nebo, a man with a habit of stealing hogs. Jeff hires Rufe to work as his c
- [Compliments of the Season](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/compliments-of-the-season.md): A tramp named Fuzzy finds a lost rag-doll from a millionaire's mansion, returns it for a reward, but then insists on exchanging Christmas compliments with the lady of the house, recalling a forgotten code of gentlemanly 
- [Seats of the Haughty](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/seats-of-the-haughty.md): The narrator recounts his failed attempts to entertain a wealthy but homesick Texas rancher, Solly, in St. Louis, Chicago, and New York. Despite lavish spending on saddles, shows, and nightlife, Solly remains miserable a
- [The Purple Dress](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-purple-dress.md): Maida, a salesgirl at the Beehive Store, saves for months to buy a tailor-made purple dress for the Thanksgiving dinner, hoping to impress Mr. Ramsay, the head clerk. Her friend Grace, who has bought a red dress, faces e
- [Past One at Rooney's](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/past-one-at-rooney-s.md): Cork McManus, a Capulet in the East Side gang wars, is hiding out after stabbing a Montagu. He meets a girl at Rooney's after hours, and they form a tentative bond. When a cop tries to arrest Cork, the girl reveals her t
- [The Indian Summer of Dry Valley Johnson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-indian-summer-of-dry-valley-johnson.md): Dry Valley Johnson, a former sheepman turned strawberry farmer, attempts to recapture his youth by courting the young Panchita O'Brien, dressing in youthful attire and adopting affected mannerisms. After witnessing Panch
- [The Man Higher Up](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-man-higher-up.md): Jeff Peters recounts his encounter with Bill Bassett, a burglar, and Alfred E. Ricks, a failed financier, after a bank robbery. Peters contrasts his own 'commercial' swindling with Bassett's laborious burglary and Ricks'
- [Proof of the Pudding](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/proof-of-the-pudding.md): Editor Westbrook of the Minerva Magazine is enjoying a spring day in Madison Square when he is accosted by his old acquaintance, struggling fiction writer Shackleford Dawe. Dawe challenges Westbrook's editorial standards
- [The Halberdier of the Little Rheinschloss](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-halberdier-of-the-little-rheinschloss.md): Waiter No. 18 recounts the story of a young man who works as a halberdier at the Little Rheinschloss restaurant. The halberdier, secretly a gentleman named Sir Percival Deering, endures menial labor and blistered hands t
- [The Caballero's Way](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-caballero-s-way.md): The Cisco Kid, a notorious outlaw who has killed many men, is loved by Tonia Perez. Lieutenant Sandridge of the Texas Rangers is sent to capture him. Sandridge finds Tonia and begins a romance with her, unaware that the 
- [The Ransom of Red Chief](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-ransom-of-red-chief.md): Two small-time criminals, Sam and Bill Driscoll, kidnap the ten-year-old son of a prominent citizen in the small town of Summit, Alabama, hoping to collect a $2,000 ransom. However, the boy, who calls himself 'Red Chief,
- [The Fifth Wheel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-fifth-wheel.md): Thomas McQuade, a recently discharged coachman, finds himself in the Bed Line of homeless men on a cold night. He meets a fellow sufferer, and after a series of strange events involving a mysterious benefactor and a spir
- [The World and the Door](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-world-and-the-door.md): After a violent quarrel in which H. Ferguson Hedges is shot and believed dead, Ralph Merriam flees New York and eventually finds refuge and love with a mysterious woman, Mrs. Conant, in a remote coastal town. Their idyll
- [Phoebe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/phoebe.md): Captain Patricio Maloné recounts the story of Francis 'Bad-Luck' Kearny, a man who believes his misfortunes are caused by the star Phoebe, the ninth satellite of Saturn. Kearny joins Maloné's revolutionary expedition to 
- [Next to Reading Matter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/next-to-reading-matter.md): Judson Tate recounts how he used his persuasive speech to woo Señorita Anabela Zamora on behalf of his handsome but tongue-tied friend Fergus McMahan, only to fall in love with her himself. After winning her affection th
- [The Day We Celebrate](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-day-we-celebrate.md): The narrator, 'Hop-along' Bibb, tells a story about his time stranded in the tropical town of Soledad, Costa Rica, with his companion Liverpool Sam. After working on a banana plantation and losing track of time, they ret
- [The Octopus Marooned](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-octopus-marooned.md): Jeff Peters recounts how he and his partner Andy Tucker formed a trust in Bird City, Texas, by creating a monopoly on the only safe drinking water after a flood. Their scheme unravels when Andy, after taking a drink of w
- [Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/jeff-peters-as-a-personal-magnet.md): Jeff Peters recounts his early days as a traveling medicine man under the alias Dr. Waugh-hoo, selling Resurrection Bitters in Fisher Hill, Arkansas. After being shut down by a constable for lacking a city license, he me
- [Modern Rural Sports](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/modern-rural-sports.md): Jeff Peters recounts a story about him and his partner Andy Tucker attempting to swindle a wealthy, modern farmer named Ezra Plunkett. Jeff fails because the farmer is too educated and technologically advanced to fall fo
- [The Chair of Philanthromathematics](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-chair-of-philanthromathematics.md): Jeff Peters recounts his and Andy Tucker's venture into philanthropy after making $25,000 from a silver mine. They establish a free university in Floresville, Arizona, hiring professors and attracting students. The schem
- [The Hand That Riles the World](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-hand-that-riles-the-world.md): Jeff Peters recounts a story to the narrator about a scheme to secure a U.S. Marshal appointment for Bill Humble through lobbying in Washington. Jeff and his partner Andy initially plan a straightforward bribe but are re
- [The Exact Science of Matrimony](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-exact-science-of-matrimony.md): Jeff Peters recounts a matrimonial agency scheme he ran with Andy Tucker in Cairo, Illinois. They advertised a charming widow with $3,000 and property, using Mrs. Trotter as the bait. Suitors paid $2 to have their letter
- [A Midsummer Masquerade](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-midsummer-masquerade.md): Jeff Peters recounts a summer vacation with his partner Andy Tucker at the Woodchuck Inn in Crow Knob, where they encounter old acquaintance Smoke-’em-out Smithers, who has falsely advertised that the Duke of Marlborough
- [Shearing the Wolf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/shearing-the-wolf.md): Jeff Peters recounts a scheme where he and Andy Tucker, posing as horse drovers on vacation in Grassdale, Kentucky, befriend a hardware merchant named Murkison. Murkison receives a green goods letter and plans to go to C
- [Innocents of Broadway](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/innocents-of-broadway.md): Jeff Peters recounts a story about a naive New York cigar store owner who insists on entrusting him with $5,000, leading to a moral dilemma for Jeff and his partner Andy Tucker as they grapple with their professional eth
- [Conscience in Art](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/conscience-in-art.md): Jeff Peters recounts a scheme with his partner Andy Tucker to swindle a Pittsburgh millionaire by stealing his ivory carving and then selling it back to him, with Andy's elaborate ruse designed to satisfy Jeff's conscien
- [The Memento](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-memento.md): Miss Lynnette D'Armande, a former leading lady, sits in her room at the Hotel Thalia darning a stocking while reflecting on her career. Her friend Rosalie Ray visits and recounts her recent romantic experience in Soundpo
- [The Enchanted Profile](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-enchanted-profile.md): Ida Bates recounts her brief, luxurious stay with the wealthy but frugal Maggie Brown, who took her in and lavished her with expensive clothes and a grand banquet, only to suddenly economize and move them to a cheap room
- [A Night in New Arabia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-night-in-new-arabia.md): The narrator introduces the concept of New York City as a modern-day Bagdad, overrun by wealthy 'caliphs' who dispense charity in ways that often miss the mark. The story focuses on Jacob Spraggins, a self-made millionai
- [The Headhunter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-headhunter.md): The narrator, a former war correspondent in the Philippines, becomes fascinated by the headhunting tribes of Mindanao and their simple, brutal philosophy of winning love by presenting severed heads. Upon returning to the
- [The Moment of Victory](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-moment-of-victory.md): The narrator recounts the story of Willie Robbins, a seemingly meek man from San Augustine who transforms into a war hero during the Spanish-American War. Driven by ambition for fame and promotion, Robbins distinguishes 
- [The Rose of Dixie](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-rose-of-dixie.md): Colonel Aquila Telfair, editor of the Southern magazine 'The Rose of Dixie,' defends his editorial choices against the criticisms of Thacker, a business-minded promoter. Thacker argues for a universal appeal and high-qua
- [Buried Treasure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/buried-treasure.md): The narrator, a self-described fool of the sentimental sort, recounts his pursuit of May Martha Mangum, a beautiful young woman in a Texas prairie town, and his rivalry with the learned Goodloe Banks. After May Martha an
- [The Last of the Troubadours](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-last-of-the-troubadours.md): Sam Galloway, a wandering troubadour, leaves the Rancho Altito after a three-month visit and rides to the sheep ranch of old man Ellison, the 'Last of the Barons.' He is warmly welcomed and stays on, enjoying peace, appr
- [Strictly Business](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/strictly-business.md): Bob Hart, a vaudeville performer, discovers Winona Cherry, an actress whose performance perfectly matches his vision for the lead in his long-held sketch 'Mice Will Play.' After collaborating and forming the team Hart & 
- [What You Want](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/what-you-want.md): James Turner, a poor hat cleaner with a passion for Clark Russell's sea novels, finds relief from his aching feet by reading in his small room. One evening, he is approached by Old Tom Crowley, a wealthy soap manufacture
- [The Hiding of Black Bill](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-hiding-of-black-bill.md): A man named Ham recounts to his friend Snipy how he took a job as a sheepherder on a remote Texas ranch owned by a mysterious little man named H. Ogden. Through conversation and card games, Ham subtly reveals that he kno
- [Schools and Schools](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/schools-and-schools.md): A story exploring the contrast between formal education and practical wisdom, likely through character interactions that highlight different kinds of knowledge and learning.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): Old Jerome Warren, a wealthy broker, lives with his adopted son Gilbert and step-niece Barbara. He receives a letter from his long-lost brother Dick, who is dying and sending his daughter Nevada East for Jerome to care f
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): Nevada Warren receives a note from Gilbert inviting her and Barbara Ross for an automobile drive. She consults her uncle Jerome, who approves, and she replies informally.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii.md): Two months later, Barbara sits alone in the study of the hundred-thousand-dollar house, holding a sealed letter from Gilbert addressed to Nevada. She is jealous of Nevada's growing closeness with Gilbert. When Nevada ret
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iv.md): Nevada Warren ventures out into a snowstorm at midnight to meet Gilbert Warren at his studio, responding to his urgent letter. Gilbert proposes immediate marriage, and Nevada accepts, embracing the unconventional plan. G
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/v.md): After their wedding ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Warren ride home in a closed carriage. Gilbert reveals that the letter Nevada received earlier contained a simple correction about a flower—it was a hydrangea, not a lil
- [The Discounters of Money](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-discounters-of-money.md): Young millionaire Howard Pilkins, who believes money can buy anything, is rejected by Alice von der Ruysling, a proud aristocrat from an old but impoverished family. After his proposal is spurned, he encounters a young S
- [He Also Serves](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/he-also-serves.md): The narrator recounts tales from Hunky Magee, a camp-follower of fortune, who tells of his adventures with High Jack Snakefeeder, a Cherokee man educated at a Pennsylvania college. They travel to Mexico and encounter a s
- [The Third Ingredient](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-third-ingredient.md): Hetty Pepper, recently fired from her job at a department store, returns to her cheap room in the Vallambrosa apartment-house with only a piece of rib beef and fifteen cents. She plans to make a beef stew but discovers s
- [Thimble, Thimble](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/thimble-thimble.md): The chapter introduces the Carteret family, blending Virginia aristocracy with Yankee commerce, and follows the arrival of old Uncle Jake, a faithful former slave, who travels to New York to deliver a heirloom watch to h
- [Helping the Other Fellow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/helping-the-other-fellow.md): The narrator recounts a conversation with William Trotter on the beach at Aguas Frescas, where Trotter shares a condensed oral autobiography. The chapter reflects on the theme of helping others and the irony of whether t
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): The narrator attempts to persuade William Trotter to return to the United States for a comfortable job, but Trotter declines, sharing his story of being marooned in South America and his encounter with Clifford Wainwrigh
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii.md): William Trotter recounts his time in Aguas Frescas, where he helped Clifford Wainwright overcome his alcoholism using a herbal tea made from calisaya bark, provided by a local girl named Timotea Carrizo. Wainwright later
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iv.md): The narrator receives a letter from his brother offering a lucrative job in New Orleans, but instead of accepting, he retreats to a modest attic room in Bienville Street to write stories for a living.
- [Supply and Demand](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/supply-and-demand.md): The chapter explores the economic principle of supply and demand through two intertwined narratives: a small girl's honest request for money from Finch, and a tale of a con game involving gold-dust, mirrors, and a miserl
- [To Him Who Waits](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/to-him-who-waits.md): The Hermit of the Hudson, a man who has lived in a cave for ten years after being jilted by Edith Carr, receives a visit from Beatrix Trenholme, the youngest and fairest of the Trenholme sisters, who expresses admiration
- [The Higher Pragmatism](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-higher-pragmatism.md): A philosophical tale exploring the practical application of pragmatism in everyday life, where characters navigate moral dilemmas and social expectations through a lens of practical reasoning.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter opens with a philosophical reflection on the difficulty of attaining wisdom in modern times, dismissing ancient authorities and contemporary institutions alike, before pivoting to the narrative proper.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): The narrator meets a tramp named Mack in a park and, after a brief exchange, decides to confide in him about his unrequited love for Mildred Telfair. Mack compares the narrator's romantic timidity to his own failure as a
- [Bestseller](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/bestseller.md): A satirical look at the literary market's demand for bestsellers, exploring the mechanics of popular fiction and the often absurd lengths authors and publishers go to in order to produce a hit.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/i.md): The narrator recounts a train journey to Pittsburgh where he unexpectedly reunites with an old acquaintance, John A. Pescud, a traveling salesman for a plate-glass company. The chapter introduces Pescud's character and s
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/ii.md): John Pescud critiques popular bestselling novels that feature American heroes romancing European princesses, arguing that such stories are unrealistic and inconsistent with real-life social classes and behavior. He insis
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iii.md): John Pescud recounts to the narrator how he met and pursued his future wife, Jessie Allyn, after seeing her on a train. He followed her to her family's dilapidated but grand Virginia estate, won over her proud father Col
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/iv.md): The narrator and John Pescud arrive at Coketown, a bleak, rain-soaked industrial stop. Pescud explains he is getting off to find petunias for his wife Jessie, reminiscent of her old Virginia home. The narrator reflects o
- [No Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/no-story.md): The narrator, a space-work reporter for the Morning Beacon, is approached by Tripp, a miserable and whiskey-dependent employee from the mechanical department, who claims to have a great story about a beautiful young woma
- [A Poor Rule](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-poor-rule.md): The narrator and his rivals, Bud Cunningham and Jacks, compete for the affections of Ileen Hinkle, a beautiful but self-proclaimed truth-seeker who claims to despise flattery. They each offer her what they believe to be 
- [Rus in Urbe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/rus-in-urbe.md): The narrator, a press-agent for Binkly & Bing, defends his choice to stay in New York City during the summer to his wealthy friend Spencer Grenville North, who extols the virtues of his Adirondack camp. The narrator argu
- [The Venturers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-venturers.md): Two men, Ives and Forster, bond over their shared desire for unpredictable adventures and disdain for life's predetermined outcomes. After both find themselves penniless, they decide to dine together at a hotel and flip 
- [A Municipal Report](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-municipal-report.md): The narrator arrives in Nashville, Tennessee, and encounters a variety of characters, including an old Negro hack driver named Uncle Caesar, a poor but refined Southern lady named Azalea Adair, and a boorish drunkard, Ma
- [A Christmas Pi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-christmas-pi.md): The narrator, a writer who has never written a Christmas story, recounts his annual cycle of promising to write one and failing. On Christmas Eve, he encounters a man about to throw a brick into a pawnbroker's window, wh
- [A Technical Error](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-technical-error.md): The narrator recounts his involvement in an Indian Territory feud between the Durkees and Tatums. After Ben Tatum kills Sam Durkee's brother Lester and runs off with Sam's girl Ella Baynes, Sam and the narrator pursue th
- [Let Me Feel Your Pulse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/let-me-feel-your-pulse.md): The narrator, suffering from a range of imagined ailments, seeks cures through various doctors and sanitariums, only to find each remedy more absurd than the last. After a failed stay at a sanitarium and a seaside hotel,
- [The Friendly Call](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-friendly-call.md): The narrator, a hardware salesman, visits Simon Bell in Saltillo, Colorado, to inform him of a business opportunity. Bell introduces him to his friend George Ringo, a flamboyant and surly man with a long scar on his hand
- [The Snow Man](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-snow-man.md): The narrator, snowbound at the Bay Horse Ranch with Ross Curtis, reflects on the transformative and often maddening effects of snow. A stranded opera singer turned palmist, Etienne Girod, stumbles in, and tensions rise a
- [Law and Order](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/law-and-order.md): Bud Oakley, office deputy of Mojada County, Texas, recounts the story of his friend Luke Summers, a sheriff who embodies both law and order. Luke's wife leaves him and takes their son, but Luke obtains a legal decree gra
- [An Unfinished Christmas Story](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/an-unfinished-christmas-story.md): The narrator reflects on the nature of Christmas stories and introduces a tale set in a furnished room house on West 'Teenth Street. He describes his encounter with the landlady, Mrs. Kannon, who leases three adjoining h
- [The Unprofitable Servant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-unprofitable-servant.md): The narrator reflects on how four newspaper men report the same incident in wildly different ways, then draws a parallel to the biblical parable of the talents. The story then focuses on Cliff McGowan, a gifted but untra
- [A Fog in Santone](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-fog-in-santone.md): On a foggy night in San Antonio, two terminally ill men—Goodall of Memphis and Hurd of Toledo—meet on a bridge and bond over their shared mortality. Hurd proposes a drunken spree as a quicker route to death, and they dri
- [The Dream](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-dream.md): Murray, a condemned man awaiting execution in the electric chair, reflects on his fate and the other prisoners in Limbo Lane. As the hour of his death approaches, he experiences a vivid dream of a peaceful life with a wi
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/endnotes.md): A collection of endnotes providing explanatory references and humorous asides related to the stories in the book, including a note on a famous Texas legal case, a satirical reference to Rev. Sam Jones, repeated citations

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