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1) Fairy Gold
In this funny tale from W. W. Jacobs, a pair of old friends enjoying a few beers at the local pub hatch a nefarious plot to steal the modest nest egg that one fellow's wife has managed to squirrel away over the years. Suffice it to say that things don't go exactly as planned.
A retired boatswain has repeatedly asked his landlady to marry him — but his advances are consistently rebuffed by the confirmed bachelorette. In a misguided attempt to change her mind, he cooks up a plan to convince her that she needs to have a man around to ensure her safety.
3) Easy Money
In this story, a group of sailor friends reminisce about their early love affairs and their feelings about marriage. "Easy Money" is part of the collection Night Watches, in which each tale is sparked by a nightwatchman's observations and thoughts.
Fleeing big-city life in the aftermath of a tumultuous romance, a beautiful young woman retreats to the quiet country house of her uncle to recuperate and seek a new path in life. But when her scorned lover shows up to win her back with a few clever tricks up his sleeve, her resolve to live a solitary life begins to falter.
One of W. W. Jacobs' most unforgettable characters is the cantankerous nightwatchmen on the wharf in London who spends his spare time reminiscing about past capers and misadventures. In this tale, he muses about the nature of gratitude and recounts some of the good deeds for which he's never been repaid.
6) Back to Back
A husband and wife's scheme to bilk money from the husband's employer, a railroad company, veers hilariously off track in this tale from W. W. Jacobs, a renowned master of the short-story format whose works gained widespread popularity in the periodicals of the early twentieth century.
The world's prickliest nightwatchman is at it again in this funny tale from W. W. Jacobs. After mistaking one sailor for his twin brother during a chance meeting on the wharf, the watchman reminisces at length about a case of mistaken identity in his own past.
George Wright has his eyes on a lovely young lady, but he's not sure that his meager lot in life will be enough to win her hand. So with the help of a new friend, he concocts a scheme to convince her that he's got a huge inheritance coming his way sometime in the future.
In this engaging tale from popular short-story writer W. W. Jacobs, a family bands together to crack the case of a missing piece of jewelry, attempting to catch the thief red-handed. But when they set their plan into motion, it quickly spirals out of control.
Veering away from the salty sailors and seadogs that were his typical subject matter, author W. W. Jacobs draws on his own experiences in World War I in this pair of brief sketches, both of which are written in the format of a soldier's personal diary.
11) Fine Feathers
In this clever tale from W. W. Jacobs, a grocer is nagged to within an inch of his life by his pretentious wife and her family, who want the man to display finer manners. But when he takes their advice to the extreme, they soon find themselves longing for his former, more informal approach to life.
Part of W. W. Jacobs' series of short tales featuring the observations and memories of a nightwatchman, "The Guardian Angel" finds our hero pondering the nature of charity and good works. The action of the tale centers around a conflict between friends that ended in an unexpected manner.
13) The Convert
A man named Mr. Billings has hit rock-bottom and tries to turn over a new leaf with the help of his friends and family, giving up his love of fisticuffs and bar fights and cutting back on the booze. But when circumstances change, Billings finds that pacifism isn't always the best approach.
14) Keeping Watch
"Keeping Watch" is another in a series of W. W. Jacobs' tales that are the reminiscences of an on-duty nightwatchman. In this story, the guard catches a glimpse of a passing couple and is reminded of his own run-in with a seemingly innocent young woman whose coy beauty concealed a secret.
In this short story from W. W. Jacobs' 1911 collection Ship's Company, a tense confrontation that is about to boil over is suddenly forgotten when an accident happens and temporarily unites the combatants as they scramble to offer help to a damsel in distress.
16) Sea Urchins
The publication of this collection of short stories marked a turning point in author W. W. Jacobs' literary career. The book was a major success, and it was at this point that Jacobs turned his attention to writing as his full-time profession. Sea Urchins contains a variety of humorous tales set on ships at sea and the wharves of London.
Another of W. W. Jacobs' stories told from the perspective of an irascible nightwatchman walking the wharfs of London, the hilarious "Bill's Paper Chase" focuses on the sailors the nightwatchman has known and their tendency toward financial insolvency and chronic overspending.
Notorious miser Mr. Lister is shown the error of his ways by his fellow sailors and finally bucks his lifelong habit of cadging drinks. Around the same time, an unusual friendship springs up between Lister and the ship's new cook. Is there a connection between these two events?
The stories in this collection hearken back to some of W. W. Jacobs' favorite settings and milieus: ships at sea and the wharfs of London, where a misanthropic nightwatchman thinks back bitterly over his life while walking his rounds. Fans of Jacobs' most famous tale, "The Monkey's Paw," will be pleasantly surprised to discover the true breadth of his talent.
20) Good Intentions
Though he is best remembered for the macabre tale "The Monkey's Paw," many of British author W. W. Jacobs' stories are about sailors and life on the sea. "Good Intentions" was originally released as part of Jacobs' 1911 collection Ship's Company.
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