W W Jacobs: 155 books

R. John Vyner, ship-owner, pushed his chair back from his writing-table and gazed with kindly condescension at the chief clerk as he stood before it with a handful of papers. "We shall be able to relieve you of some of your work soon, Hartley," he said, slowly. "Mr. Robert will come into the firm...

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.

The ancient port of Sunwich was basking in the sunshine of a July afternoon. A rattle of cranes and winches sounded from the shipping in the harbour, but the town itself was half asleep. Somnolent shopkeepers in dim back parlours coyly veiled their faces in red handkerchiefs from the too ardent flies,...

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.

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.

Dr. Frank Carson had been dreaming tantalizing dreams of cooling, effervescent beverages. Over and over again in his dreams he had risen from his bed, and tripping lightly down to the surgery in his pajamas, mixed himself something long and cool and fizzy, without being able to bring the dream to...

The ancient port of Sunwich was basking in the sunshine of a July afternoon. A rattle of cranes and winches sounded from the shipping in the harbour, but the town itself was half asleep. Somnolent shopkeepers in dim back parlours coyly veiled their faces in red handkerchiefs from the too ardent flies,...

One early morning a small steam-barge called Bulldog was passing the town. The speed of the steam-barge was six knots per hour. The captain of the ship was annoyed by the speed. He went with his crew to the engine room and wanted to ask the steamer why the speed of steam-barge was so small. But the...

There were disquieting gossip that epidemic of Billetitis that was in the North of King's Road showed signs of spreading. Articles about that disease fulfilled all the newspapers first pages. Some people came to me to check the state of my health. One day, since a couple of months a maid came to bedroom-door...

There was bad blood between the captain and mate who comprised the officers and crew of the sailing-barge which called “Swallow”. Their trip from London to Littleport was conducted in glum silence. The tension was high – captain spoke few words, but his words were filled by threats and abuse....

One day the captain of the ship which called “Fearless” came on to the wharf. He dodged round an empty van, lurked behind an empty barrel, flitted from that to a post, and finally from the interior of a steam crane peeped melodramatically on to the deck of his craft. To the ordinary man who hadn’t...