Ambrose Bierce
An Unfinished Race
James Burne Worson, a shoemaker who lived in Leamington, Warwickshire, England, undertook a run all the way to Coventry and back for a stake of one sovereign. He went on very well, at an easy gait,...
An Imperfect Conflagration
One June morning in 1872, I murdered my father after dividing the proceeds of a burglary. The music-box brought disaster and disgrace upon our family, and caused my father to commit the only...
A Son of the Gods
In the edge of this wood, long lines of troops are halted. Detached groups of horsemen are intently regarding the crest of a hill. A young officer on a snow-white horse salutes the corps commander...
At Old Man Eckert's
Philip Eckert lived in an old, weather-stained wooden house about three miles from the little town of Marion, in Vermont. "Old Man Eckert", as he was always called, was not of a sociable...
A Vine on a House
Three miles from Norton, Missouri, stands an old house that was last occupied by a family named Harding. It is now a picturesque ruin, partly concealed by a large vine. Robert Harding, his wife...
A Watcher by the Dead
In an unoccupied dwelling in San Francisco, a man was found dead under a sheet. A man entered the room, examined the other window, seated himself in the arm-chair, took some matches off the...
A Wireless Message
Mr. William Holt, a wealthy manufacturer of Chicago, had "trouble with his wife" in the summer of 1896, and has related the incident to at least one person without exacting a pledge of secrecy. A...
Charles Ashmore's Trail
Christian Ashmore, his wife, his mother, two grown daughters, and a son of sixteen years, lived in Troy, New York. The Ashmores moved from Troy to Richmond, Indiana, and then to Quincy, Illinois,...
Four Days in Dixie
Lieutenant Cobb, an aide-de-camp, and I mounted and set out to "seek our fortunes" along the Coosa River, but were forced to turn back when we encountered two horsemen in gray. We climbed across...
Chickamauga
A child strayed away from home and entered a forest, where he was confronted with a rabbit. The child fled and lay down in a narrow space between two rocks. The little sleeper rose to his feet,...
George Thurston
George Thurston was a first lieutenant and aide-de-camp on the staff of Colonel Brough, commanding a Federal brigade. He worked like a beaver and risked his life while defining roads and sketching...
Jo. Dunfer. Done for.
I turned away from the tablet and brushed away the leaves from the gravestone. I asked the little wretches if they were jealous of me and they swelled out like turkeycocks and made a pretense of...