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E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Between Pike's Peak and a pickle

W. C. Tuttle

In Piperock, Yuma Yates boasts that he can ride anything and backs the claim with a five-hundred-dollar wager. Judge Steele formalizes the bet after Magpie Simpkins accepts, and the challenge is set for the next afternoon in the town’s main street, with the teased target described only as something between Pike’s Peak and a pickle. The story centers on frontier banter, gambling, and the problem of turning a reckless boast into a real test.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Atmosphere

Murray Leinster

Set in Hawaii near the leper settlement of Molokai, the story follows a small circle of white men whose daily life is shaped by heat, isolation, and the sight of the colony across the water. The narrator describes how the place and its constant presence unsettle everyone, especially Colin Drew, whose fear of leprosy grows into anxious self-testing and strained behavior. The book centers on the psychological pressure of that environment and the tensions it creates among the men.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Figures of speech

W. C. Tuttle

Dobie Dalton writes to Hank about the birth of his son and the dispute over the baby’s name. He wants to name the child after Hank, but Emmeline and Uncle Gabe insist on calling the boy Gabriel, which leads to sharp family arguments and Dobie’s anger at his in-laws. The letter also turns into a comic quarrel with Uncle Gabe over the baby, Dobie’s pride, and a blowup that ends with Dobie leaving after a broken mirror and more threats exchanged.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · Deutsch

Das rote Zimmer

August Strindberg

Der Roman ist in Stockholm angesiedelt und folgt einem jungen Mann, der an einem Maiabend in den Park von Mosebacke tritt. Von der Veranda eines Wirtshauses aus blickt er auf die geschäftige Stadt, deren Lärm und Bewegung ihn zugleich herausfordern und beleben. Als die Glocken der Stadt läuten, wird seine Stimmung weicher; er denkt an seine verstorbenen Eltern auf dem Klarakirchhof und erscheint als jemand, der zwischen Trotz, Einsamkeit und kindlichem Glauben steht.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Krakatit

Karel Čapek

Karel Čapek’s novel follows Engineer Prokop, who appears weakened, feverish, and disoriented as he makes his way through Prague and is confronted by an old chemistry acquaintance, Thomas. Their exchange reveals Prokop’s troubled condition and his obsessive, fragmented thoughts about explosives and a mysterious substance called Krakatit, tied to a violent laboratory blast and a lost finger. The opening establishes a science-fiction premise centered on dangerous chemical power and the mind of a scientist under strain.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

The oldest story in the world

Murray Leinster

A drunken stranger in Rangoon claims to be telling the oldest story in the world and offers to explain why red drinks are dangerous, linking them to an ancient curse tied to rubies. He then begins a tale of Kosar, a ruined Southeast Asian kingdom whose raja guards famous rubies, and of a white fugitive in Talt who learns local languages and secret religious knowledge while living with a dancing girl. The account moves toward his journey inland under a strange mark connected to the cult of Khayandra, as he approaches Kosar.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Thorns of regret

Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller

After Augustus Barrington’s funeral, the story turns back to his rise from poverty to wealth through bank work and an ambitious marriage to the wealthy but plain Miss Byrd. Their life together is marked by his selfish use of her fortune, her dependence on him, and the presence of their son, Byrd, amid a household shaped by disappointment and social obligation. The novel’s chapter headings suggest a romance and family drama built around regret, jealousy, and broken affection.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Fate and a fool

W. C. Tuttle

Set in Piperock, Montana, the story follows Ike Harper as he comes upon a ragged, whiskered drifter who calls himself Fate and says he is searching for his mate and for revenge. Back in Piperock, a rough saloon crowd and Sheriff Magpie encounter the arrival of a stranger who says he is ahead of the magician Oscuro, suggesting trouble or a performance is about to reach town. The piece introduces the oddball local world, with its talkative cowpunchers, drifting strangers, and rumors of money moving through the cattle bank.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

The revenge of Florida Jack

Ernest Haycox

Ernest Haycox’s western story centers on Florida Jack, a herder whose conduct has drawn the anger of ranch boss Jim Kitchin. When Jack arrives at the ranch, Kitchin confronts him over the abused sheep dog and fires him, denouncing both his treatment of the animal and his character. The scene sets up a tense clash of temper, pride, and authority on the range.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Assisting Ananias

W. C. Tuttle

In this Western story, Chuck Warner is known as a habitual liar, but he becomes interested in a newspaper account about Ashburton De Puyster, a missing heir with a fortune of ten million dollars. Chuck thinks his own age, appearance, and past might let him pass for the lost man, and he brings the idea to Ike Harper and Magpie Simpkins. The three men discuss the risks and money involved, and begin working out whether Chuck’s claim could be made believable.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Hashknife of the Diamond H

W. C. Tuttle

In a cow-country town, old Uncle Billy Holton faces being sent to the poor-house after losing his wife, ranch, cattle, and fortune. The townsmen and cowboys remember his past at the Diamond H and try to decide what can be done for him, while he insists on keeping the matter quiet and refuses the liquor offered to him. As he leaves the justice’s office, Jim O’Leary and bank president Parker Miller discuss his situation and the fate of the Diamond H.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

No wonder

W. C. Tuttle

This Western short story is set in Piperock, Montana, where Ike Harper and Magpie Simpkins receive an odd visitor named Reginald Alfred Jackson Hilton. Reginald says he has come West to make a man of himself and to stay with them, while Magpie and Ike react with suspicion and mockery at his clothes, manners, and lack of practical sense. The story centers on their efforts to size him up and decide whether he can become a true “wonder.”

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Replace the horse

Laurence M. Janifer

Arthur Holly, a horse trainer, is drawn in by Greg’s schemes and by a dubious horse purchase that turns out to be connected to a scientist named Willy Dunstan. Dunstan owns a shabby stable, uses binoculars in a strange way while riding, and claims there is a scientific secret behind his unusual horse-racing results. The story centers on racing, training, and an invention-minded attempt to get an edge on the track.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

The poetry of pathos & delight

Coventry Patmore

This volume presents selections from Coventry Patmore’s poetry, not as a conventional best-of collection but as passages chosen for the way they embody delight and sorrow. It emphasizes the union of thought and form in his work, especially in the earlier poems and odes, and treats his voice as distinctive within nineteenth-century English poetry. The discussion also highlights his use of domestic subjects, colloquial phrasing, and varied meter.

E-Book · Lecture gratuite · English

Tangled trails

W. C. Tuttle

W. C. Tuttle’s western mystery centers on Romeo Kendall, a stage driver whose claim of being robbed at the Marlin City bank is mocked when the money proves intact. The story then turns to his awkward love for Soapy Caswell’s daughter, a mishap with a ladder and guitar, and his growing anger after Soapy threatens him. The narrative also introduces the Nine Bar Nine ranch, its owner Lafe Freeman, and workers Silent Slade and Harp Harris as they talk about sheriff Brick Davidson and the events that have drawn attention in Sun Dog County.

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