Other editions of book The Ape, the Idiot and Other People

This volume features 13 stories by William Chambers Morrow, an American writer, now noted mainly for his short stories of horror and suspense. He is probably best known for the much-anthologised story "His Unconquerable Enemy", included in this volume, about the implacable revenge of a servant whose limbs have been amputated on the orders of a cruel rajah.The stories included are:BOOK ONETHE APE, THE IDIOT & OTHER PEOPLE1. The Resurrection of Little Wang Tai2. The Hero of the Plague3. His Unconquerable Enemy4. The Permanent Stiletto5. Over an Absinthe Bottle6. The Inmate of the Dungeon7. A Game of Honor8. Treacherous Velasco9. An Uncommon View of It10. A Story Told by the Sea11. An Original Revenge12. Two Singular Men13. The Faithful Amulet

Excerpt: ...of the peculiar actions of a man on horseback, who was approaching the house from the direction in which her husband and the vaqueros had disappeared. That which summoned her attention was the fact that the man was approaching by an irregular route, which no ordinary circumstance would have required. He had such a way of keeping behind the trees that she could not determine his identity. It looked strange and mysterious, and something impelled her to drop the lace curtain over the window, for behind it she could watch without danger of being seen. The horseman disappeared, and this made her uneasiness all the greater, but she said nothing to Alice. Soon she noticed the man on foot approaching the house, in a watchful, skulking fashion, slipping from one tree or one bit of shrubbery to another. Then, with a swift run, he came near, and, stealthily and noiselessly as a cat, began to ascend to her window by clambering up the wistaria-vine. Her spirit quailed and her cheeks blanched when she saw the naked blade of a dagger held between his teeth. She understood his mission--it was her life and the gold; and the glittering eyes of the robber she recognized as those of Basilio Velasco. After a moment of nerveless terror the ancient resisting blood of the Ovandos sprang into alert activity, and this gentlest and sweetest of young women armed her soul to meet Death on his own ground and his own terms, and try the issue with him. She gave no alarm, for there was none in the house except herself and Alice. To have given way to fear would have destroyed her only hope of life. Quietly, in a low tone, she said,-- "Alice, listen, but do not say a word." There was an impressiveness in her manner that startled the nervous, timid girl; but there were also in it a strength and a self-reliance that reassured her. She dropped her work and regarded her mistress with wonder. "Look in the second drawer of the bureau. You will find a pistol there. Bring it to...

"Mr W.C Morrow, who used to live in San Jose, California, was addicted to writing ghost stories which made the reader feel as if a stream of lizards, fresh from the ice, were streaking it up his back and hiding in his hair." THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY, Ambrose Bierce. Apart from such praise from one of the greatest horror writers of them all, there is much else to recommend Morrow's stories; revenge beyond sanity, bizarre ends and unnesscary surgery all feature in this unjustly forgotten classic. Edited and with an introduction by Kevin Sweeney.

The Resurrection of Little Wang Tai A TRAIN of circus-wagons, strung along a dusty road, in theS anta Clara Valley, crept slowly under the beating heat of a July sun. The dust rolled in clouds over the gaudy wagons of the menagerie. The outer doors of the cages had been opened to give access of air to the panting animals, but with the air came the dust, and the dust annoyed Romulus greatly. Never before had he longed for freedom so intensely. Ever since he could remember he had been in a cage like this; it had been so all through his childhood and youth. There was no trace in his memory of days when he of a time had been free. Not the faintest recollection existed of the time when he might have swung in the branches of equatorial forests. To him life was a desolation and a despair, and the poignancy of it all was sharpened by the clouds of dust which rolled through the grated door.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at

William Chambers Morrow (1854-1923) was an American writer, now noted mainly for his short stories of horror and suspense. He is probably best known for the much-anthologised story His Unconquerable Enemy (1889). He moved to California in 1879 and began selling stories to the Argonaut. His first novel was Blood-Money (1882). A Strange Confession, was serialised in the Californian in 1880-81, but was never published in book form. His stories were collected in The Ape, the Idiot and Other People in 1897, but he published few stories thereafter. By 1899 Morrow had begun a school for writers, and in 1901 he produced a pamphlet, The Art of Writing for Publication. Morrow published two romantic adventure novels, A Man: His Mark (1900) and Lentala of the South Seas (1908). He also published a journalistic work called Bohemian Paris of Today and a short travel booklet, Roads Around Paso Robles (1904).

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This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The Ape, the Idiot & Other People is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by W. C. (William Chambers) Morrow is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of W. C. (William Chambers) Morrow then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.