From "Back to Back": Mrs. Scutts, concealed behind the curtain, gazed at the cab in uneasy amazement. The cabman clambered down from the box and, opening the door, stood by with his hands extended ready for any help that might be needed. A stranger was the first to alight, and, with his back towards Mrs. Scutts, seemed to be struggling with something in the cab. He placed a dangling hand about his neck and, staggering under the weight, reeled backwards supporting Mr. Scutts, whose other arm was round the neck of a third man. In a flash Mrs. Scutts was at the door. "Oh, Bill!" she gasped. "And by daylight, too!" Mr. Scutts raised his head sharply and his lips parted; then his head sank again, and he became a dead weight in the grasp of his assistants. "He's all right," said one of them, turning to Mrs. Scutts. A deep groan from Mr. Scutts confirmed the statement. * This volume alos includes "Keeping Watch," "The Understudy," "The Weaker Vessel," "Stepping Backwards," "The Three Sisters," "The Unknown," "The Vigil," "Easy Money," and "His Other Self."

Author Biography

William Wymark "W. W." Jacobs (1863 - 1943) was an English author of short stories and novels. Although much of his work was humorous, he is most famous for his horror story "The Monkey's Paw." Jacobs was born in Wapping, London; his father was a wharf manager at the South Devon wharf at Lower East Smithfield. He was educated at a private school in London and later at Birkbeck College (then called Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, now part of the University of London).