10 Story Book, October 1921

This 1921 issue of 10 Story Book magazine features twelve short stories and serialized fiction translated from French sources and set in American locales. The lead story, "The Fish That Lived a Thousand Years" by Capt. W. P. Barron, is a frame narrative set in Guatemala. An old man tells an American doctor about a lake tribe whose punishment for male infidelity involves casting offenders into waters inhabited by a ancient, man-eating fish that feeds on human interstitial glands. The protagonist, Don Jose, a Spanish caballero, becomes obsessed with a young lake-dwelling girl named Serephena after she rejects his advances. He hires bandits to kidnap her, then employs torture—lashing, fire, and tarantula pits—to break her will. Eventually she submits but secretly plots revenge, manipulating the aging Don Jose into believing a thousand-year-old fish will restore his potency. Other stories include "The Girl Who Was Misled," "You Never Can Tell," "A Rat in the Cabin," and "The Perfect Murder," among others, alongside humorous sketches.