Pulp Fiction, 1938 · page 29 of 64
10 Story Book, August 1938 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Jacob's Wife by Chester Chatfield This page contains story prose illustrated with a black-and-white line drawing. The illustration shows three men in a barber shop setting, with one seated and others standing nearby. The narrative describes Jakob, who is chronically late to a weekly penny-ante card game held in the narrator's barber shop for the past twenty years. When Jakob finally arrives, the narrator asks about his wife troubles. The text reveals that Jakob's wife has had a stroke leaving her face twisted, and she refuses to leave the house or allow visitors except Jakob. Jakob reports he has recently told his wife he is ending his card-playing habit, though the resolution remains unclear at this page's conclusion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Jas We wait for him Jakob is late again. nearly an hour, because we know how we feel ourselves if the game starts and we are not here. There is not much to do for excitement in a little mountain town like this. For more than twenty years we have had a penny ante game every Saturday night in the back room of my barber shop. It is very important to us—to Doc and Mort and me and Jakob. There is no money in it. We talk and have a good time instead of sitting on the edge of our chairs with sweat running down our backs, like some people. Finally Jakob comes. beak nosed, a Swiss. “Wife trouble, Jakob?” asks Mort. Mort is the undertaker, but he is a great kidder. He is lean and cobs Wi Q Ne By Ch ester Chat (eld gs “Not any more, py Gott!” says Jakob. “Ve haff settled it now. I told her. I says: ‘Gretta, this has got to stop. For tventy years you haff nagged at me be- cause I play cards mit the poys. You haff pretended to be sick, even, and make me stay home. Now,’ I says, ‘it iss ended. I vill do vat I tamn please!’ ” I wink to Doc. “sure, I.says. “Until next time.” Jakob’s wife is very queer. She has had a stroke, and one side of her face is twisted up. She has been quite a looker, and having her face twisted up bothers her a great deal. She will not go out of the house and will not let anyone come in except Jakob. Jakob called Doc when she was sick one time. Doc went into the bedroom where she was, and she screamed at him Comicbdooks.c©