Wild Card Wednesday: Two Sweet Shorts

Today, a special feature: two obscure but delightful short stories by American authors, discovered in the public-domain treasure trove of the Internet Archive. Ebooks from this site are converted from scans and are frequently filled with typos, but still readable if you make want to make the effort! However, the stories can also be read online, similarly to Google Books.



Twenty-Three and a Half Hours' Leave by Mary Roberts Rinehart
In this delightfully funny story set during World War I, a young sergeant makes a rash bet that he will have breakfast with the general, plunging himself and his outfit into a series of comic mishaps. (There is also a 99-cent edition on Amazon that looks to be well-formatted.)



The Spring Concert by Booth Tarkington
Springtime, a band concert, and a bit of matchmaking, all wrapped in Tarkington's lovely nostalgic descriptions of times gone by.