Classic Book Reader
Cover of Shorty McCabe on the Job

Shorty McCabe on the Job

by Sewell Ford (1868–1946)

  • Free to read
  • 5 hours to read
  • 19 chapters
  • Reading level: 5th grade

"Shorty McCabe on the Job" by Sewell Ford is a novel written in the early 20th century. The book follows the character Professor Shorty McCabe as he navigates a series of humorous yet engaging adventures tied to his role as an executor of a will filled with unconventional tasks. With a focus on kindness and reparations, the story explores the dynamics of human relationships and the complexities of past grievances through McCabe's interactions with other characters. The opening of the novel introduces us to Shorty McCabe, who is busy training in a boxing gym when he is interrupted by a visitor, J. Bayard Steele. Steele seeks McCabe's advice regarding a meeting with a lawyer concerning the estate of the late Pyramid Gordon. The two have an exchange that reveals Steele’s dubious character and sets the stage for their joint mission: to carry out acts of kindness financed by Gordon's will, which ironically connects them to the people harmed during Gordon's life. This sets up a plot that intertwines themes of justice, redemption, and comedy, while providing a glimpse into both McCabe's unwavering demeanor and the eccentricity of Steele.

Read free now No app, no sign-up. Your place is saved automatically. Or download for your e-reader ↓
  • New York (N.Y.)
  • Humorous stories
  • Short stories, American

Read the opening

Chapter I

WISHING A NEW ONE ON SHORTY

Do things just happen, like peculiar changes in the weather, or is there a general scheme on file somewhere? Is it a free-for-all we're mixed up in—with our Harry Thaws and our Helen Kellers; our white slavers, our white hopes, and our white plague campaigns; our trunk murders, and our fire heroes? Or are we runnin' on schedule and headed somewhere?

I ain't givin' you the answer. I'm just slippin' you the proposition, with the side remark that now and then, when the jumble seems worse than ever, you can get a glimpse of what might be a clew, or might not.

Anyway, here I was, busy as a little bee, blockin' right hooks and body jabs that was bein' shot at me by a husky young uptown minister who's a headliner at his job, I understand, but who's developin' a good, useful punch on the side. I was just landin' a cross wallop to the ribs, by way of keepin' him from bein' too ambitious with his left, when out of the tail of my eye I notices Swifty Joe edgin' in with a card in his paw.

Keep reading Shorty McCabe on the Job →

Contents

  1. Chapter I
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III
  4. Chapter IV
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII
  8. Chapter VIII
  9. Chapter IX
  10. Chapter X
  11. Chapter XI
  12. Chapter XII
  13. Chapter XIII
  14. Chapter XIV
  15. Chapter XV
  16. Chapter XVI
  17. Chapter XVII
  18. Chapter XVIII
  19. Chapter XIX

Download for your e-reader

Files are provided by Project Gutenberg. On a Kindle, the simplest route is to send the EPUB with Amazon’s Send to Kindle. Downloaded copies don’t sync with your place on Classic Book Reader.

About this edition

This free edition of Shorty McCabe on the Job by Sewell Ford comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #21005, released 2007-04-07. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Humour, Novels, American Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

More by Sewell Ford