Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Clark Ashton Smith.

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Chapter 1
The Malay Krise
A sword-dealer recounts to the narrator the story of Sultan Sujah Ali, a pirate who terrorized the Malay Peninsula and China Sea until the British captured him with the help of his jealous wife Amina. The krise (Malay knife) being sold is identified as the very weapon used by the Sultan in his final desperate fight.
Chapter 2
The Ghost of Mohammed Din
The narrator, a skeptic of the supernatural, wagers with his friend Nicholson that he can spend a night in a haunted bungalow in Hyderabad. The house, owned by Yussuf Ali Borah, was formerly occupied by Mohammed Din, a merchant found stabbed to death. Despite warnings and previous tenants' terrifying experiences, the narrator stays overnight, encounters the ghost of Mohammed Din, and fires his revolver without effect. The ghost leads him to a hidden box containing papers that implicate Ali Bagh in counterfeiting and likely in Mohammed Din's murder. The papers are turned over to the police, leading to Ali Bagh's conviction.
Chapter 3
The Mahout
John Hawley witnesses a mahout training an elephant to toss a dummy, later recognizing the same mahout during a royal procession where the elephant, Raja, hurls the Maharaja Krishna Singh to his death. A letter reveals the mahout is the son of a man executed by Krishna Singh, who sought revenge by becoming an elephant driver and training Raja to kill.
Chapter 4
The Raja and the Tiger
Bently, the new British Resident at Shaitanabad, initially finds the Raja cooperative and agreeable. After settling a land dispute, the Raja invites Bently on a tiger hunt at an ancient Jain cave temple. During the hunt, the Raja and a Rajput attempt to push Bently into a pit, but the tiger returns and kills them instead. Bently survives and later investigates the temple, uncovering evidence of the Raja's previous murders.
Chapter 5
The Last Incantation
The aged sorcerer Malygris, weary and disillusioned despite his immense magical power, summons the ghost of his long-dead beloved Nylissa. However, he finds that the apparition lacks the perfection of his memory, leading him to a profound realization about the vanity of magic, the loss of youth, and the delusiveness of memory.

The Malay Krise

The Ghost of Mohammed Din

The Mahout

The Raja and the Tiger

The Last Incantation