Stories 81 - 90 Summary

In "The Women" a couple spends a last afternoon at a beach; the vacation season has ended. In the water a malevolent being decides to take the man. Somehow the woman knows and uses various ploys to keep the man out of the water but he eventually succumbs to an undeniable urge whereupon he is seized, pulled under, and drowns. In "The Inspired Chicken Motel" a destitute family stops at a rundown motel near a huge chicken farm. The proprietor shows them a few eggs that have bizarre writing on them—one egg has an inscription: "REST IN PEACE. PROSPERITY IS NEAR" (p. 748). The message reassures the father that the family's troubles will soon end. "Yes, We'll Gather at the River" is a story about a small town whose primarily livelihood is servicing travelers on the busy road through town...