"The Well" is a horrorcrimeshort story by W. W. Jacobs. It was previously unpublished up until Jacobs' short story collection, The Lady of the Barge.[1] It follows a man trying to deal with a mysterious well in his backyard after his cousin goes missing, and also after his widow drops her ring into it.
Plot
A well, similar to the one in Jem's backyard
Jem Benson and Wilfred Carr are smoking cigarettes on a long day when Wilfred asks Jem for money, a sum of £1,500 (equivalent to $205,694in 2023). He needs it in two weeks or else he will get deported, which Jem refuses. Wilfred reveals that he found Olive's, Jem's wife, letters that Jem sent, complete with his signature. He remarks that "they are not at all in the best possible taste." Wilfrid is willing to sell them to Jem for £1,500. Jem grabs him by the collar and tells him to get rid of the letters, but Wilfred retaliates and threatens to double the price. Jem reluctantly lets go, and Wilfred leaves to let Jem think about it.
The next day, when Jem and Olive are walking around in Mrs. Benson's backyard, Olive gets startled because she thought she heard a call for help down an old, deep well behind some tall grass nestled in the forst-line. She loses her bracelet as it tumbles down into the well as she swears to Jem that she heard the call again. As the evening turns to night, She jokingly suggests Jem to get a fishing line down the well, and that's what he does when she goes inside. With the lack of light, he leaves the line and sleeps till morning.
The next morning, Jem goes outside to find Ben and his assistant, George, looking down the well. Ben is preparing to dip out into the well, and after Jem reluctantly helps them, by hooking up a candle and pulling it down, Jem hooks Ben and he dips into the well. For a minute, all is silent until Jem feels a tugging on the line. Ben yells for Jem to pull the line up, and when they do Ben's remains are pulled back up, him having died from mysterious forces.
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