Mrs. Hopewell is a country farmer and her estranged daughter Hulga has a degree in philosophy. A stranger arrives and convinces them both that he's a naive Bible salesman. They're wrong and the consequences are particularly humiliating for Hulga, after he makes sexual advances, steals her prosthetic leg, and reveals that that was his aim.
First published in Harper's Bazaar, June 1955.
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 |
|
A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories | Harcourt, Brace & Company | Collection | 169 |
| October 1987 |
|
The Dark Descent | Tor | Anthology | 576 |
| August 1988 |
|
The Dark Descent | Tor / BOMC | Anthology | 576 |
| November 1990 |
|
The Medusa in the Shield | Grafton | Anthology | 314 |
| November 1990 |
|
The Medusa in the Shield | Grafton | Anthology | 314 |
| 1991 |
|
The Medusa in the Shield | Grafton | Anthology | 516 |
| November 1991 |
|
The Medusa in the Shield | Tor | Anthology | 424 |
| October 1992 |
|
A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories | Harcourt Brace | Collection | 167 |
| February 1997 |
|
The Dark Descent | Tor | Anthology | 576 |
| 2011 |
|
The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction | Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press | Anthology | 662 |