Tobin's Palm (Henry)
from the Collection «The Four Million»
Daniel Tobin and his friend, the narrator, decided to visit Coney Island to distract Tobin from his worries about his missing sweetheart, Katie Mahorner.
She had left County Sligo, Ireland, three months prior with her own savings and money from the sale of Tobin's inherited estate, but had not been heard from since. Despite Tobin's efforts to find her through newspaper advertisements, there was no news of Katie.
At Coney Island, Tobin's sadness persisted, and he found little enjoyment in the various attractions. Eventually, they visited a palmist named Madame Zozo, as Tobin believed in signs and superstitions. The palmist predicted bad luck involving a dark man and a light woman, a financial loss, and a voyage on water. However, she also foresaw good luck coming from a man with a crooked nose.
As the day went on, the predictions began to come true. Tobin encountered a dark-skinned man who burned his ear with a cigar, and a light-skinned woman who caused him to lose his hat. He also lost a dollar sixty-five, and they took a boat ride. Determined to find the man with the crooked nose who would bring good luck, Tobin and the narrator met Maximus G. Friedenhausman, a writer with a notably crooked nose.
Friedenhausman invited them to his home for food and drinks, where they discovered that his new kitchen maid was none other than Katie Mahorner. The reunion of Tobin and Katie seemed to fulfill the palmist's prediction of good luck brought by the man with the crooked nose. The story concluded with the characters enjoying their newfound fortune and the mysterious ways in which fate had brought them together.