Strange Suspense Stories #54

This anthology issue features "The Worlds of Kirby," in which a stubborn man named Jeb digs a well and discovers water with a sulfurous taste that he believes will attract customers to his establishment. When Kirby, a small unimportant man, arrives at the bar, Jeb realizes that Kirby exists as a shadow—the embodiment of all the failures and unfulfilled promises that haunt Jeb's life. As the lights dim, Kirby's empty eyes seem to anticipate something, and Jeb finds himself alone with only a cot and blanket, realizing this is Kirby's world—a realm where the little man must live in his dreams.