A Catastrophe by H. G. Wells. Short summary

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The couple were on the verge of bankruptcy when a letter arrived saying that the wife’s rich uncle and his entire family had been killed by a falling factory chimney. Unexpected joy was mixed with grief.

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Mr. Winslow, after doing some accounting, realized that his haberdashery was on the verge of bankruptcy. Customers came in rarely, and then only for small items. And in three weeks he had to pay his creditors, the rent for the store and the apartment.

For two days Mr. Winslow had been gloomy, answering his wife Minnie’s questions rudely. Then he told her the sad news. The impending catastrophe brought the couple closer together. Minnie put her trust in her rich uncle, but her husband knew his uncle did not like him.

A few days later, a letter arrived with a mourning ribbon in Minnie’s name. Probably one of her relatives had died. Winslow had no thought of an inheritance, for the wife’s family was too numerous.

But the solicitor wrote: In the fall of a factory chimney on the houses, all the members of Mrs. Winslow’s uncle’s family died. She is their only living heir.

The couple mourned, but in their hearts they were triumphant.