A Sappho of Green Springs is a collection of four longer tales, including "Sappho," the title story, "The Chatelaine of Burnt Ridge," "Through the Santa Clara Wheat," and "A Maecenas of the Pacific Slope."

"A Sappho of Green Springs" features a recurring Harte character, the gambler Jack Hamlin. A caller has come to the offices of the Excelsior magazine, seeking the identity of a writer. He's a lumberman from Mendocino, struck by the truth of a poem submitted by a writer known as White Violet, and hopes to meet her. The editor explains that he cannot give out identities, but will write to White Violet if desired, and if the author consents, provide an address. Jack reads the poem, agrees on its merits, and makes a bet with the editor that he can find the writer. Jack is a gambler, but this is a different sort of bet.