Free Novel Read

The 13th Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack




  Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  WIND BETWEEN THE WORLDS

  EARTHBOUND

  DARK MISSION

  EVENSONG

  THE STARS LOOK DOWN

  THE STILL WATERS

  THE ONE-EYED MAN

  HABIT

  NERVES

  SPAWNING GROUND

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The 13th Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK™: Lester del Rey (Vol. 2) is copyright © 2015 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “Wind Between The Worlds” Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1951.

  “Earthbound” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1963.

  “Dark Mission” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, July 1940. Copyright © renewed 1968.

  “Evensong”originally appeared in Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison (Doubleday, 1967). Copyright © 1967 by Lester del Rey.

  “The Stars Look Down” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, Aug. 1940. Copyright © renewed 1968.

  “The Still Waters” originally appeared in Robots and Changelings, 1955. Copyright © renewed 1983.

  “The One-Eyed Man” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1945. Copyright © renewed 1963.

  “Habit” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, Nov. 1939. Copyright © renewed 1967.

  “Nerves” (novella version) originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, Oct. 1942. Copyright © renewed 1970.

  “Spawning Ground” originally appeared in If, Sept. 1961. Copyright © 1961 by Lester del Rey.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Welcome to our second volume of Lester del Rey’s science fiction stories! I purchased the del Rey literary estate for Wildside Press last year, and we have been working hard to get all of his classic work back into print. (Special thanks to Steven Silver for help with scanning and proofing.)

  You can now find many of Lester’s very best stories (and quite a few of his novels) available in ebook stores throughout the world, and more are on their way. I am pleased to report that Del Rey Books is planning a major reissue program in paperback a couple of years from now, so we are on the cusp of a great Lester del Rey revival.

  Especially notable in this volume is “Nerves,” the novella from Astounding Science Fiction that would later be expanded into the classic novel of the same name. And “Evensong” was included in one of the most important anthologies ever published, Harlan Ellison’s Dangerous Visions. Classics both.

  Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  MYSTERY

  The Lady Sleuth MEGAPACK™

  The First Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Second Mystery MEGAPACK™c

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The Bulldog Drummond MEGAPACK™*

  The Carolyn Wells Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Charlie Chan MEGAPACK™*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Detective MEGAPACK™

  The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story MEGAPACK™

  The Father Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Girl Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Second Girl Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Mary Fortune Mystery & Suspense MEGAPACK™

  The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Penny Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Philo Vance MEGAPACK™*

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Raffles MEGAPACK™

  The Red Finger Pulp Mystery MEGAPACK™, by Arthur Leo Zagat*

  The Sherlock Holmes MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Rogues MEGAPACK™

  The Wilkie Collins MEGAPACK™

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure MEGAPACK™

  The Baseball MEGAPACK™

  The Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Second Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Third Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Second Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Dickens Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Classic American Short Stories MEGAPACK™, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor MEGAPACK™

  The Dog Story MEGAPACK™

  The Doll Story MEGAPACK™

  The Horse Story MEGAPACK™

  The Military MEGAPACK™

  The Pirate Story MEGAPACK™

  The Sea-Story MEGAPACK™

  The Thanksgiving MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  9. Dave Dryfoos

  10. Carl Jacobi

  11. F.L. Wallace

  12. David H. Keller, M.D.

  13. Lester del Rey (vol. 2)

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The First Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Third Science Fiction MEGAPACK™<
br />
  The Fourth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Fifth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Sixth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Seventh Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Eighth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Ninth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The First Theodore Cogswell MEGAPACK™

  The Ray Cummings MEGAPACK™

  The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Dickens Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Dragon MEGAPACK™

  The Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Second Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™

  The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™

  The Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Second Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Jack London Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Lost Worlds MEGAPACK™

  The Mad Scientist MEGAPACK™

  The Martian MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™

  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds MEGAPACK™

  The Milton A. Rothman Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Science-Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Robert Sheckley MEGAPACK™

  The Space Opera MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Steampunk MEGAPACK™

  The Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Second Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  The Zanthodon MEGAPACK™, by Lin Carter

  HORROR

  The 2014 Halloween Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Second Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The Second Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Cthulhu Mythos MEGAPACK™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian MEGAPACK™

  The Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Second Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Third Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Haunts & Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  The M.R. James MEGAPACK™

  The Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Second Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Third Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**

  The Mummy MEGAPACK™

  The Occult Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Vampire MEGAPACK™

  The Weird Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Werewolf MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  WESTERN

  The Andy Adams Western MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

  The Max Brand MEGAPACK™

  The Buffalo Bill MEGAPACK™

  The Cowboy MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Western MEGAPACK™

  The Second Western MEGAPACK™

  The Third Western MEGAPACK™

  The Western Romance MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Bobbsey Twins MEGAPACK™

  The Boys’ Adventure MEGAPACK™

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout MEGAPACK™

  The Dare Boys MEGAPACK™

  The Doll Story MEGAPACK™

  The G.A. Henty MEGAPACK™

  The Girl Detectives MEGAPACK™

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Penny Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Pinocchio MEGAPACK™

  The Rover Boys MEGAPACK™

  The Second Carolyn Wells MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Swift MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  SINGLE-AUTHOR

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Henri Bergson MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson MEGAPACK™

  The Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

  The Max Brand MEGAPACK™

  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Second Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Wilkie Collins MEGAPACK™

  The Stephen Crane MEGAPACK™

  The Ray Cummings MEGAPACK™

  The Guy de Maupassant MEGAPACK™

  The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Dickens Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Frederick Douglass MEGAPACK™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian MEGAPACK™

  The F. Scott Fitzgerald MEGAPACK™

  The Mary Fortune Mystery & Suspense MEGAPACK™

  The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™

  The Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Second Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Anna Katharine Green MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™

  The Dashiell Hammett MEGAPACK™

  The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The M.R. James MEGAPACK™

  The Selma Lagerlof MEGAPACK™

  The Harold Lamb MEGAPACK™

  The Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Second Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Jonas Lie MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**

  The Katherine Mansfield MEGAPACK™

  The George Barr McCutcheon MEGAPACK™

  The William P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The First William P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second William P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The Talbot Mundy MEGAPACK™

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™

  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds ME
GAPACK™

  The Rafael Sabatini MEGAPACK™

  The Saki MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Robert Sheckley MEGAPACK™

  The Bram Stoker MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  The Virginia Woolf MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  FREE PROMO MINIPACKS™

  Each one is only available for a single day—on Free Ebook Monday! Like us on Facebook to see new title announcements.

  The Lt. Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol MINIPACK™, by Eando Binder

  The Paul Di Filippo MINIPACK™

  The John Gregory Betancourt MINIPACK™

  The Thubway Tham Thanksgiving MINIPACK™

  OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY

  The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany MEGAPACK™”)

  The Wildside Book of Fantasy

  The Wildside Book of Science Fiction

  Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries

  WIND BETWEEN THE WORLDS

  I

  It was hot in the dome of the Bennington matter transmitter building. The metal shielding walls seemed to catch the rays of the sun and bring them to a focus there. Even the fan that was plugged in nearby didn’t seem to help much. Vic Peters shook his head, knocking the mop of yellow hair out of his eyes. He twisted his lanky, angular figure about, so the fan could reach fresh territory, and cursed under his breath.

  Heat he could take. As a roving troubleshooter for Teleport Interstellar, he’d worked from Rangoon to Nairobi—but always with men. Pat Trevor was the first of the few women superintendents he’d met. And while he had no illusions of masculine supremacy, he’d have felt a lot better in shorts or nothing right now.

  Besides, a figure like Pat’s couldn’t be forgotten, even though denim coveralls were hardly supposed to be flattering. Cloth stretched tight across a woman’s hips had never helped a man concentrate on his work.