Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
THE TOWER OF EVIL
THE MENACE FROM ANDROMEDA
THE DEATH-CLOUD
THE REVOLT OF THE MACHINES
VENUS MINES, INCORPORATED
THE GREAT DOME ON MERCURY
WHEN THE SLEEPERS WOKE
THE LANSON SCREEN
LOST IN TIME
FLIGHT OF THE SILVER EAGLE
THE CAVERN OF THE SHINING POOL
THE GREEN RAY
THE TWO MOONS OF TRANQUILLIA, by Arthur Leo Zagat
GRIM RENDEZVOUS
NO ESCAPE FROM DESTINY
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.
* * * *
“The Tower of Evil” originally appeared in Wonder Stories Quarterly, Summer 1930. No record of copyright renewal.
“The Menace From Andromeda” originally appeared in Amazing Stories, April 1931. No record of copyright renewal.
“The Death-Cloud” originally appeared in Astounding Stories, May 1931. No record of copyright renewal.
“The Revolt of the Machines” originally appeared in Astounding Stories, July 1931. No record of copyright renewal.
“Venus Mines, Incorporated” originally appeared in Wonder Stories, August 1931. No record of copyright renewal.
“Flight of the Silver Eagle” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1937. Copyright © 1937 by Popular Library, Inc. Copyright renewed 1965 (renewal #R355033).
“Lost in Time” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1937. Copyright © 1937 by Popular Library, Inc. Copyright renewed 1965 (renewal #R356170).
“The Cavern of the Shining Pool” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, Oct. 1937. Copyright © 1937 by Popular Library, Inc. Copyright renewed 1965 (renewal #R368250).
“The Two Moons of Tranquillia” originally appeared in Weird Tales, January 1943. No record of copyright renewal.
“Grim Rendezvous” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, Dec. 1946. Copyright © 1946 by Popular Library, Inc. Copyright renewed 1974 (renewal #R584031).
“No Escape from Destiny” originally appeared in Startling Stories, May 1948. Copyright © 1948 © CBS Publications, Inc. Copyright renewed 1976 (renewal #R614960).
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Arthur Leo Zagat (1896-1949) was an American lawyer and writer of pulp fiction and science fiction. Trained in the law, he gave it up to write professionally. Zagat is noted for his collaborations with fellow lawyer Nat Schachner.
During the last two decades of his life, Zagat wrote short stories prolifically. About 500 pieces appeared in a variety of pulp magazines, including Thrilling Wonder Stories, Argosy, Dime Mystery Magazine, Horror Stories, Operator No. 5, Astounding, and he wrote the “Doc Turner” stories that regularly appeared in The Spider throughout the 1930s. A novel, Seven Out of Time, was published by Fantasy Press in 1949, the year he died.
I tracked down Zagat’s elderly daughter last year and found her charming. She allowed me to purchase the rights to her father’s work—at least, the rights the family still owned; much of his best work was sold on an “all rights” basis to Popular Publications, which was a common practice at the time. There is some question as to whether all of these stories are still under the original publisher’s control—indeed, Zagat licensed his novel Seven Out of Time to another publisher within his own lifetime!—but hopefully we can get much of this work published in future years, either through Wildside or other companies.
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (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 Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, 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!)
A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS
The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)
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 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 SERIES
MYSTERY
The First Mystery Megapack
The Second Mystery Megapack
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 Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The Second Girl Detective 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 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 Third Cat Story Megapack
The Christmas Megapack
The Second 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 GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACKS
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
&nb
sp; 8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The First Science Fiction Megapack
The Second Science Fiction Megapack
The Third Science Fiction Megapack
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 First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The First Theodore Cogswell Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Philip K. Dick 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 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 Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Science-Fantasy Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Space Opera Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The Second Time Travel 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
HORROR
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
WESTERNS
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
The Third Western Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey 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 Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
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 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 Frederick Douglass Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The F. Scott Fitzgerald 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 Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Fred M. White Disaster Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western 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.
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
THE TOWER OF EVIL
Written with Nat Schachner.
CHAPTER I
Height on height the rocky cliffs loomed, a mad jumble of purple and red, and mauve. Here, in the remote interior of Tibet, even the very h
ills wore fantastic colors.
Up through this devil’s playground could be seen a narrow path writhing its way amidst the jumble of tinted boulders. Up and up it wound, until at last it plunged down into a narrow gorge, cleft as by a knife a thousand feet through.
“This is the worst yet!” exclaimed John Dunton, as for the tenth time his struggles started a miniature landslide in the shale. “I don’t see how those two bearers of mine manage to wangle their loads over this stuff and keep their footing. Good thing it’s near noon and the sun overhead, so that some light gets down here or—well, what now!”
Suddenly, as though some gigantic hand had thrown an enormous screen across the narrow top of the defile, the dim light illumining the path vanished. A blackness enveloped the traveler and his two native bearers. Then in the defile there rose a moan from an almost imperceptible whisper to a crescendo of terror, until the air vibrated with the wailing of an unspeakable agony. Cold it had been at this mountain height, but now an icy blast roared down the cleft as if a door had been opened to some gigantic refrigerator. Clammy hands plucked at Dunton, tore at his arms, strove to drag him down into the rapids.
When it seemed that human brain could no longer retain its sanity under the impact of the tortured scream and the icy blast, a sudden silence came. The wind dropped, the plucking hands ceased their efforts to drag the explorer down. The silence deepened, until it seemed to have a power of its own. An uncanny silence! Dunton could not even hear his own breathing, nor that of his bearers. Something seemed to press down on him, an almost physical weight of dread. The darkness was unrelieved.
But then as he stood uncertainly, in front of him there seemed to be a faint, almost insensible, lightening of the blackness. Was it so, or were his eyes deceiving him? Gradually, by the faintest of graduations, the luminescence strengthened, till Dunton could see floating directly in front of him a distinct and glowing cloud of light. A swirling, shapeless cloud of violet light, that cold violet which represents the very limit of the visible spectrum. The cloud swirled and eddied, and whirled about itself, drew itself together, slowly, until, not twenty feet before Dunton, towered a human figure of light.
It was not in Dunton’s makeup to be afraid. Many a peril he had faced in his adventurous years wandering in the strange places of the earth. But now he trembled from some unnamable revulsion caused by the thing which he saw before him. Then a frenzy of hate seized him. Drawing his automatic, he sprang forward and opened fire. The sharp reports echoed and re-echoed from the cliffs, but the point-blank shots seemed to have no effect on that lama of light. Still he stood there with his ominous glance, his warning arm still upraised.