Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
THE HAUNTING OF H.M.S. “DRYAD”
FEGHOOT SHIPWRECKED (Feghoot 37)
THE GHOST (Feghoot 19)
CIVIL RIGHTS (Feghoot 36)
GNURRS COME FROM THE VOODVORK OUT
LITTLE ANTON
THE LADIES OF BEETLEGOOSE NINE
COUNT VON SCHIMMELHORN AND THE TIME-PONY
PAPA SCHIMMELHORN’S YANG
PAPA SCHIMMELHORN AND THE S.O.D.O.M. SERUM
SCHIMMELHORN’S GOLD [Part 1]
SCHIMMELHORN’S GOLD [Part 2]
T.V. (Feghoot 48)
A KILLING IN SWORDS [Part 1]
A KILLING IN SWORDS [Part 2]
IN A PICKLE (Feghoot 33)
THE GNU MUTATION (Feghoot 38)
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Second Reginald Bretnor Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved. For more information, contact the publisher.
* * * *
“Civil Rights” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1961. Copyright © 1961, renewed 1989 (renewal #RE0000408348) by Mercury Press, Inc.
“The Haunting of H.M.S. Dryad” originally appeared in Weird Tales, Fall 1998. Copyright © 1998 by Reginald Bretnor.
“Feghoot Shipwrecked” (Feghoot 37) originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1961. Copyright © 1961, renewed 1989 (renewal #RE0000456135) by Mercury Press, Inc.
“Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Winter-Spring 1950. Copyright © 1950 by Fantasy House, Inc., renewed 1977 (renewal #R668564) by Mercury Press, Inc.
“Little Anton” originally appeared in New Tales of Space & Time. Copyright © 1950 by Henry Holt & Company, Inc., renewed 1979 (renewal #RE0000035323).
“The Ladies of Beetlegoose Nine” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct. 1976. Copyright © 1976 by Mercury Press, Inc.
“Count Von Schimmelhorn And The Time-Pony” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct. 1974. Copyright © 1974 by Mercury Press, Inc.
“Papa Schimmelhorn’s Yang” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1978. Copyright © 1978 by Mercury Press, Inc.
“Papa Schimmelhorn and the S.O.D.O.M. Serum” originally appeared in Two Views of Wonder. Copyright © 1973 by Thomas N. Scortia and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
Schimmenhorn’s Gold is copyright © 1986 by Reginald Bretnor. All rights reserved.
“T.V.” (Feghoot 48) originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1962. Copyright ©1962, renewed 1990 (renewal #RE0000456145) by Mercury Press.
A Killing in Swords is copyright © 1979 by Reginald Bretnor.
“Feghoot 33” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November 1960. Copyright © 1960, renewed 1988 (renewal #RE0000408345) by Mercury Press.
“The Gnu Mutation” (Feghoot 38) originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 1961. Copyright ©1961, renewed 1989 (renewal #RE0000456136) by Mercury Press.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Once, very long ago, I was a partner in a literary agency (with George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer). Among our very first clients was the illustrious Reginald Bretnor (1911-1992) who wrote as R. Bretnor, Reginald Bretnor, and “Grendal Briarton.”
Reg was a hobbyist writer. He dabbled, and dabbled excellently, in fiction, producting over the course of his 81 years just three novels (two of which are included here), about 60 short stories (not counting the dozens of short-short Feghoot stories), and a scattering of other literary works.
After Reg’s death, his literary estate was sold to a private individual (who published a “best of” collection) but nothing else, allowed a few fans to write new Feghoot stories, and largely administered the occasional reprint sales. Then I purchased it, and Wildside began to reissue material. So far, we have done several audiobooks, reprinted numerous short stories in our ebook collections, and last year, we brought out The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack.
Now here is a second volume. This one contains the complete “Papa Schimmelhorn” series (“Gnurrs” also appears in the first volume, but I now wish I had held it up for this volume instead. So for readers’ convenience I’m putting it here, too), the mystery novel A Killing in Swords (Reg was passionate about Japanese swords), and a scattering of Feghoots and other short stories. It’s an eclectic assortment; I know every reader will find something of interest!
And don’t worry, there’s more than enough good material for The Third Reginald Bretnor Megapack!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has proved to be one of 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, Mary Wickizer Burgess, Sam Cooper, Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, Robert Reginald. 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 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 Sherloc
k 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
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 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 Science-Fantasy Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Space Opera Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson 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 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 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 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 Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Virginia Woolf Megapack
The William
Hope Hodgson 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 HAUNTING OF H.M.S. “DRYAD”
I had always felt there was something strange about my friend Captain Edmund Casebolt Crankshaw, who owns and manages the Dryad Hotel on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, so I really wasn’t too surprised when he told me the place was haunted. After all, it’s been there for much more than a hundred years, built over the hulk of H.M.S. Dryad, which sank at her moorings like so many other ships when her crew deserted her for the promised riches of the Gold Rush in 1850. Her mizzen mast still stands in the middle of the lobby, and the saloon bar, The Bilge Pump, still occupies her after cabins, which her officers thoughtfully waterproofed before she went down. Still, the haunting puzzled me, for—though he’s always a perfect gentleman—the Captain was no man to trifle with, which I felt sure even a ghost would realize. His card says Master Mariner, but it always seemed to me that he’d be more at home on the quarterdeck of a man-of-war.
I had joined him at his table at the end of the bar, just under the partly draped Dryad figurehead which had once graced the ship’s prow, and Mickey, his huge Fijian bartender with the filed teeth, had brought me my first bourbon and water on the house. It was a Friday night, and there was the usual Friday crowd of other students and junior faculty members from U.C., arguing as always about whether science fiction should or should not be called speculative fiction—as though the word science might put a hex on it. The oil lamps in their brass gimbals—the only illumination allowed—cast a soft light on the mellow panelling. The Captain usually began by asking me how my work was progressing—I was hoping to become an undersea archaeologist, and naturally he was interested—but tonight he obviously had something else in mind.