Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
THE GOLDEN DOLPHIN, by J. Allan Dunn
A SET OF ROGUES, by Frank Barrett (Part 1)
A SET OF ROGUES, by Frank Barrett (Part 2)
THE OFFSHORE PIRATE, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A BRUSH WITH THE CHINESE, by G.A. Henty
THE MERCHANTMAN AND THE PIRATE, by Charles Reade
THE TREASURE OF THE SEAS, by James De Mille (Part 1)
THE TREASURE OF THE SEAS, by James De Mille (Part 2)
THE PIRATE WOMAN, by Captain Dingle
THE MAROONER, by J. Allan Dunn
TREASURE ISLAND, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Parts 1-3)
TREASURE ISLAND, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Parts 4-6)
OUR PIRATE HOARD, by Thomas A. Janvier
THE PIRATE, by Frederick Marryat (Part 1)
THE PIRATE, by Frederick Marryat (Part 2)
THE ROVER’S SECRET, by Harry Collingwood (Part 1)
THE ROVER’S SECRET, by Harry Collingwood (Part 2)
THE ROVER’S SECRET, by Harry Collingwood (Part 3)
THE MADMAN AND THE PIRATE, by R.M. Ballantyne
WOLVES OF THE SEA, by Randall Parrish
THE IRON PIRATE, by Max Pemberton (Part 1)
THE IRON PIRATE, by Max Pemberton (Part 2)
FORCED LUCK, by J. Allan Dunn
THE PIRATE SHARK, by Elliott Whitney
THE FROZEN PIRATE, by W. Clark Russell (Part 1)
THE FROZEN PIRATE, by W. Clark Russell (Part 2)
THE PIRATE ISLAND, by Harry Collingwood (Part 1)
THE PIRATE ISLAND, by Harry Collingwood (Part 2)
THE PIRATE ISLAND, by Harry Collingwood (Part 3)
THE GHOST OF CAPTAIN BRAND, by Howard Pyle
BLACK VULMEA’S VENGEANCE, by Robert E. Howard
THE GHOST PIRATES, by William Hope Hodgson
THE PIRATES OF CALUUR, by John Gregory Betancourt
THE BROTHERS LAMMIAT, by John Gregory Betancourt
SEA-CHILD, by Cynthia Ward
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Pirate Story Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover by Andrea Dante / Fotolia.
* * * *
“The Golden Dolphin,” by J. Allan Dunn, originally appeared in Short Stories, Dec. 10, 1921.
“The Offshore Pirate,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is taken from Flappers and Philosophers (1922).
“The Merchantman and the Pirate,” by Charles Reade, originally appeared in Hard Cash.
The Treasure of the Seas, by James De Mille, originally appeared in 1879.
The Pirate Woman, by Captain Dingle, originally appeared as a 4-part serial in All-Story Weekly magazine from November 2, 1918, to November 23, 1918.
“The Marooner,” by J. Allan Dunn, originally appeared in Adventure. August 3, 1918.
“Black Vulmea’s Vengeance,” by Robert E. Howard, originally appeared in Golden Fleece, November, 1938.
“Forced Luck,” by J. Allan Dunn, originally appeared in Adventure, February 10, 1922.
The Pirate Shark, by Elliot Whiney, originally appeared in 1914.
“The Pirates of Caluur,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared, in slightly different form, in Fantasy Book, December 1986. Copyright © 1986 by John Gregory Betancourt. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Brothers Lammiat,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in Amazing Stories, July 1986. Copyright © 1986 by John Gregory Betancourt. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Sea Child,” by Cynthia Ward, originally appeared in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress XXIV. Copyright © 2009 by Cynthia Ward. Reprinted by permission of the author.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
I love pirates. There, I’ve said it. It’s a secret, guilty pleasure no more.
I was raised on the swashbuckling exploits of Captain Blood, Burt Lancaster as The Crimson Pirate, Errol Flynn’s The Sea Hawk, and so many more. They really don’t make them like that anymore.
And so I’ve been writing about pirates (in various guises) for most of my career as a writer. I’ve written several novels (including the novelization of the modern swashbuckler Cutthroat Island, plus fantasy novels like Rogue Pirate [a.k.a. Master of Dragons,) and quite a few short stories. I’m including two of those short stories at the rear of the book, in the “fantasy pirates” section, where you’ll also find classics by Robert E. Howard and William Hope Hodgson, plus another modern tale by Cindy Ward, who’s a terrific writer you really need to discover.
And, of course, I’ve included a bunch of older classics, plus quite a few you may never have encountered before. Pulp writer J. Allan Dunn, who must have been just as pirate-obsessed as I was as a child, is represented with three great stories.
Enjoy!
—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 Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The 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 First Mystery Megapack
The Second Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
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 Sea-Story Megapack
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown 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 Martian 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 First Science Fiction Megapack
The Second 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 Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
HORROR
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 Horror 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 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
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
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 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 B.M. Bower Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick 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 Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Jonas Lie Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The George Barr McCutcheon 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 GOLDEN DOLPHIN, by J. Allan Dunn
I
Opportunity Knocks
Jim Lyman, wandering aimlessly down North Street, Foxfield, had it borne in upon him that jobs were hard to catch. The paper mills and the woolen mills and the big electric supplies factory that, taking advantage of cheap water power, had transformed Foxfield the village into Foxfield the city of fifty thousand, were either shut down or running half time with a greatly reduced number of employees. It seemed to Jim that the rest of these unemployed were standing on the curbings and lounging on the Common, parked wherever there were vacant spaces, their savings gone, their faces more or less disconsolate. Yet Jim Lyman had turned down a job no later than that morning
.
It is true that he had regarded it almost as an insult, that he had found difficulty in gracing his refusal. Yet he was beginning to regret his rashness. He had a few dollars in his pocket but they were very few, and the high cost of living had not reduced on the same scale as the lowering average of wages. Most of the chaps standing about would have jumped at Jim’s offer, he reflected, provided they could have qualified.
The job was out at Winnesota Lake where the summer season for holiday makers from the big cities was in full swing. A man was wanted to help in the hiring and care of boats—a launch, rowboats and canoes—to help people get into them without upsetting or stepping through the bottoms, to shove out and haul in, to swab, to generally stand by and hang around a wharf in a bathing suit—for fifteen dollars a month and found; the findings meaning fair meals and an indifferent bunk at the mock-bungalow of the owner of the boathouse, and boating privileges. A soft snap to almost anyone out of a job, a vacation in itself, a chance for a good time with the city girls who were not averse to flirting with men of the “handsome brave life-saver” variety, but—
Jim Lyman was a sailor, a man who had served as second and first mate, who was qualified as a master mariner, who loved the sea and regarded a freshwater pond like Winnesota Lake much as a salmon would regard a bathtub. That comparison is not vigorous enough. To Jim the idea of the job on the placid lake, handling toy boats when his heart longed for a stiff breeze, big seas and a heeling vessel working into the wind’s eye, was a good deal like the offering to a lion tamer a position taking care of guinea pigs.
Beggars may not be choosers, but Jim would never be a beggar, and he had a strong belief in his own star or in the general fairness of Providence. All of which was a testimony to his good nature, his vitality and his good digestion, since he had just come through a severe pummeling at the hands of Fate: wrecked in the South Pacific; hungry, thirsty, blazing days in an open boat; despair; rescue; return to Panama aboard a smelly, inefficient ship inadequately run by Portuguese whose ideas of food were as limited as their larder; a chance to work his way back north and east as a handler on a fruit freighter, a brief visit at the New England home of the wrecked ship’s purser-steward, companion of his misfortunes, and then the long hunt and the ultimate conviction that a sailor man was out-of-date, obsolete, and not much to be desired; a job as a rigger in an emergency contract, two or three jobs painting flagpoles and straightening vanes, wandering inland the while, the supposed opportunity to get on as rigger again with a contractor in Foxfield, only to find the man with barely work enough to keep his oldest hands together on half time.