Short Story Books

The Right Thing

Ray Cummings

A faint, distant sound outside made them look at each other in sudden alarm. They listened. It grew louder—a horse coming along the trail from Rocky Gulch at a gallop. Beth thought of her stepfather, ..

The Laughter of Slim Malone

Max Brand

Appleton decreed the day of the arrival of the new sheriff a festival occasion. The farmers from the adjoining table-land drove into town, the miners from the three valleys rode down. And when the sta..

The First

Edward W. Ludwig

It was a moment of eternity captured long ago and still imprisoned in a wrinkled, yellowed paper. On it was the rocket, the Marilyn, which had been his home for fifteen years. Behind it, on a rise in ..

In a Canadian Canoe

Barry Pain

What a beautiful thing it is to lie at full length on the cushions, and see the sky through the trees—only the angels see the trees through the sky. My boat has taken me round to the back of Queen’s, ..

King of the Hill

James Blish

The corporal saluted, turned, took two steps, and faded. He did not vanish, but he did not go out the door, either. He simply receded, became darker and harder to distinguish, and was no longer there...

The Ghost in the Red Shirt

B. M. Bower

We landed to visit a cave in the cliff, and Mabel and Clifford flirted outrageously. It wasn’t a bit interesting—I mean the cave. The flirting didn’t worry me: I was particularly nice to Professor Gol..

Kid Stuff

Winston K. Marks

Staring into space.... Then it wasn't just space. There were these two big ball bearings in front of me, about three feet in diameter, if you could say they had a diameter. They looked like ball beari..

Placebo

David Mason

Corrigan had always enjoyed conducting guided tours, and he was enjoying this one especially well. He had a slightly wicked taste for complicated teasing, and Lenner was a perfect object. He had evide..