by Lon Williams
Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
KING SOLOMON’S THRONE
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
SATAN’S WOOL-MERCHANT
MASTER OF INDECISION
A DESERT HIPPOCRATES
THE HAUNTED TOWN
PHANTOM CARGO
WIZARD OF FORLORN GAP
A PORTION TO SEVEN
MARK OF THE WAMPUS CAT
GOLDEN CITY
LONG LIVE THE KING
LANTERN IN THE SKY
THE SALT WAGONS
THE HONEY JUG
TRAIL OF PAINTED ROCKS
THE CUCKOO’S NEST
THE WATER CARRIERS
THE STRANGE PIPER
MEN BURNING BRUSH
THE BANSHEE SINGER
THE DANCING TREES
THE DEADLY SLOWPOKE
THE THREE FATES
THE MAGIC GRINDSTONE
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art copyright © 2014 by Poulsons Photography / Fotolia. For more information, contact the publisher.
* * * *
“King Solomon’s Throne” originally appeared in Real Western, October 1952.
“Fountain of Youth” originally appeared in Real Western, December 1952.
“Satan’s Wool-Merchant” originally appeared in Real Western, February 1953.
“Master of Indecision” originally appeared in Real Western, April 1953.
“A Desert Hippocrates” originally appeared in Real Western, October 1953
“The Haunted Town” originally appeared in Real Western, October, 1953.
“Phantom Cargo” originally appeared in Real Western, December, 1953.
“Wizard of Forlorn Gap” originally appeared in Real Western, April 1954.
“A Portion to Seven” originally appeared in Real Western, June 1954.
“Mark of the Wampus Cat” originally appeared in Real Western, October, 1954.
“Golden City” originally appeared in Real Western, December 1954.
“Long Live the King” originally appeared in Real Western, April 1955.
“Lantern in the Sky” originally appeared in Real Western, June 1955.
“The Salt Wagons” originally appeared in Real Western, August 1955.
“The Honey Jug” originally appeared in Real Western, October 1955.
“Trail of Painted Rocks” originally appeared in Real Western, February 1956.
“The Cuckoo’s Nest” originally appeared in Real Western, April 1956.
“The Water Carriers” originally appeared in Real Western, August 1956.
“The Strange Piper” originally appeared in Real Western, December 1956.
“Men Burning Brush” originally appeared in Real Western, February, 1957.
“The Banshee Singer” originally appeared in Real Western, April 1957.
“The Dancing Trees” originally appeared in Real Western, August 1957.
“The Deadly Slowpoke” originally appeared in Real Western, October 1957.
“The Three Fates” originally appeared in Real Western, February 1958.
“The Magic Grindstone” originally appeared in Real Western, October, 1958.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Lon Thomas Williams (1890 – 1978) was an American western author, teacher, and lawyer who lived in Andersonville, Tennessee. He is best known for writing a large number of traditional and weird western stories for the pulp magazines, especially Western Action and Real Western Stories. He also wrote a number of books, including Hill Hoyden, Hill Hellion, and Shack Baby. Williams’ most popular series were the Judge Steele stories (combining the western genre with the legal drama) and the Deputy Marshal Lee Winters stories (Weird Westerns) which are collected in this volume.
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 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!).
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 [email protected] 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 Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The First Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles 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 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 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 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 Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel 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 M.R. James Megapack
The Macabre Megapack
The Second Macabre Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Mummy Megapack
The Occult Detective Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Vampire Megapack
The Werewolf Megapack
WESTERNS
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
The Boys’ Adventure Megapack
The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The G.A. Henty Megapack
The Girl Detectives Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Pinocchio Megapack
The Rover Boys Megapack
The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah 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 Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian 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 Arthur Machen Megapack**
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The Talbot Mundy 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 Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Temporarily Unavailable.
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
KING SOLOMON’S THRONE
Real Western Stories, October 1952
Deputy Marshal Lee Winters, headed for home-base in Forlorn Gap, rode by starlight onto Alkali Flat. It was too late now to backtrack, but he wished he’d gone by Elkhorn Pass instead.
Alkali Flat at night was a weird place. Its winds carried noises foreign to its character. Wolves howled there, coyotes barked and yodeled, owls clinked like steel upon musical gongs—and that in a vast, whitish barren where life theoretically could not subsist at all. Ghosts! That was what they are, thought Winters. Ghosts of dead animals, dead men, and dead ages.
Mile after mile he let his tired horse walk, his eyes alert for night-prowlers, real or unreal. Then there came a sound that made his flesh crawl. It winged up from southwestward, wind-whipped and eerie. There was no mistaking its nature; somewhere across there, male voices were singing. How many there were, he could not tell. Nor could he determine what song, or songs, they sang. For awhile, driving winds mourned a dirge. It was followed by a paean of victory that flung itself fiercely around his tingling ears. Transcending strained, high-pitched measures, a discordant cry came shrieking. It was a man’s scream, a death scream. It gave Winters’ throat a tight feeling; sweat popped in profusion, proof positive that he was scared stiff.
Winters wanted no truck with ghosts. He lifted bridle leather and gigged deep. His horse, also eager to put miles behind, set its hoofs down hard and fast. Forlorn Gap’s distant, dim lights grew brighter.
* * * *
Lamps in Doc Bogannon’s saloon burned clean. Guests from Goodlett Hotel had dropped in, had their drinks, chatted awhile, and departed.
One customer remained, Spicewood Lilloughby, a runty, mouse-faced miser who sat, dry and wretched, torn between thirst for wine and affection for a silver coin clutched in skinny fingers.
Doc Bogannon dried and polished glasses. He was tall, black-haired and heavy, statesman rather than barkeep in appearance and bearing. He possessed philosophical eyes, too, hence regarded his miserly guest not with merited distaste, but as a human creature entitled to his principles.
“Spicewood,” said Bogie, “your luck has run thin tonight; nobody’s been generous.”
Lilloughby stiffened. “Sir, I’ll have you know I’m no beggar; I’ve money, and I’ll drink when I’m ready.”
Bogannon’s batwings swung inward, and lean, middle-aged Deputy Lee Winters strode in, dusty, spirit-drained. “A drink, Doc, and make it stiff.”
Bogie set up a glass and filled it. “Seen another ghost, eh?”
Winters downed his liquor. “You guessed it, Doc; where’s that vinegar dish for alkali sufferers?”
Bogie brought up bowl and cloth. “This means you’ve come across Alkali Flat.”
Winters swabbed his burning face and felt better. “Why I done it, Doc, I wouldn’t know; too spooky out there for me.”
Bogie leaned against a b
ack shelf and folded his arms. “Spooks,” he declared, “are creatures of over-stimulated minds. I’d say you’d hit a squall before you hit Alkali Flat, that a quick-draw artist nearly got you, and that you emerged as sole survivor only by some quirk of luck.”
Winters measured Bogie with approval. “Doc, you know me like a book. I oughtn’t pretend to be a lawman; every time I see a gun-toter I’ve an urge to run and hide. It’s a good thing these wandering toughies don’t know what a coward I am.” Suddenly Winters had a crawly feeling. He whirled and stared, and a mouse-faced varmint stared back. “Spice Lilloughby, as I live. Waitin’ for some free-hearted sucker to buy you a drink, eh? Well, Spicey, I’m your man; Doc, a full glass for a world’s champion tightwad.”
Lilloughby got up and ambled forward. “Now, you look here, Winters—you can’t make me out a beggar. If I wanted a drink, I could buy one; I’ve got money, and I’ve got pride.”
“That you have, Lilly,” said Winters. “Here; this is my token of respect.” He slid a wine glass toward Lilloughby, whose eager fingers closed around it.
“You needn’t think you’re being generous with me, Winters. I take this as a favor to you. Anybody’d know you’re just trying to make Doc think you’re big-hearted.”
Winters grinned, paid, and watched a stagecoach dust by from Pangborn Gulch. “Reckon I’ll drift along, Doc. Want to see who’s dropping off. Never know when some wanted monkey’ll show up.”
* * * *
Winters left. Lilloughby finished his drink and put down his glass. “No, sir, Doc, I accept no charity. As for Lee Winters, I could buy him out and have money left; I took his offering to please him—that’s all.”
Bogie leisurely dried a glass. “Spicewood, you are, indeed, a born-and-bred man of quality. I’d say, too, that when you’ve become a fossil on time’s whitening shore, men will look at you and say, Here was a gentleman.”
“You needn’t try to be funny, Doc Bogannon. Someday, when I’ve left this dried-up stink of a town, you’ll be proud you knowed me.”
Doc’s comeback was interrupted. His saloon’s batwing doors squeaked, and a customer entered. And here was a character, if ever was, thought Bogie. He’d been in before. Piper Crane, he’d said his name was—a man in shiny black boots, ivory colored trousers, dirty white vest, cutaway blue coat and cocked hat, of medium height, slender, erect.
Piper Crane removed his hat, swept it low, and restored it to his long-haired, noble head. “Greetings, gentlemen.” He advanced, paused, and bowed toward Spicewood Lilloughby. “Distinguished friend, join me in a drink, as a favor to your humble servant.”
