The Pirate Story Megapack: 25 Classic and Modern Tales Read online

  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 [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 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
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  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 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 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 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 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.