The Space Patrol Megapack Read online

  Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  ADVENTURE IN SPACE

  LT. JARL ON MARS

  THE SPACE OLYMPICS

  REVENGE OF THE SPACE HERMIT

  VENUS, 23RD CENTURY

  SATELLITE PRISON

  THE DICTATOR OF SPACE

  TREASURE ON SATURN

  HUMAN PETS OF NEPTUNE

  EXILE ON MERCURY

  HITCHHIKER OF SPACE

  MIND OVER MATTER

  THE WORLD STEALERS

  ROCKET RACE

  DUEL IN SPACE

  THE SPACE TRAP

  HOBO OF THE VOID

  THE ATOM DICTATOR

  THE INVISIBLE MAN OF MARS

  THE FREEDOM ROCKET

  THE GREAT RHEAN WAR

  TINY TERROR

  MENACE OF THE METAL MEN

  WORLD OF TITANS

  MYSTERY WORLD

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Space Patrol Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art copyright © Danomyte / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  “Adventure in Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures, #66, Feb. 1947.

  “Lt. Jarl on Mars” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #67, Mar. 1947.

  “The Space Olympics” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #68, Apr. 1947.

  “Revenge of the Space Hermit” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #69, May 1947.

  “Venus, 23rd Century” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #70, Jun. 1947.

  “Satellite Prison” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #71, Jul. 1947.

  “The Dictator of Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #72, Aug. 1947.

  “Treasure on Saturn” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #73, Sep. 1947.

  “Human Pets of Neptune” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #74, Oct. 1947.

  “Exile on Mercury” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #75, Nov. 1947.

  “Hitchhiker of Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #76, Dec. 1947.

  “Mind Over Matter” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #77, Jan. 1948.

  “The World Stealers” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #78, Feb. 1948.

  “Rocket Race” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #79, Mar. 1948.

  “Duel in Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #80, Apr. 1948.

  “The Space Trap” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #81, May 1948.

  “Hobo of the Void” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #82, Jun. 1948.

  “The Atom Dictator” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #83, Jul. 1948.

  “The Invible Man of Mars” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #84, Aug. 1948.

  “The Freedom Rocket” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #85, Sep. 1948.

  “The Great Rhean War” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #86, Oct. 1948.

  “Tiny Terror” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #87, Nov. 1948.

  “Menace of the Metal Men” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #88, Dec. 1948.

  “World of Titans” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #89, Jan. 1949.

  “Mystery World” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #90, Feb. 1949.

  “Jaunt on Jupiter” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #91, Mar. 1949.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Otto O. Binder (who wrote as “Eando Binder”) was one of those rare authors whose career extnded far into both the science fiction and comics fields. He’s actually best known the comics for his contributions to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel series, where he wrote 986 stories (out of 1,743)—more than half—between 1941 and 1953. He went on to write for D.C., Gold Medal, and many others.

  Less well known is that he wrote numerous 2-page fiction “fillers” for the comics. These prose pieces were a requirement for comics to qualify for discount postal rates in those days, so every comic whose distribution included mail-order subscription copies had to include one.

  Starting with the February, 1946 issue, every issue of Captain Marvel Adventures included a 2-page short story by “Eando Binder.” All featured Lt. Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol. These juvenile space operas—designed to appeal to kids (primarily boys, one assumes)—featured daring-do by a two-fisted young member of the Space Patrol. In a solar system where seemingly every planet and moon can support life and the asteroid belt harbors numerous space pirates and criminals, Jon Jarl always seems to save the day.

  If you’ve seen the early TV adventures of Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Space Patrol, or Tom Corbett, Spcae Cadel—which were clearly influenced by Binder’s writing (as well as the shared universe of “space opera” that had been developed in Amazing Stories magazine under editor Ray Palmer)—you will know what you’re in for…a ride into the Wild West of outer space, where physics and logic never get in the way of a good story!

  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!)

  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 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 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 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

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  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 Ninth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Fred M. White Disaster 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 Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Science-Fantasy Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Space Opera Megapack

  The Space Patrol Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Megapack

  The Second Time Travel Megapack

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack

  The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack

  The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy 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 Space Patrol 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 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 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 William Hope Hodgson 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 William P. McGivern Fantasy Megapack

  The First William P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second William P. McGivern Science Fiction 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

&n
bsp; The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Bram Stoker Megapack

  The Fred M. White Disaster Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The Virginia Woolf Megapack

  The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction 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

  ADVENTURE IN SPACE

  “The masked badmen, robbing the stagecoach, turned in alarm at the sound of galloping hooves. Up came Pecos Pete, on his great horse Dasher, with both six-guns blazing. The bandits made the mistake of trading shots with the famed Western hero, and in seconds were stretched flat on the sand. Laconically, Pecos Pete blew the smoke out of his guns, waved genially to the admiring stage-coach passengers, and thundered off, seeking more badmen…”

  The reader of these deathless lines, Jon Jarl, snapped shut the book with an excited sigh. Those old Westerners, he pondered, certainly led a life of thrills and danger. No period in human history had been more colorful, more heroic.

  Ah, but those days had been long ago. Let’s see—about 400 years ago, to be exact. This was now the year 2261 A.D.

  Jon Jarl sighed. Here he was, living in the super-scientific and highly civilized days of the 23rd Century. The great and adventurous days of the Old West were buried in the dim past. He turned to his controls, correcting his course slightly. It wouldn’t do to miss Mars on his routine patrol flight.

  Jon Jarl was on his way to Mars, in a small, sleek spaceship. He was Lieutenant Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol, the police of 2261 A.D. It was his duty to cruise the space lanes between Earth and Mars, along the same routes followed by the giant space liners and cargo rockets. But the distance was great—some 45 million miles—and for long periods he merely set the robot pilot and relaxed in his seat. It was during such times that he read from his well-stocked little library of Western literature. Somehow, the mighty deeds of those old Western heroes satisfied him more than any present-day writings.