Lynch Mob!
and other stories
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
- "CALBOT": (Calbot is telling the story).
- "LYNCHMOB":
- "THE TRUTH WILL OUT":
- "TOILETSEATITIS":
- "THE COURTSHIP OF KING UCK THE TALL":
Chief Detective Jamison looked at me with doubt in his eyes and hope in his heart.
"Look," he said, "I don't quite know how to handle this. I've never talked to a robot before. The company that made you for us checked me out on how to treat you, but now that you're here, I find it hard to begin."
"I suggest you treat me just like any other person," I said. "While I'm not human I think, talk, and act like one. You can't hurt my feelings because I haven't go any. I was built for one thing, and one thing only, to capture criminals. Just forget everything but the job at hand, Mr. Jamison. Feed me all the information you have about the first criminal you want and I'll be on my way."
The farmer had ridden close to two miles from where he had been robbed of his clothes and horse, when a group of strangely dressed men suddenly trotted out from hiding places along the trail, surrounding him in an effort to keep him from running away, but the farmer, suddenly scared now by the strangeness of the men and what he thought of as an attack, tried to run anyway, spurring the black up to a full run, but one of the men shot the horse with some kind of gun-thing that spurted a red beam of light that stopped the horse in its tracks, then the horse slowly sank down on its knees, then on down to its side, knocked out if not dead. The farmer scrambled out of the saddle, to stand crouched, ready to fight for his life. Unused to being armed, the sudden attack and the fear the attack caused to erupt in him made the farmer forget about the pistol on his hip for a few moments of tense astonished wonder and fear, then, he suddenly remembered he was armed and he drew the pistol, determined to fight for his life, but the same man who had shot the horse shot the farmer, knocking him down to sprawl on the ground, his last thought as swift darkness hit him was, "I'm killed."
Sam's best friend, Frank Barton, 31, six feet tall, black hair, brown eyes, resolute, pleasant face, divorced, working in the same office where Sam worked, was found passed out in his car on a Saturday morning at 10:31 a.m. after his girl friend, Muriel West, blond, 28, beautiful, had been found murdered in her apartment. Circumstantial evidence pointed to Frank so he was arrested and charged with her murder. The police found out that Frank and Muriel had been quarreling lately, in public and in private, and, on the night of the murder, the neighbors had heard them arguing, not really yelling but loud enough to be heard next door.
Surprised by Brong's abrupt farewell and then by his as sudden disappearance from the screen, Charley mumbled thank yous and goodbys, only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of an even more bold, strong faced, awesome Watcher face. The Watcher spoke, saying, "Hello, Mr. Downs. I am Krong. My associate, Brong, has told me of your splendid plan to help earth women stand up like a man. Please tell your plan again to me. Leave nothing out."
Charley told Krong of his big idea, giving him as much detail as he could think of at the moment.
Krong, like Brong, began to crinkle around the eyes with amusement as he listened to Charley explain his big idea, but he also was very careful not to let his amusement show on his expressionless face.
When Charley stopped speaking, a little red in the face, not only from excitement and awe and hope, but from embarrassment for talking to a stranger about such things as a device that would make it possible for a woman to stand up like a man and go potty number one.
Well aware that she stood out in a crowd like an elephant at a horse show, Lady Lyris was still set on attending the Queen contest in the palace so, finished dressing, she gulped a hasty breakfast, let herself silently out of the house and hurried to the palace, arriving at 9:30 of the morning to find a noisy, milling multitude jammed around the front entrance of the palace. There was every kind of female created in the realm trying to shove her way into the audience chamber.
Intent on pushing through the huge mass of eager females, Lady Lyris did not notice the many admiring looks the men gave her nor did she notice the many venomous looks she received from the horde of women who envied her tallness.
Lady Lyris, in truth more slender than she appeared to be, was still stalwart and strongly made and, using her weight, height, and strength, pushed steadily through the multitude even though she received many angry complaints and though many men took liberties with her tall lush body as she squeezed through.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The Lynch Mob is a collection of what Mr. Warner calls mini-novels, because they are too short to be called novels and too long to be called short stories. Some people call them novelettes. Mr. Warner prefers mini-novel as more accurate a description.
About the Author
Robert James Warner was born and raised in Long Beach, California. He went to the local schools. He was drafted into the Navy on March 9th, 1944, during the 2nd World War as soon as he finished his last semester in High School. He was discharged from the Navy on June 16, 1946. Mr. Warner went back to school, Long Beach City College, on the G.I. Bill, taking Mechanical Engineering, then he switched to journalism. After about a year and a half at City College he quit. Mr. Warner had always been interested in writing, but he had huge handicaps to overcome: he couldn't spell (he still can't); and grammar was then and is now a mystery to him. Mr. Warner first began to write when he was about 20. During the next few years he wrote some songs, some poetry, and some short stories; but his output was quite low. From 1947, after Mr. Warner left City College, to 1950, he had a number of different inconsequential jobs, the longest at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach where he worked in the blueprint department for eight months, then he quit and loafed awhile. In 1950 he enlisted in the Active Naval Reserve as a Weekend Warrior, so he could learn seamanship and get paid doing it. He has had a life long love affair with boats (building his own) and fishing. About three months later, the Korean War started and Mr. Warner was called back to active duty in the Navy Aircorp for a year. He was discharged in August, 1951, he had served on three aircraft carriers operating off of Korea in the China Sea, bombing and strafing the communists! After Korea, Mr. Warner went back to City College for awhile, then he got a job on a freighter as a deckhand, and made two trips to the Hawaiian Islands, about 30 days round trip, hauling bulk sugar for C&H Sugar in Crocket California on the Sacramento River. Leaving the ship in Crocket he went to Santa Rosa, California, where he washed dishes in some restaurants and got a poem published in the local newspaper, a big day in his life. Next, he went to Yosemite, and washed some more dishes then he went home. Mr. Warner has cleaned chicken dung from under the pens; he owned and operated his own auto wrecking yard; owned his own 2nd Store; was half owner of a Yacht Landing; speculated in Real Estate, and worked at some other odd jobs. He went to work for the Long Beach Fire Department in 1953, stayed there for the next 26 years, and retired in October 1979. Mr. Warner got married in 1961, had his son in 1963, then got divorced in 1973. In 1974, Mr. Warner and his son, Jeff, drove to Alaska during the summer. On his return, Mr. Warner wrote his first novel. Since 1974, Mr. Warner has written 15 novels, about 125 short stories, two Civil War books, and two poetry collections.