The Second Reginald Bretnor Megapack by Reginald Bretnor

Author:Reginald Bretnor [Bretnor, Reginald]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: SSC, omnibus, classics, humor
ISBN: 0000456136
Publisher: Wildside Press
Published: 2014-08-05T07:00:00+00:00

“Well, let’s try it then!” Meister Gansfleisch croaked. “Immediately! At once! We must be sure before we show it to the Princess! Think how disappointed she would be—”

Under the on-off buttons, there was a keyhole from which a small key protruded. Papa Schimmelhorn turned this and withdrew it. “Ve do nodt need to try,” he said. “Already I haff told you it vill vork.” He filed the key away in a shirt pocket. “Und now I haff turned off der ignition so no vun can shtart und perhaps get hurt. Ve vait until comes back die Prinzessin.”

The machine’s pyrotechnics died down slowly; its noises dwindled; the solid purple ray dissipated, turning pale blue again. Only the crystal still seemed to be alive.

Meister Gansfleisch, who had fully intended to sneak back into the laboratory as soon as Papa Schimmelhorn was safely out of it, to try it out himself, felt that his mind had treacherously been read. Silently vowing vengeance, he pretended to restrain himself, letting his hands fight each other behind his back, gnashing his teeth very much as Twitchgibbet had done, and covering it all up with a tortured grin. He even answered Papa Schimmelhorn’s bye-bye, and contented himself with glaring daggers at his broad retreating back. Then he hastened off to give Mavronides a horrifying description of the fiendish device that had been brought into being, stated that in his opinion—though he fervently hoped it would indeed make gold—as much care should be taken with it as with a nuclear power plant, and shivered verbally at the thought that it might endanger the ecology and pollute the pure air of Little Palaeon.

Mavronides, of course, immediately got on the phone to the Fräulein, gave her a rundown on the alchemist’s report, agreed with her that without doubt it was biased, and was informed that she would arrive back on her island on the following day.

At suppertime, he himself conveyed the news to Papa Schimmelhorn, advising him to appear as abject as he could and to wear his best bib and tucker on the morrow, and rather gloomily wished him well.

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