Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Gone Fishing
    Gone Fishing
    Gone Fishing
    Ebook64 pages59 minutes

    Gone Fishing

    By James Schmitz

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    There is no predictable correlation between intelligence and ethics, nor is ruthlessness necessarily an evil thing. And there is nothing like enforced, uninterrupted contemplation to learn to distinguish one from another....
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOzymandias Press
    Release dateJul 16, 2016
    ISBN9781531289133
    Gone Fishing

    Read more from James Schmitz

    Related to Gone Fishing

    Related ebooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Spot

      Jun 16, 2022

      The Spot
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Book To Get Lost In

      Feb 17, 2020

      A Book To Get Lost In
      7 min read

    • Article

      Love Thine Enemy The Fox

      Jun 23, 2021

      Love Thine Enemy The Fox
      2 min read

    • Article

      Howl Palace

      Sep 15, 2019

      Last week, I finally had to put Howl Palace up for sale. Years of poor financial planning had led to this decision, and I tried to take some comfort in my agent’s belief in a buyer who might show up with an all-cash offer. My agent is a highly organi

      25 min read

    • Article

      The Killer

      Aug 21, 2020

      The Killer
      6 min read

    • Article

      Dangerous Dan

      Oct 1, 2019

      Dangerous Dan
      9 min read

    • Article

      Rock-solid Boggarts In A Ring

      Feb 24, 2022

      I came to live at Foster Clough, on the edge of Midgley Moor, in September 1970. I’d visited the area a few times, and I had gained a rough idea of local topography. I’d come to join a loose semi-commune of young people aiming to co-operate in the re

      5 min read

    • Article

      Rock-solid Boggarts In A Ring

      Feb 24, 2022

      I came to live at Foster Clough, on the edge of Midgley Moor, in September 1970. I’d visited the area a few times, and I had gained a rough idea of local topography. I’d come to join a loose semi-commune of young people aiming to co-operate in the re

      5 min read

    • Article

      Threshold

      Dec 11, 2023

      Threshold
      18 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Story

      Oct 24, 2018

      Ghost Story
      17 min read

    • Article

      We All Live in Uncertain

      Jul 30, 2020

      “Think of Caddo as a maze of lakes within lakes,” says John Winn, proprietor of Caddo Outback Tours, as the two of us settle into a small Go-Devil boat roped to a dock in Uncertain, on the border of northern Louisiana. For two decades, Winn has given

      6 min read

    • Article

      Sentimental Homecoming

      Nov 23, 2023

      Sentimental Homecoming
      3 min read

    • Article

      Something About Bill

      Jun 25, 2020

      Something About Bill
      5 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Mar 21, 2024

      Letters
      16 min read

    • Article

      The Black Dog Of Finca Vigia

      Jul 10, 2020

      The Black Dog Of Finca Vigia
      8 min read

    • Article

      Memorable Moments

      Nov 20, 2020

      Memorable Moments
      5 min read

    • Article

      Bookshelf

      Mar 2, 2020

      There are simply some books that you inadvertently read out loud to whoever is closest—cat or human. I found myself having a giant laugh and then being unable to resist sharing long passages of Carla Funk’s memoir. Though I worried that the religious

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Best Of Examples

      Dec 20, 2021

      “BRO, IF YOU drink that beer you’ll get fatter. Not that you’re superfat, but, I mean you could lose a couple pounds. You should run. It’s good for you. Did I show you the new bait I’m working on?” That’s how Aaron Martens greeted me at an ICAST part

      2 min read

    • Article

      ADVENTURES On The ALCAN

      Feb 21, 2023

      ADVENTURES On The ALCAN
      7 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Jan 4, 2024

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Magic Plug

      Jan 2, 2018

      The Magic Plug
      6 min read

    • Article

      Not Going Solo

      Jul 8, 2021

      Marsali Taylor sails an Offshore 8M, Karima S. She’s a dinghy instructor and author of The Shetland Sailing Mysteries starring liveaboard sleuth, Cass Lynch. I was in a grumpy mood. I had a headache, and though I was disappointed that it was too wind

      3 min read

    • Article

      Roger’s PROFANISAURUS

      Mar 10, 2022

      profanisaurus@viz.co.uk abolishing the licence fee n. A desperate diversionary tactic during a humiliating crisis, eg. Handing out Quality Streets to everyone in the room after an audible shart. anti-waxxers n. Name given to those ladies who prefer t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Six Dart Out

      Sep 10, 2023

      Marc figured the girl was a vegan. Her puke had overflowed the sink and run onto the floor—tomatoes and rice marinated in microbrew lager. He’d told Vegan Girl to slow down, but her friends had won the turning-21-peer-pressure battle. Admittedly, Mar

      9 min read

    • Article

      Still, in Focus

      Jul 9, 2019

      Still, in Focus
      7 min read

    • Article

      Native Nevada

      Jun 6, 2023

      Native Nevada
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Gone Fishing

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Gone Fishing - James Schmitz

      Gone Fishing

      James Schmitz

      OZYMANDIAS PRESS

      Thank you for reading. If you enjoy this book, please leave a review or connect with the author.

      All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

      Copyright © 2016 by James Schmitz

      Interior design by Pronoun

      Distribution by Pronoun

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      GONE FISHING

      GONE FISHING

      BARNEY CHARD, THIRTY-SEVEN—FINANCIER, ENTREPRENEUR, occasional blackmailer, occasional con man, and very competent in all these activities—stood on a rickety wooden lake dock, squinting against the late afternoon sun, and waiting for his current business prospect to give up the pretense of being interested in trying to catch fish.

      The prospect, who stood a few yards farther up the dock, rod in one hand, was named Dr. Oliver B. McAllen. He was a retired physicist, though less retired than was generally assumed. A dozen years ago he had rated as one of the country’s top men in his line. And, while dressed like an aging tramp in what he had referred to as fishing togs, he was at the moment potentially the country’s wealthiest citizen. There was a clandestine invention he’d fathered which he called the McAllen Tube. The Tube was the reason Barney Chard had come to see McAllen.

      Gently raising and lowering the fishing rod, and blinking out over the quiet water, Dr. McAllen looked preoccupied with disturbing speculations not connected with his sport. The man had a secrecy bug. The invention, Barney thought, had turned out to be bigger than the inventor. McAllen was afraid of the Tube, and in the forefront of his reflections must be the inescapable fact that the secret of the McAllen Tube could no longer be kept without Barney Chard’s co-operation. Barney had evidence of its existence, and didn’t really need the evidence. A few hints dropped here and there would have made McAllen’s twelve years of elaborate precaution quite meaningless.

      Ergo, McAllen must be pondering now, how could one persuade Mr. Chard to remain silent?

      But there was a second consideration Barney had planted in the old scientist’s mind. Mr. Chard, that knowledgeable man of the world, exuded not at all by chance the impression of great quantities of available cash. His manner, the conservatively tailored business suit, the priceless chip of a platinum watch ... and McAllen needed cash badly. He’d been fairly wealthy himself at one time; but since he had refrained from exploiting the Tube’s commercial possibilities, his continuing work with it was exhausting his capital. At least that could be assumed to be the reason for McAllen’s impoverishment, which was a matter Barney had established. In months the old man would be living on beans.

      Ergo again, McAllen’s thoughts must be running, how might one not merely coax Mr. Chard into silence, but actually get him to come through with some much-needed financial support? What inducement, aside from the Tube, could be offered someone in his position?

      Barney grinned inwardly as he snapped the end of his cigarette out on the amber-tinted water. The mark always sells himself, and McAllen was well along in the process. Polite silence was all that was necessary at the moment. He lit a fresh cigarette, feeling a mild curiosity about the little lake’s location. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan seemed equally probable guesses. What mattered was that half an hour ago McAllen’s Tube had brought them both here in a wink of time from his home in California.

      Dr. McAllen thoughtfully cleared his throat.

      Ever do any fishing, Mr. Chard? he asked. After getting over his first shock at Barney’s revelations, he’d begun speaking again in the brisk, abrupt manner Barney remembered from the last times he’d heard McAllen’s voice.

      No, Barney admitted smiling. Never quite got around to it.

      Always been too busy, eh?

      With this and that, Barney agreed.

      McAllen cleared his throat again. He was a roly-poly little man; over seventy now but still healthy-looking, with an apple-cheeked, sunburned face. Over a pair of steel-rimmed glasses his faded blue eyes peered musingly at Barney. Around thirty-five, aren’t you?

      Thirty-seven.

      Married?

      Divorced.

      Any particular hobbies?

      Barney laughed. I play a little golf. Not very seriously.

      McAllen clicked his tongue. Well, what do you do for fun?

      Oh ... I’d say I enjoy almost anything I get involved in. Barney, still smiling, felt a touch of wariness. He’d been expecting questions from McAllen, but not quite this kind.

      Mainly making money, eh? Well, McAllen conceded, that’s not a bad hobby. Practical, too. I ... whup! Just a moment.

      The tip of the slender rod in his left hand dipped slightly, and sixty feet out beyond the end of the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1