The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack: 25 Classic Novels and Stories

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by George Barr McCutcheon




  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON BIBLIOGRAPHY

  ABOUT THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  BREWSTER’S MILLIONS (1902)

  GRAUSTARK (1901)

  BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK (1904)

  TRUXTON KING (1909)

  THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK (1914)

  CASTLE CRANEYCROW (1902)

  THE DAY OF THE DOG (1904)

  THE PURPLE PARASOL (1905)

  NEDRA (1905)

  THE FLYERS (1907)

  THE HUSBANDS OF EDITH (1908)

  THE ALTERNATIVE (1909)

  WHAT’S-HIS-NAME (1910)

  A FOOL AND HIS MONEY (1913)

  ANDERSON CROW, DETECTIVE (1918)

  A NIGHT TO BE REMEMBERED

  “YOU ARE INVITED TO BE PRESENT”

  THE PERFECT END OF A DAY

  THE BEST MAN WINS!

  VICIOUS LUCIUS

  THE VEILED LADY AND THE SHADOW

  THE ASTONISHING ACTS OF ANNA

  NO QUESTIONS ANSWERED

  SHADES OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN!

  “JAKE MILLER HANGS HIMSELF”

  THE DAUGHTER OF ANDERSON CROW (1907)

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack

  Version 1.0.0

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack is copyright © 2013 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved. For more information, contact the publisher.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  George Barr McCutcheon is a favorite writer of mine for his Graustark novels—adventures set in an imaginary Eastern European country called Graustark. These are stories of court intrigue, royal disguise, and romance similar to Anthony Hope’s 1894 novel, The Prisoner of Zenda, and its sequels. They were popular best-sellers at the time they were published, and they helped create a new genre of novels called Ruritanian romance (from Hope’s work) or Graustarkian romance (from McCutcheon’s).

  George Barr McCutcheon (1866–1928) was an American novelist and playwright.

  Born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, McCutcheon’s father, despite not receiving formal education, stressed the value of literature and encouraged his sons to write. During McCutcheon’s childhood, his father had a number of jobs that required travel around the county in Indiana. McCutcheon studied at Purdue University and was a roommate of future humorist George Ade. During his college years, he was editor of the Lafayette Daily Courier and wrote a serial novel of satire about Wabash River life.

  Although McCutcheon became famous for the Graustark series (the first novel was published in 1901), he hated the characterization of being a Romantic and preferred to be identified with his playwriting.

  He was the older brother of noted cartoonist John T. McCutcheon and died in Manhattan, New York City, New York.

  McCutcheon, along with a number of other Indiana writers of the same period, is considered to be part of the Golden Age of Indiana Literature.

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON BIBLIOGRAPHY

  GRAUSTARK NOVELS

  Graustark: The Story of a Love Behind a Throne (1901)

  Beverly of Graustark (1904)

  Truxton King: A Story of Graustark (1909)

  The Prince of Graustark (1914)

  East of the Setting Sun (1924)

  The Inn of the Hawk and the Raven (1927)

  OTHER NOVELS

  Brewster’s Millions (1902)

  Castle Craneycrow (1902)

  The Sherrods (1903)

  The Day of the Dog (1904)

  The Purple Parasol (1905)

  Nedra (1905)

  Jane Cable (1906)

  Cowardice Court (1906)

  The Flyers (1907)

  The Daughter of Anderson Crow (1907)

  The Husbands of Edith (1908)

  The Man from Brodney’s (1908)

  The Alternative (1909)

  The Butterfly Man (1910)

  The Rose in the Ring (1910)

  Mary Midthorne (1911)

  What’s-His-Name (1911)

  The Hollow of Her Hand (1912)

  A Fool and His Money (1913)

  Black is White (1914)

  Her Weight in Gold (1914)

  Mr. Bingle (1915)

  From the Housetops (1916)

  The Light that Lies (1916)

  Green Fancy (1917)

  Shot with Crimson (1918)

  The City of Masks (1918)

  Sherry (1919)

  West Wind Drift (1920)

  Quill’s Window 1921

  Viola Gwyn (1922)

  Yollop (1922)

  Oliver October (1923)

  Romeo in Moon Village (1925)

  Kindling and Ashes (1926)

  Blades (1928)

  The Merivales (1929)

  PLAYS

  Brood House (1910)

  Mary Midthorne (1911)

  Anderson Crow, Detective (1920)

  ABOUT THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has proved to be one of 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, 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 Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack

  The First Mystery Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Raffles Megapack

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack

  The Baseball Megapack

  The Cat Megapack


  The Second Cat Megapack

  The Christmas Megapack

  The Second Christmas Megapack

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor Megapack

  The Dog Megapack

  The Military Megapack

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds 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 Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  HORROR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack

  The Ghost Story Megapack

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack

  The Horror Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  WESTERNS

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack

  The G.A. Henty Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pinocchio Megapack

  The Rover Boys Megapack

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack

  The Tom Swift Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Dashiell Hammett Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  The Saki Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  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

  BREWSTER’S MILLIONS (1902)

  CHAPTER I

  A BIRTHDAY DINNER

  “The Little Sons of the Rich” were gathered about the long table in Pettingill’s studio. There were nine of them present, besides Brewster. They were all young, more or less enterprising, hopeful, and reasonably sure of better things to come. Most of them bore names that meant something in the story of New York. Indeed, one of them had remarked, “A man is known by the street that’s named after him,” and as he was a new member, they called him “Subway.”

  The most popular man in the company was young “Monty” Brewster. He was tall and straight and smooth-shaven. People called him “clean-looking.” Older women were interested in him because his father and mother had made a romantic runaway match, which was the talk of the town in the seventies, and had never been forgiven. Worldly women were interested in him because he was the only grandson of Edwin Peter Brewster, who was many times a millionaire, and Monty was fairly certain to be his heir—barring an absent-minded gift to charity. Younger women were interested for a much more obvious and simple reason: they liked him. Men also took to Monty because he was a good sportsman, a man among men, because he had a decent respect for himself and no great aversion to work.

  His father and mother had both died while he was still a child, and, as if to make up for his long relentlessness, the grandfather had taken the boy to his own house and had cared for him with what he called affection. After college and some months on the continent, however, Monty had preferred to be independent. Old Mr. Brewster had found him a place in the bank, but beyond this and occasional dinners, Monty asked for and received no favors. It was a question of work, and hard work, and small pay. He lived on his salary because he had to, but he did not resent his grandfather’s attitude. He was better satisfied to spend his “weakly salary,” as he called it, in his own way than to earn more by dining seven nights a week with an old man who had forgotten he was ever young. It was less wearing, he said.

  Among the “Little Sons of the Rich,” birthdays were always occasions for feasting. The table was covered with dishes sent up from the French restaurant in the basement. The chairs were pushed back, cigarettes were lighted, men had their knees crossed. Then Pettingill got up.

  “Gentlemen,” he began, “we are here to celebrate the twenty-fifth birthday of Mr. Montgomery Brewster. I ask you all to join me in drinking to his long life and happiness.”

  “No heel taps!” some one shouted. “Brewster! Brewster!” all called at once.

  “For he’s a jolly good fellow,

  For he’s a jolly good fellow!”

  The sudden ringing of an electric bell cut off this flow of sentiment, and so unusual was the interruption that the ten members straightened up as if jerked into position by a string.

  “The police!” some one suggested. All faces were turned toward the door. A waiter stood there, uncertain whether to turn the knob or push the bolt.

  “Damned nuisance!” said Richard Van Winkle. “I want to hear Brewster’s speech.”

  “Speech! Speech!” echoed everywhere. Men settled into their places.

  “Mr. Montgomery Brewster,” Pettingill introduced.

  Again the bell rang—long and loud.

  “Reinforcements. I’ll bet there’s a patrol in the street,” remarked Oliver Harrison.

  “If it’s only the police, let them in,” said Pettingill. “I thought it was a creditor.”

  The waiter opened the door.

  “Some one to see Mr. Brewster, sir,” he announced.

  “Is she pretty, waiter?” called McCloud.

  “He says he is El
lis, from your grandfather’s, sir!”

  “My compliments to Ellis, and ask him to inform my grandfather that it’s after banking hours. I’ll see him in the morning,” said Mr. Brewster, who had reddened under the jests of his companions.

  “Grandpa doesn’t want his Monty to stay out after dark,” chuckled Subway Smith.

  “It was most thoughtful of the old gentleman to have the man call for you with the perambulator,” shouted Pettingill above the laughter. “Tell him you’ve already had your bottle,” added McCloud.

  “Waiter, tell Ellis I’m too busy to be seen,” commanded Brewster, and as Ellis went down in the elevator a roar followed him.

  “Now, for Brewster’s speech!—Brewster!”

  Monty rose.

  “Gentlemen, you seem to have forgotten for the moment that I am twenty-five years old this day, and that your remarks have been childish and wholly unbecoming the dignity of my age. That I have arrived at a period of discretion is evident from my choice of friends; that I am entitled to your respect is evident from my grandfather’s notorious wealth. You have done me the honor to drink my health and to reassure me as to the inoffensiveness of approaching senility. Now I ask you all to rise and drink to ‘The Little Sons of the Rich.’ May the Lord love us!”

  An hour later “Rip” Van Winkle and Subway Smith were singing “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden,” to the uncertain accompaniment of Pettingill’s violin, when the electric bell again disturbed the company.

  “For Heaven’s sake!” shouted Harrison, who had been singing “With All Thy Faults I Love Thee Still,” to Pettingill’s lay figure.

  “Come home with me, grandson, come home with me now,” suggested Subway Smith.

  “Tell Ellis to go to Halifax,” commanded Montgomery, and again Ellis took the elevator downward. His usually impassive face now wore a look of anxiety, and twice he started to return to the top floor, shaking his head dubiously. At last he climbed into a hansom and reluctantly left the revelers behind. He knew it was a birthday celebration, and it was only half-past twelve in the morning.

  At three o’clock the elevator made another trip to the top floor and Ellis rushed over to the unfriendly doorbell. This time there was stubborn determination in his face. The singing ceased and a roar of laughter followed the hush of a moment or two.

  “Come in!” called a hearty voice, and Ellis strode firmly into the studio.

  “You are just in time for a ‘night-cap,’ Ellis,” cried Harrison, rushing to the footman’s side. Ellis, stolidly facing the young man, lifted his hand.

 

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