E. D. Skinner 24 min read

In the year 2025, the buzzing in Lieutenant-Colonel Algernon Sidney St. Johnstone's vest pocket goes unnoticed, with an O. Henry twist waiting at the end.

E. D. Skinner's 1927 story was chosen by its editor as a rare successful blend of genuine humor and 'scientifiction,' complete with a sting in the tail. Light, clever, of its pioneering pulp era. Read it for an early attempt at comic science fiction, best enjoyed (its editor insists) on a second reading.

In its time

Published in 1927, during the 1920s, the pulp era proper.

Reading it

24 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).

Illustrated by

Frank R. Paul