{"product_id":"2940013704145","title":"The Outlaws of Mars","description":"As the powerful car plunged up the mountain road, Jerry Morgan wondered\u003cbr\u003ewhat sort of reception awaited him at the end of this drive. Would the\u003cbr\u003emysterious, eccentric man who was his uncle, and who lived in this\u003cbr\u003emountain retreat which his nephew had never been permitted to visit,\u003cbr\u003eturn him away now?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was not until he had reached the highest limit of timber growth that\u003cbr\u003ehe came upon a log habitation built against the mountainside which rose\u003cbr\u003esteeply behind it, rugged and bare of vegetation. He stopped the car in\u003cbr\u003efront of the log porch, off the road enough to avoid blocking it. No one\u003cbr\u003ewas around; no one appeared as he slammed the car door shut, climbed the\u003cbr\u003esteps and crossed the veranda. No one answered his knock; the door swung\u003cbr\u003eopen at the impact and Jerry entered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe found himself in a large living room, finished and furnished in\u003cbr\u003epioneer style, the walls decorated with trophies. Despite the chill at\u003cbr\u003ethis altitude, there was only cold, gray ashes mingled with bits of\u003cbr\u003echarcoal in the fireplace. Jerry had the feeling that the place had not\u003cbr\u003ebeen lived in for some time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eExploration confirmed his initial impression. Shelves in the kitchen\u003cbr\u003ewere empty save for a few dishes and utensils. There was no sign of\u003cbr\u003efood, and a thin film of dust had settled over everything, even the\u003cbr\u003esink.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePuzzled, he returned to the living room and seated himself on a birch\u003cbr\u003esettee before the cold fireplace. Obviously, though this was the nominal\u003cbr\u003eresidence of his uncle, Doctor Richard Morgan did not really live here.\u003cbr\u003eWhere, then, did he live? As far as Jerry had been able to see in every\u003cbr\u003edirection there had been no sign of a building of any kind, save this\u003cbr\u003eone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs he sat there, reflecting on these mysteries, he suddenly heard the\u003cbr\u003edoor open, and turning, saw his uncle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLike his nephew, Richard Morgan was tall and powerfully built. The\u003cbr\u003eremaining black among the silver hair and beard was as jet as Jerry's,\u003cbr\u003eand though he did not look like a military man, his presence radiated\u003cbr\u003eauthority. His forehead was high and bulged outward over shaggy eyebrows\u003cbr\u003ethat met above his aquiline nose; and he wore a pointed, closely cropped\u003cbr\u003eVandyke.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Glad to see you, Jerry,\" boomed the doctor in his resonant bass voice.\u003cbr\u003e\"I've been expecting you.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJerry Morgan stared in amazement as he took his uncle's proffered hand.\u003cbr\u003e\"Expecting me? Why, I told no one--intended to surprise you. It sounds\u003cbr\u003ealmost like thought-transference.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Perhaps you are nearer the truth than you imagine,\" replied the doctor,\u003cbr\u003eseating himself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJerry brushed this aside, mentally, as he groped for the proper words\u003cbr\u003ewith which to frame his next speech. \"I'm afraid you're not going to\u003cbr\u003elike what I have to tell you, Uncle Richard,\" he began. \"The fact is,\u003cbr\u003eI've disgraced . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I, know all about it, Jerry,\" said the doctor gently, and then\u003cbr\u003eproceeded to give a detailed account of the episode the young man had\u003cbr\u003ebeen about to tell. He ended with: \"You knew the colonel would never\u003cbr\u003ebelieve a story about your being framed in a manner reminiscent of\u003cbr\u003enineteenth-century melodrama, so you had no choice but to resign. What\u003cbr\u003eyou didn't know was that it was not Lieutenant Tracy, your rival, who\u003cbr\u003earranged the affair but Elaine herself.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47121257496816,"sku":"2940013704145","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013704145_p0.jpg?v=1763584581","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013704145","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}