Duel in Black by John Foster West
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"Duel in Black" by John Foster West is a science fiction short story published in the early mid-20th century, specifically appearing in Planet Stories in the winter of 1947. Set on the moon, the narrative unfolds a tense confrontation around a valuable uranium claim, trapping the main character in a life-or-death duel against a notorious claim jumper. The story captures themes of survival, danger, and the harsh realities of life on Luna.
The plot follows young prospector Ron Crag as he stakes his claim on a rich uranium lode but soon finds himself facing the ruthless claim jumper Joe Braun. The action escalates as both men engage in a cat-and-mouse game under the shadows on the moon, where Ron must rely on strategy and courage to survive Joe’s deadly attacks. With Braun taunting from the shadows, Ron calculates his moves carefully, taking risks to reach his catatread while dodging lethal gunfire. The story climaxes as Ron takes a calculated shot amid the chaos, ultimately leading to a dramatic confrontation. In a twist of fate, Ron's gamble pays off, resulting in Braun's demise and leaving Ron to claim his prize, illuminated by both danger and determination. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | West, John Foster, 1918-2008 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Vestal, Herman B., 1916-2007 |
| Title | Duel in Black |
| Series Title | Produced from Planet Stories Winter 1947 |
| Credits | Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 81.7 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Moon -- Fiction |
| Subject | Mines and mineral resources -- Fiction |
| Subject | Gunfighters -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 64346 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-64346-5 |
| Release Date | Jan 20, 2021 |
| Last Update | Oct 18, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 460 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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