An Earthman on Venus

When Myles Cabot accidentally transmitted himself to the planet Venus, he found himself naked and bewildered on a mystery world where every unguarded minute might mean a horrible death.

Man-eating plants, tiger-sized spiders, and dictatorial ant-men kept Myles on the run until he discovered the secret of the land—that humanity was a slave-race and that the monster ants were the real rulers of the world!

But Cabot was resourceful, and when his new found love, the Kewpie-doll princess Lilla, called for help, the ant-men learned what an angry Earthman can do.

AN EARTHMAN ON VENUS is a science-fiction adventure packed with the excitement of an Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the science-vision of an H. G. Wells. You won’t be able to put it down once you start it.

AN EARTHMAN ON VENUS

{Originally titled “THE RADIO MAN”}

by RALPH MILNE FARLEY

AVON PUBLISHING CO., INC. 119 West 57th Street, New York 19, N. Y. Published by Arrangement with the Author

On the planet VENUS you will meet— THIS EARTHMAN

MYLES CABOT, a good-looking young Boston radio experimenter, who accidentally broadcast himself bodily to another world.

THESE GIANT ANTS

QUEEN FORMIS, a twelve-foot-high monster, who ruled a world from an egg-laying couch, and could conceive of no mercy for her human slaves. DOGGO, who became Myles Cabot’s friend through a curious accident and who first showed Myles the ropes on that queer planet. SATAN, who was given that name by Myles for the unpleasant reason that he deserved it—and who lived up to it.

THESE VENUSIAN PEOPLE

PRINCESS LILLA, the lovely girl with the Kewpie wings, who held the key to the throne of Venus and the key to Myles’ heart simultaneously. YURI, the suave scoundrel who wouldn’t hesitate to sell out his whole race to get Lilla’s hand by force. TORON, who tipped Myles off to Lilla’s private intentions in order to save himself from slavery. BTHUH, the beautiful lady who conspired to win Myles for herself, though she had to help his deadliest enemies to do it.

[Illustration: COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED: This AVON book contains the entire text as published in the original edition.]

The Radio Man. Copyright, 1924 and 1939, by Frank A. Munsey Company. Copyright, 1948, by Ralph Milne Farley.

Avon Reprint Edition

An Earthman on Venus. Copyright, 1950, by Avon Publishing Co., Inc.

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

contents

1 The Message in the Meteor 3 2 Stranded in Space 8 3 Out of the Frying Pan 16 4 Go to the Ant, Thou Sluggard 22 5 A Vision 30 6 Radio Plays its Part 37 7 A Hunting Trip 48 8 The Conspiracy 56 9 The Rescue 63 10 Before Queen Formis 73 11 The Valley of the Shadow of Death 81 12 A Victim of Yuri 89 13 Kidnaped 96 14 In Disgrace 104 15 A New Game 110 16 Cabot Tells the World 119

1 the message in the meteor

Never had I been so frightened in all my life! It was a warm evening late in August, and I was sitting on the kitchen steps of my Chappaquiddick Island farmhouse, discussing the drought with one of the farm hands. Suddenly there appeared in the sky over our heads a flaming fiery mass, rushing straight downward toward us.

“Here’s where a shooting star gets me,” I thought, as I instinctively ducked my head, just as though such a feeble move as ducking one’s head could afford any possible protection from the flaming terror. The next instant there came a dull crash, followed by silence, which in turn was broken by the hired man dryly remarking: “I reckon she struck over to Cow Hill.” Cow Hill was the slight elevation just back of our farmhouse.