The Man Outside

By Evelyn E. Smith

No one, least of all Martin, could dispute that a man’s life should be guarded by his kin—but by those who hadn’t been born yet?

Evelyn E. Smith is best known as the author of the Miss Melville mysteries. From 1952 to 1969 she wrote dozens of science fiction and fantasy short stories that appeared in magazines such as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy, Super Science Fiction, and Fantastic Universe. Her stories were witty, well written, often humorous, and always unforgettable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilder Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781515450474

Evelyn E. Smith

Evelyn E. Smith (25 July 1922 – 4 July 2000) was an American writer of science fiction and mysteries, as well as a compiler of crossword puzzles.

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The Man Outside

by Evelyn E. Smith

©2021 Positronic Publishing

The Man Outside is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales or institutions is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except for brief quotations for review purposes only.

>E-book ISBN 13: 978-1-5154-5047-4

The Man Outside

No one, least of all Martin, could dispute that a man’s life should be guarded by his kin—but by those who hadn’t been born yet?

Nobody in the neighborhood was surprised when Martin’s mother disappeared and Ninian came to take care of him. Mothers had a way of disappearing around those parts and the kids were often better off without them. Martin was no exception. He’d never had it this good while he was living with his old lady. As for his father, Martin had never had one. He’d been a war baby, born of one of the tides of soldiers—enemies and allies, both—that had engulfed the country in successive waves and bought or taken the women. So there was no trouble that way.

Sometimes he wondered who Ninian really was. Obviously that story about her coming from the future was just a gag. Besides, if she really was his great-great-grand-daughter, as she said, why would she tell him to call her "Aunt Ninian"? Maybe he was only eleven, but he’d been around and he knew just what the score was. At first he’d thought maybe she was some new kind of social worker, but she acted a little too crazy for that.

He loved to bait her, as he had loved to bait his mother. It was safer