The Project Gutenberg EBook of Noble Redman, by Jesse Franklin Bone

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Title: Noble Redman

Author: Jesse Franklin Bone

Illustrator: Grayam

Release Date: March 19, 2010 [EBook #31701]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Amazing Science Fiction Stories July
1960. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.

_It was a big joke on all concerned. When you look back, the
whole thing really began because his father had a sense of
humor. Oh, the name fit all right, but can you imagine
naming your son...._

NOBLE REDMAN

By J. F. BONE

ILLUSTRATED by GRAYAM

* * * * *

A pair of words I heartily detest are _noble_ and _redman_,
particularly when they occur together. Some of my egghead friends from
the Hub tell me that I shouldn't, since they're merely an ancient
colloquialism used to describe a race of aborigines on the American
land mass.

The American land mass? Where? Why--on Earth, of course--where would
ancestors come from? Yes--I know it's not nice to mention that word.
It's an obscenity. No one likes to be reminded that his ancestors came
from there. It's like calling a man a son of a sloat. But it's the
truth. Our ancestors came from Earth and nothing we can do is going to
change it. And despite the fact that we're the rulers of a good sized
segment of the galaxy, we're nothing but transplanted Earthmen.

I suppose I'm no better than most of the citizens you find along the
peripheral strips of Martian dome cities. But I might have been if it
hadn't been for Noble Redman. No--not _the_ noble redman--just Noble
Redman. It's a name, not a description, although as a description his
surname could apply, since he _was_ red. His skin was red, his hair
was red, h