Inventions -- Fiction; Older men -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
The beefy Irish cop was even more indignant, though. "Now, just look at
yourself. I've seen absent-minded old timers parading down the street
with no shoes on, or even no pants on. But just look at yourself; not a
_stitch_ on!"
Nathanial Evergood looked down at himself in sudden horrified
realization, and looked back up as quickly. "But ... but," he began,
"everybody else...." But then, of course, he had to stop.
Well, the upshot of it all was that the officer hauled him back into
his rooms to get some clothes on before carting him down to the station
house. As it was before they entered the apartment, Nathanial stood to
get ten days probation or a token fine for forgetting all his clothes,
Irish cops being ordinarily an understanding lot.
But, when confronted by the staggering array of unclad femininity, this
Irishman flushed a deep red, spewed an amazed Irish blasphemy, and then
roared like a lion.
And don't think the officer didn't check the evidence carefully--with
the proper degree of loathing, of course--before shoving Nathanial
unceremoniously down the street to call the paddy wagon. Of a
certainty, things went much worse for the evil, obscene Nathanial
Evergood than they might have, had not this righteously outraged
policeman done his duty as he saw it.
* * * * *
Matter of fact, they threw the book at the old boy. But not until a
thorough investigation was made, and not until several hundred outraged
members of every morals, anti-delinquency and anti-vice committee in
town had carefully checked and gasped over all the collected evidence.
Never in the history of the city had there been such a hue and a cry
aroused for the punishment of an offender.
So, Nathanial Evergood--evil and obscene as ever--got five years for
possession of pornography, indecent exposure and other charges. In the
words of the presiding jurist at the climax of the spectacular trial,
"Such a sentence is far too lenient a punishment for a crime of such
enormity."
And, to this very day, there rests in the files of the local
constabulary, the voluminous collection of Nathanial Evergood,
occupying fourteen huge, well-worn cabinets, and always on display
for the indignant and affronted eyes of any anti-sin committeeman who
wishes to examine it.
Also taken as evidence was Nathanial's wonderful prismatic lens and his
marvelous glasses. Anytime you're by the station house, drop into the
chief's office and, there in the open cabinet opposite his desk, you
can see the venal objects. Now though, the lenses are pretty scratched
and worn, but they're still the same two inventions of that ingenious,
but evil and obscene old man, Nathanial Evergood, No. 5-049,870.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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