Allenby, in command of the "Mars I," was first to set foot outside the ship. He took his "one small step for man" -- and found himself staring at the rock in front of him. It was about five feet high. Ordinary granite -- no special shape -- and several inches below its summit, running straight through it in a northeasterly direction, was a neatly round four-inch hole.

He made a pun and grunted.

"Well, I'll be," said Janus, our photographer. "A hole."

"In a rock," added Gonzales, our botanist.

"Round," said Randolph, our biologist.

"An "artifact,"" finished Allenby softly.

Before we were done we'd found similar holes all over the surface of the planet.

The Anthology of Sci-Fi V27 is a collection of ten Sci-fi stories from some of the best writers of the past century. Included are: Zen By Jerome Bixby, Of Stegner's Folly By Richard S. Shaver, Hall of Mirrors By Fredric Brown, Two Timer By Fredric Brown, The Draw By Jerome Bixby, The Holes Around Mars By Jerome Bixby, Where There's Hope By Jerome Bixby, Keep Out By Fredric Brown, Happy Ending By Fredric Brown, Earthmen Bearing Gifts By Fredric Brown.

Armchair Fiction presents extra large paperback collections of the best in classic horror short stories. "Horror Gems, Vol. Six" features a fine collection of tales by some of the genre's best authors: H.P. Lovecraft, Rog Phillips, Jerome Bixby, William P. McGivern, E. Everett Evans, Gregory Luce, Jack Sharkey, Henry Hasse, James McConnell and others. All in all this is a GREAT addition to our Horror Gems series and deserves to be read, revered and reviled by each and every horror fiend-dead or alive

Allenby, in command of the "Mars I," was first to set foot outside the ship. He took his "one small step for man" -- and found himself staring at the rock in front of him. It was about five feet high. Ordinary granite -- no special shape -- and several inches below its summit, running straight through it in a northeasterly direction, was a neatly round four-inch hole.

He made a pun and grunted.

"Well, I'll be," said Janus, our photographer. "A hole."

"In a rock," added Gonzales, our botanist.

"Round," said Randolph, our biologist.

"An "artifact,"" finished Allenby softly.

Before we were done we'd found similar holes all over the surface of the planet.