The Singing Bell
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| Author | Isaac Asimov |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Series | Wendell Urth |
| Genre(s) | science fiction mystery short story |
| Released in | Fantasy and Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Fantasy House |
| Media Type | Magazine |
| Released | January 1955 |
| Followed by | The Talking Stone |
The Singing Bell is a science fiction mystery short story by Isaac Asimov that first appeared in the January 1955 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries. "The Singing Bell" was the first of Asimov's Wendell Urth stories.
The master criminal Louis Peyton spends each August totally isolated on his Colorado ranch behind a powerful force-field. One year Albert Cornwall goes with him to retrieve a cache of singing bells (lunar rocks which, when struck by the correct stroker, make an incredibly beautiful sound) which Cornwell had obtained by killing their discoverer. Louis Peyton kills Cornwall and hides the bells. The police contact Wendell Urth to help prove that Peyton had been on the moon, so they can psycho-probe him to get sufficient evidence for a conviction. However, since a person can only be psycho-probed once in a lifetime, the police only want to do so if they already know Peyton is guilty. Urth proves this by having Peyton throw his singing bell back to him, which crashes to the floor. Peyton had not re-adjusted to Earth's gravity, thus he had been off planet, even though he had said he had not. Peyton is taken way to be psycho-probed.
| Asimov's Mysteries |
| The Singing Bell | The Talking Stone | What's in a Name? | The Dying Night | Pâté de Foie Gras | The Dust of Death | A Loint of Paw | I'm in Marsport Without Hilda | Marooned Off Vesta | Anniversary | Obituary | Star Light | The Key | The Billiard Ball |
