The Project Gutenberg eBook of The blonde from Barsoom
    
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.

Title: The blonde from Barsoom

Author: Robert F. Young

Illustrator: Leo Summers

Release date: November 17, 2023 [eBook #72149]

Language: English

Original publication: New York, NY: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1962

Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLONDE FROM BARSOOM ***





                        the Blonde from Barsoom

                          By ROBERT F. YOUNG

                        Illustrated by SUMMERS

            _The Tarks were attacking, the bosomy princess
            was clinging to him in terror, and Harold Smith
             realized he was at the end of his plot-line.
              What a dilemma! And what an opportunity!!_

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
                      Amazing Stories July 1962.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


For the most part, all Harold Worthington Smith's Martian stories
ever netted him were standard rejection slips, but every now and then
one or another of the editors to whom he submitted them would pen him
a brief note to the effect that his writing indicated an unusually
vivid imagination. However, they invariably added, his dialogue was
stilted, his heroines were dimensionally impossible, and his stories
were wish-fulfillment reveries in a Burroughs vein--unredeemed,
unfortunately, by Burroughs' high-flown puritanical idealism.

Harold agreed with them wholeheartedly on point no. 1. Thanks to
his ability to achieve total identification with his protagonists,
he did have an unusually vivid imagination. Take this very minute,
for instance: His main character--Thon Carther the Earthman--was
standing on the ocher moss of the Martian dead-sea bottom beside the
big-breasted blond princess whom he had rescued from Tarkia some two
thousand words ago, fearlessly awaiting the oncoming horde of Tarks.
But it wasn't really Thon Carther who was standing there, it was Harold
Worthington Smith--a tall, tanned and handsome Harold Worthington
Smith, to be sure, but Harold Worthington Smith just the same.

On points no. 2 and 3, however--be it said forthwith--he did not agree.
He had, moreover, written to the editors in question and said so. A
Burroughs influence, he had said, was an essential ingredient in the
makeup of any science-fiction writer, and he was reasonably certain
that he didn't exhibit one any more than half a dozen other scribes he
could name. And as for his heroines being dimensionally impossible,
such an attitude merely betrayed an inherent geocentricism: simply
because 46-21-46 females didn't exist on Earth was no reason to take it
for granted that they didn't exist on Mars. (He discreetly avoided any
reference to point no. 4: there were times when he wondered about his
dialogue himself.)

       *       *       *       *       *

It was a warm afternoon in August. His wife had gone to visit her
sister, giving him temporary respite from her nagging, and there was no
sound in the apartment except the steady hum of the electric fan and
the sporadic clacking of the ancient typewriter. Altogether it was one
of those rare moments when it was possible for his imagination to take
over completely. It was, in fact, though he was not yet aware of it,
the climactic moment in his career as a creative writer.

The Tark horde was rapidly closing in, and Thon Carther/Harold
Worthington Smith decided it was high time he drew his sword.
_Clackety-clack-clack._ The blond princess, who hailed from the triple
cities of Hydrogen and whose name was Thejah Doris, moved closer to
him, and her golden shoulder brushed his sinewy arm. A tingling phalanx
of thrills charged up and down his backbone. _Clack-clackety-clack.
Clack!_

"Fear not, my princess," he said. "This noble sword has tasted the
blood of many a Tark and is keen for the taste of the blood of many
more!"

"My chieftain," she breathed, moving even closer.

He hefted the big sword, and the rays of the declining sun danced
brightly on its burnished surface. For all its size, it was as light as
a yardstick in his big brown masculine hand. The foremost Tark rider
was very close now. Startlingly close, Thon-Smith realized with a
start--and startlingly realistic. The malevolent green features stood
out with dismaying clarity, and the tusks of the elongated eyeteeth
gleamed with terrifying vividness.

Wildly Thon-Smith felt for his typewriter. Next he felt for his desk.
Finally he looked around him for the familiar walls of the apartment.
They, too, had disappeared. A shudder shot through his tall, tanned
body. Something awful had happened.

Something even more awful was going to happen if he didn't do
something and do it soon, for the Tarks, looming building-tall astride
their six-legged mounts, were almost upon them. He remembered the plot
just in time, and seizing Thejah Doris around her slender waist, he
gave a mighty leap that carried them--thanks to the tenuous Martian
gravity--over the entire green horde to a resilient section of the
dead-sea bottom a hundred feet behind the rearmost rider. It was, he
reflected, somewhat of a _deus ex machina_ stratagem now that he came
to think of it; but now was no time to be hyper-critical.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Tark horde had become a milling mass of chlorophyllic bodies,
white tusks and squealing mounts. The warriors in the front ranks had
tele-reined their toats before those in the middle ranks had wised
up to what had happened, and those in the rear ranks still hadn't
wised up. Chaos reigned. Thon-Smith was not slow to take advantage
of the situation which he had so fortuitously provided. He was still
upset over his missing typewriter, his missing desk, and his missing
apartment, not to mention his missing civilization, but there would be
time for reconnaissance later. Right now there was the little matter of
Escape to be taken care of.

Briefly he referred to his mental synopsis of the plot. Oh, yes, there
was an atmosphere boat hidden in the mound of desiccated algae before
which his leap had conveniently terminated. (Another _deus ex machina_
stratagem, he thought with annoyance; but again he reminded himself
that now was no time to be quibbling over the literary aspects of the
situation.)

"Come, my princess," he said, taking Thejah Doris' arm.

"Lead on, my chieftain!"

The atmosphere boat was there, just as he had visualized it. After
uncovering it, they boarded its narrow deck, and soon they were
rising into the darkening sky, once again thwarting the Tarks, who
had reorganized their ranks and were charging with redoubled ferocity
toward the mound.

Thejah Doris lay down beside him on the comfortable pilot's couch. "At
last we are alone!" she breathed in her Martian-Hungarian accent.

Reconnaissance could wait, Thon-Smith decided quickly. There were worse
fates after all than writing oneself so completely into one's stories
that one could not extricate oneself. "My princess," he said, directing
the prow of the atmosphere boat toward the littoral of an ancient
continent and slipping his arm beneath her bare shoulders.

Immediately there came a frenzied scratching from the small forward
cabin, and before he could even gain his feet a great eight-legged
creature with multi-fanged, slavering jaws leaped upon him and began
caressing his face with its long tongue. His faithful Droola! He
winced. He'd forgotten all about his faithful watchdog. But a plot was
a plot, and like any other scheme of things you had to go along with
it. "Droola," he said. "Good old faithful Droola!"

       *       *       *       *       *

Presently the nearer moon appeared and began its hurtling journey
across the night sky. Stars winked into cold clean brightness. The
atmosphere boat reached the mainland, floated over shadow-filled
ravines and moon-kissed hilltops. The argent ribbon of a canal showed
in the distance.

Thon-Smith's heartbeat quickened as he thought of the next sequence. He
could hardly wait till the canal was beneath them, till the time came
to guide the boat down to the argent sward that bordered the farther
bank. He stepped lightly down to the soft turf and lifted Thejah Doris
down beside him. He answered her questioning eyes: "A swim will refresh
us, my princess. It will sharpen our senses and re-double our chances
of eluding our persistent pursuers."

"But I cannot swim, my chieftain."

The externals did not call for a leer at this point; nevertheless, he
had a hard time averting one. "Fear not, my princess," he said. "I,
Thon Carther, will instruct you."

They walked together to the bank and stood there hand in hand. Behind
them, Droola leaped from the deck and went romping up and down the
esplanade. The nearer moon was high in the sky now, and the farther
moon was just beginning to show above the hills. "First," Thon-Smith
said, "we must remove our accouterments. They will weigh us down in the
water and make movement well nigh impossible."

"All of them, my chieftain?"

"Yes, my princess, all of them."

She raised her hand to the gossamer thread that held her Martian
equivalent of a halter in place. Abruptly the muffled thunder of padded
toat hooves sounded in the distance.

Her hand dropped like a stone. "The Tarks!" she cried. "Oh, my
chieftain, the mortal enemies of my people are close upon our heels!"

He choked back his disappointment. How could he have forgotten? He, the
author, the creator! "Quickly," he said, seizing her arm. "Into the
atmosphere boat. The canal will not stop them!"

       *       *       *       *       *

By the time they gained the deck the foremost rank of the Tark horde
had reached the opposite bank. The green warriors did not pause for so
much as a second, but goaded their mounts into the water. Once in the
canal, Tark and toat became as one, and the horde took on the aspect
of a school of gigantic green porpoises, leaping in and out of the
water with incredible swiftness, reaching the other bank in a matter
of minutes. But by then Thon-Smith and Thejah Doris were rising once
again into the night sky. The romping Droola discovered their departure
just in time, and with a mighty leap managed to gain the after deck and
scramble to safety.

As soon as the craft gained sufficient altitude Thon-Smith threw it
into fast-flight and aligned the prow with the canal bank. The cool
night air became a cold wind and the countryside blurred beneath them.
He maintained the speed till he was sure their pursuers could no
longer overtake them, then he cut down to slowflight and returned his
attention to Thejah Doris.

She was lying on her side, gazing at him admiringly. Again he slipped
his arm beneath her shoulders, but he had no sooner done so when
Droola, still shivering from the wind of fast-flight, bounded forward
and snuggled between them.

The interruption was essential to the story's word count, but just the
same it was frustrating. Even Thejah Doris looked put out, though she
didn't say anything. Instead, she turned and reclined upon her back,
hands clasped behind her head, and let the two moons vie with one
another to do justice to her charms. It was an interesting contest to
watch, and soon Thon-Smith became engrossed. He became so engrossed, in
fact, that he failed to see the tower till it was too late.

It was a tall tower--remarkably tall when you considered the altitude
of the atmosphere boat. He yanked the tiller savagely, but their
momentum was too great, and a moment later the bow crumpled against
stone. The deck tilted abruptly, and he barely managed to grab Thejah
Doris before she tumbled over the low rail, and it was all he could do
to maintain his balance till the rapidly sinking craft came opposite
the dark aperture of a window. He leaped lightly to the sill, his
Martian princess in his arms, and stepped into the musty gloom of a
lofty chamber.

       *       *       *       *       *

The faithful Droola was not so fortunate. It essayed the leap, but
missed the sill by a good two feet. (He'd been planning on getting rid
of Droola for a long time.) Dutifully he listened for the sound of the
faithful body striking the ground, but when, an appropriate time later,
the sound came, he could not summon the emotional response which the
plot called for. All he could manage was a sort of vague contrition
which was immediately negated by the realization that at last he and
Thejah Doris were really alone.

She had discovered tapers on the dusty shelves that lined one wall of
the chamber, and now she lit three of them and set them upon the rough
wooden table that stood in the middle of the stone floor. "There is
nothing to fear, my chieftain," she said. "This is one of the deserted
locktowers once maintained by the ancient Mii when Mars was young
and great barges plied her blue canals. Above us is the control room
itself, from which the mighty locks, now rusted and fallen to ruin,
were manipulated by the ancient Miian tenders. Now the towers stand
silent and forlorn, the havens of occasional wandering bards who find
the lofty rooms and empty echoing stairways conducive to their search
for the ever-elusive Muse."

He stared at her. It was, he had to admit, rather incongruous
phraseology to be issuing from the lips of a blonde who, for all her
royal blood, still looked more like a burlesque queen than she did a
princess. Well, no matter. "You look lovely by candlelight," he said.

"You are very gallant, my chieftain."

She lit another candle and went over and placed it in a wall niche
beside an ancient sleeping couch. She turned and faced him. "At last we
are alone."

He started toward her, arms outstretched. Simultaneously the thunder of
padded toat hooves sounded in the distance.

"The Tarks!" Thejah Doris cried, eluding him and running to the window.
"They've seen our light! Oh, my chieftain, the mortal enemies of my
people threaten us once again!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Thon-Smith said, throwing up his hands. "No
wonder my stories get bounced!"

       *       *       *       *       *

Resignedly he went over and joined her at the window. Sure enough, the
Tark horde was back in the running again. Wearily he explored his mind
for the next sequence. All he could find were the words, END OF PART
ONE. That was when he remembered that he'd been trying his hand at a
serial and had neglected to plot it beyond the first installment.

"Oh, my chieftain, what are we going to do?"

He did not answer. He was thinking--thinking furiously. If a writer
could write himself so completely into a story that he became
physically involved in it, was there any reason why he couldn't
extricate himself by writing a factual account of his real life?

It was worth a try. The alternative was to plot Installment Two, and
somehow he didn't feel quite up to it. Installment One had been rather
an enervating experience.

Abruptly another thought struck him: _Why a factual account?_

He remembered his dingy little apartment, his dilapidated typewriter,
his collection of rejection slips, his nagging, flat-chested
wife--Suddenly he looked at Thejah Doris standing beside him with
heaving breast, anxiously watching the relentless approach of the Tarks.

Why a factual account indeed!

He concentrated. When he had the plot firmly fixed in his mind he
sat down at the table to write. A momentary crises arose. There was
no paper, no pen, not even a pencil. Then he remembered what Thejah
Doris had said about the wandering bards, and he began searching for a
drawer. Even Martian poets needed something to write on. Presently he
found one and pulled it out. Sure enough, it contained several sheets
of parchment-like paper, a long quill pen and a small vial of black
fluid.

The thunder of padded toat hooves was growing louder by the minute.
"Oh, my chieftain, what are we going to do!" Thejah Doris cried again.

"We're going to swap serials," Thon-Smith said, and began to write.

       *       *       *       *       *

It was a fine bright morning. Harold Worthington Smith awoke late and
lay for a while watching the robins flitting among the branches of
the box elder outside his bedroom window. Then he got up and slipped
leisurely into his lounging robe. Yawning, he stepped across the hall
to his study. Below him in the kitchen his wife was humming happily,
and he could smell coffee perking, wheatcakes frying and sausage
sizzling.

He entered his study and walked over to the desk. He sat down. There
were three long thin letters lying beside his solid gold typewriter
where his wife had placed them. He opened them nonchalantly. The
first one was from _The Edgar Rice Burroughs Reader_ and contained a
check for $750.00, the second was from _Dead-Sea Bottom Stories_ and
contained a check for $2500.00, and the third was from _Red Planet
Stories_ and contained a check for $5000.00.

The phone rang. He picked it up. "HWS speaking."

"Good morning, sir. This is Parker, of _Mammalian Blonde Stories_.
Regarding that last piece you were kind enough to let us have a look
at, would $10,000.00 be--"

"Sorry," Harold Worthington Smith said, "I never discuss business
matters before breakfast. Call me back later."

_Click._

"Harold," his wife called from the foot of the stairs, "there's an
editor outside."

"Another one?"

"Yes. Shall I let him in?"

"I suppose so. Tell him I'll try to give him a minute while I'm having
my coffee."

He stacked the checks neatly and placed them on the large pile of
checks to the right of the gold typewriter. He made a mental note to
try to make the bank today. Checks were a nuisance when you let too
many of them accumulate. He threw the three long thin envelopes into
the wastebasket marked "Long Thin Envelopes." It was full again, he
noticed. He could have sworn he'd just emptied it a day or two ago.

His wife came running up the stairs. "Harold, two more editors just
drove up! Shall I let them in, too?"

"You might as well," Harold Worthington Smith said. "If you don't,
they'll just hang around the door all day and make a nuisance of
themselves." He looked at her critically. She'd come through remarkably
well. If anything she was even better stacked than she'd been before.
"Tell them I'll be down presently, princess. And put some clothes on.
For now," he added.

After she had gone he looked the study over carefully. When he was sure
that no traces of his previous reality were present he descended slowly
and majestically to the hall where the three editors humbly awaited him.


                                THE END





*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLONDE FROM BARSOOM ***


    

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.


START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
    other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
    whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
    of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
    at www.gutenberg.org. If you
    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
  
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:

    • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
        the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
        Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
        Literary Archive Foundation.”
    
    • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
        works.
    
    • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
        receipt of the work.
    
    • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
        distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
    

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.