The Project Gutenberg eBook of The corporal's story

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 corporal's story

Author: Ernest Haycox

Release date: July 29, 2026 [eBook #79217]

Language: English

Original publication: San Francisco, CA: The Overland Publishing Company, 1921

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79217

Credits: Prepared by volunteers at BookCove (bookcove.net)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CORPORAL'S STORY ***

THE CORPORAL’S STORY

by Ernest Haycox

When Pancho Villa made the Columbus raid our regiment was shipped to San Diego and from there marched to a small town, half way to the border, where the regimental headquarters were established, and from where the various companies were sent out as patrols. “B” company was stationed just opposite the old fort at Tia Juana, near a little border village. Officially we were to repel any attempted invasion. But we old timers knew perfectly well that there would never be any such invasion. Governor Cantu was making considerable money by being friendly to the tourists that daily swarmed across the line to the race track and the casino. We were simply a part of the theory that the War College was working out.

Nevertheless the young bloods who had enlisted at the President’s call found it perfectly thrilling, so to speak. All the elements of romance were present, and their imaginations worked overtime. They gathered on the knoll of the hill and gazed ominously across the valley at the rickety old fort and spoke seriously of our being bombarded; in reality there was only one cannon in the fort and that too old to be safely fired. They spied a group of men digging on the crest of the opposite hill and conceived it to be the advance guard of the enemy throwing up earthworks; it turned out to be a few Mexican farmers building a barn. In the evenings the young lads on sentry duty peered intently into the shadow of the river bank, and every rustle of the bushes brought their guns down to the “ready,” waiting for the Mexican army to emerge from the thicket; more often than not the noise was caused by some cow grazing. Off duty they went down to the village and hung around, glancing admiringly at the few Spanish girls there, or walking with them along the straight road that led to the boundary, under the stars, in the soft southern shadows.

Romance! Romance! It’s a precious thing, but it never comes to an old time soldier. To many of the lads this was their first taste of life, and it fairly intoxicated them. They took everything for granted and let their imagination supply the missing details. They were continually moving about, investigating this or that, hunting rattlesnakes, exploring abandoned wells, working off their surplus energy. We old timers smoked our pipes and in the evenings pitched horseshoes while the light lasted, then “reminisced” a bit, and turned in. We had been doing this sort of a thing for a good many years.

Of all these young fellows Dale Hawkins was, I suppose, the most imaginative, and the cleanest cut. He was a good looking boy with his black eyes that were constantly sparkling with enthusiasm, his fresh smooth face, and his slim frame, and brown, curly hair. Most any girl would have liked him, and I saw many glance at him rather wistfully. He was so young and unspoiled. I remember the night he came into the squad tent all excited. He had to wake me up to tell me all about it.

“Corp.?” He always called me “corp.,” and I never had the heart to scold him for this minor infraction of discipline. “Corp., I’ve run onto the girl! Oh, Lord, but I wish you could see her! She’s a peach, Corp. There ain’t another girl like her in the whole darned U. S. The blackest eyes ever! And red lips, and—and—well, there just ain’t another girl like her, Corp.”

“I’ll give you just three minutes to crawl into your bunk, Hawkins,” I said, “or I’ll have you put on K. P. for a week.” I suppose I sounded harsh to the boy, for he crawled off without saying another word. But eleven o’clock is no time to wake a man up. And my leg was bothering me again—rheumatism I got in Cuba, standing all night, hip-deep in water.

I made up to him the next day and got the particulars. I had been thinking about the matter—sort of liked the lad and felt it my duty to look after him. So I pumped him a bit.

“She works down at the store, Corp. I sorta hung around and got acquainted. She’s a peach, Corp. They don’t make ’em any finer.” That’s about all I could get from him that was coherent.

I made it my business to amble down to the store and take a look for myself. She was easy to look at, no mistake. Regulation Spanish—glossy black hair, dazzling smile, big luring eyes, crimson lips—I found myself thinking about another little girl down Juarez way; years ago that was. Then I looked again and something about her struck me funny. She saw me and came down to where I stood.

“What will you have, Senor Corporal?”

“Give me a sack of Union Leader,” I said, looking at her hand.

She reached back, got the tobacco and threw it on the counter, smiling at me—the sort of smile that gets men going.

“Senor Corporal has seen much service?”

Flattery, thought I, but agreeable. “How do you figure that out, young lady?”

“Oh, I can see it on the Corporal’s face. He looks wise. He has seen things, and he knows things.”

I thought on this a while. “Well, maybe,” I reflected. “Maybe, Senorita. But there is one thing I don’t know much about.”

“What is that, Corporal?” she asked, leaning over the counter and giving me another one of those heart shockers.

“Women,” said I.

She pouted. I’ll admit it certainly made her look attractive. “But they are so easy to understand, Senor. Perhaps you have never really tried?”

An opening left for me, I said to myself. “I’ve known quite a few of them in my time, Senorita.”

“Good women?”

“Both kinds,” I said, looking her squarely in the face.

She made a gesture—everything the woman did added to her charm.

“Quite a few of the boys seem to have a lot to say about you,” I remarked, filling my briar and lighting it.

She made another of those gestures. “Silly boys, Corporal, and all so young. They don’t know their minds. Now a man like the Corporal would know what he was doing—” I can’t describe the look she gave me. If I had been ten years younger—but I have grown past that stage. I strolled to the door.

“Yes, you’re right, Senorita. I’d know what I was doing.”

She gave me a throaty laugh. “I shall see you again, Corporal?”

“You will,” I answered.

She troubled me. I couldn’t prove that she was bad; but I’ve seen a good many of those kind of women, women of that race. They are of a different morality, and I didn’t want Dale to be mixed up in anything, if I could help it. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have cared. A man has to learn a lot of things in this world before he gets through it and the sooner he gets his knowledge the better off he is. But somehow Dale’s very freshness and air of buoyant youth made me want to protect him. Some people do affect us that way. But do you suppose he would listen to me? He came near striking me with the butt of his gun.

“Dale, my son,” I began, very troubled, “I’m an old man. I’ve seen all kinds of these women. They ain’t like our women. And you can’t ever tell what they’ll do. Angels grow around Tia Juana. She’s dangerous, lad. Take my advice and stay away. I wouldn’t want you to go back home all smutted up.”

He was so angry that he was crying. “Just because you’re my corporal isn’t any sign that you can insult her. She’s as good as any other woman on earth. How do you know she’s bad? You’re just evil-minded. She’s absolutely pure, I tell you. Don’t dare say anything against her. I’m going to marry her, if she’ll have me.” And he flung himself out of the tent.

“That far, is it?” I said to myself. But I think it was only the statement of a loyal clean boy, who, in order to demonstrate his faith in her, anxious to prove her goodness, said the most convincing thing he could. Such lads are that way.

Well, I saw that I couldn’t do much except keep an eye open and learn all I could of the woman. Carmencita was her name—Carmencita something-or-other. I questioned the natives but they were a clannish and taciturn lot and I didn’t get anything from them. There was one thing, however, which I didn’t give much attention to at the time, and that was the appearance of a mulatto in the village about every other evening. Evidently he came from the settlement near the race track, a short ways below us. He would come trudging up the road in the dusk, disappear, and later come trudging back.

So it drifted along. I would lay awake nights waiting for Dale to come in. He never got in before taps, yet I hadn’t the heart to scold him as he came stumbling through the door of the tent, stood with face turned to the sky for a minute or so, then go toward his bunk with a deep sigh.

One thing about the lad, he never talked to other men, except to me, about her. She was a sort of shrine to him, I think; something to be very reverently and deeply loved, and not to be profaned by being discussed in men’s mouths. I guess he rather shrank from hearing her name bandied about, and associated with the inevitable crude remarks that soldiers are apt to make. And incidentally I ran across a diary he was keeping, one day. What that boy had poured out on paper! He’d simply turned to fire and wrote—with all the feeling of young, first love.

Then we got our orders to move back to headquarters at Imperial Beach—being relieved by another company. Of course, several of the boys had gone pretty sweet on the few girls about the village, and they got up a dance as a sort of farewell. I strolled over to watch the proceedings. And I got an eyeful. Any one but a lovesick lad could have seen through the girl by her actions. She flirted with every man in the place, and treated Dale miserably, then she would apparently relent and the two would disappear in the shadows of the porch for a while, and when they came back Dale would be lit up like a house afire.

She saw me and motioned for me to come over. I can’t dance, so we slid out on the porch.

“Senorita,” I said, “what are you going to do with Dale Hawkins?”

She looked at me with well-feigned surprise. “Do, Corporal? I haven’t anything to do with him.”

“Stuff!” I exclaimed. “There’s a lot of men about the place, Senorita, that’ll give you amusement. Dale’s only an inexperienced boy. Do me a favor and send him on his way. He’s too young to be mixed up in anything serious.”

She didn’t take that very easy. “And who am I, Senor,” she said with an angry glitter in her eyes; “Who am I to spoil your young friend?”

“Come, come, you know what I mean. You are causing him a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

“I have nothing to do about it. He comes and goes at his own will.”

“Stuff! He comes and goes when you jerk the strings. I have a little sense, Senorita.”

She flared up again and started for the door. But I wasn’t finished yet, so I stepped in front of her. Man! The look she gave me! Fire and daggers! That’s the Spanish for you.

“Come, Senorita; you haven’t answered my question yet. What are you going to do with him? There’s plenty of men around here that you can play with—real men—without having to pick on a young boy.”

“Bah!” she flares back at me. “Men! You mean animals. They all are animals that watch me with the same look in their faces; they all have the same question to ask. Don’t you suppose I have a little sense too? Dale—” she pronounced the name with a funny note in her voice—“is the only man in the company who doesn’t insult me.”

I figured it was time to speak plainly. “Come off your high horse, Senorita! I’ve got eyes, and you’re no angel. I guess maybe there’s a reason for the boys giving you the wicked once over.” Then I tried the flattery argument. “You’re too good looking to be wasting time on Hawkins. Pick some of the boys that know the ropes.”

Then she did speak! Called me all the names in the Spanish calendar of devils. “Don’t you think, Senor,” she said, fairly spitting it at me, “that I like men who look at me with clean eyes—who give me clean love—and use clean words? Don’t you think I ever get tired of those men—those beasts that ‘know the ropes’?” She stopped to get her breath, her eyes blazing with fire. Lord, but she looked beautiful! I remember feeling a pity for her, at the time—pity that such a thing of beauty, so full of life, should throw all that beauty and life away to the chance bidder, in a dingy village. Maybe it wasn’t so much pity as a sense of waste that struck me.

“——You don’t know women, Senor, and you never will. Bad women are bad—to you—all the time. Let me by.”

“Hold on,” I said, taking her by the wrist. “I ain’t said anything to Dale yet—not much—but if you don’t let go of him I’ll tell him the whole works.”

She flung her head in a kind of scorn. “He wouldn’t believe you! He wouldn’t believe you! He thinks clean!”

“More’s the pity,” I returned, “that he should be brought to think otherwise—and that’s what you’ll do.”

“That’s what you think—bad women are bad—all the time. Let me go!” And she rushed into the building.

Well, sir, that woman gave me a bad half hour with her heroics. I couldn’t figure out how much of it she meant, and I wondered as I slid into my bunk, if the lad’s cleanness had struck home. But tush! The woman was only a jade; it couldn’t have been so.

On the march back to headquarters Dale was moody and silent, and once established in our new quarters he moped around and took long hikes by himself. Then one night I missed him and woke up about three o’clock the next morning, just in time to hear him turning in. Of course, I rode him hard and demanded an explanation. And where do you suppose he had been? He had walked back to our old outpost—ten miles—to see that woman. Ten miles down and ten back, in the course of the night! Well, I should have raised hob with him, and had him confined to quarters for leaving camp without a pass. But I let him off with a few harsh words and some talk about the regiment getting a short moving notice and leaving him behind. But it didn’t do any good. A couple of nights later he repeated the trick. And it got to be a regular every other night performance. I threatened and scolded and argued; but it didn’t do any good, and I didn’t see how I could mend matters any by confining him to camp.

I had an old bunky in the outfit that had relieved us and I dropped him a line and asked him to just keep an eye on the couple for me. It was partly through him, and partly through what Dale told me himself that I was able to piece together what happened afterwards.

I can picture the lad striding down the lonely road, hurrying to see the girl, and I can see him come stumbling home, refusing rides from passing automobiles, desiring to be alone to nurse the pangs of sorrow and happiness, jealousy and remorse—all the hodge-podge of feelings and tangled emotions that a lad of eighteen is possessed of—with all the intensity of youthful passion.

Some nights he found other men on the porch—men from the company that had relieved us—and he would sulk in the shadows for a time, then stumble home. In the mornings I found him alternately happy and dejected, silent and voluble. He hinted of marriage in mysterious tones, and the very next day sat on the edge of his bunk and eyed the guns in the rack with a look of despair.

Then one evening as he emerged unexpectedly from the shadows, walking toward the house, he saw Carmencita standing, talking with another man. He heard the man mention something about “the same place the next time,” as he handed her a paper bill; he saw him seize her roughly and kiss her; then he heard the girl laugh lightly and push him away, and when the man turned Dale saw that it was the mulatto, the one I had observed around the village so frequently.

I was frightened at the boy’s behavior after that, he was so white and so still. He drilled in a sort of daze and twice I had to send him to the rookie squad in punishment. And he kept strictly to himself and disappeared for long stretches of time, when off duty.

He stepped up to me one afternoon when I was washing a pair of socks in front of the tent.

“Excuse me, Corporal,” says the lad, with a hard-bitten look on his face. “I apologize for getting mad at you, that time.”

“All right, Dale,” I said, trying to be funny. It embarrassed me, somehow. “But don’t try to lick your old non-com again.”

There was a hole in the sock I was washing and I remembered thinking, at the time, that socks and people were considerably alike; some wore like iron, while others went to pieces on the first march. You never can tell what is shoddy or pure by just looking.

The Government got tired of playing tag with Villa and the regiment went back to its station, and Dale was discharged soon after, and returned to school. I happened to be in the orderly room when the skipper gave him his discharge.

“You are a very lucky lad, Hawkins,” said the old man. “You’ve had a first-class vacation on government pay, and you have seen things that will turn your chums green with envy. Now if you run across a likely chap that wants to enlist, steer him to company ‘B’.”

But I think it left a scar. Consider the case. There he was, on the flood-tide of romance—a soldier in southern lands, under a southern moon—all his imagination stirred by romantic fancies—then a southern love, the very height of romance—then the sudden, drab, sordid end of it all. I think that if it had been a white man instead of the mulatto that the boy, in the cleanness of his being and in the extravagant chivalry of his age, would have excused her, and continued to worship. Such lads are capable of that.

Impetuous youth! They bruise themselves sorely in the eager search for romance, instead of growing out of their illusions and into experience gently. But long, long ago the Kingdom of Romance closed to me. So I am no judge.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

This story appeared in Overland Magazine, June, 1921. It is believed to be in the public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ in other countries.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CORPORAL'S STORY ***

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 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. 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.

Table of Contents

THE CORPORAL’S STORY

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE