The Project Gutenberg eBook of Somebody outside 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: Somebody outside Author: Helen R. Hull Illustrator: Courtney Allen Release date: November 2, 2026 [eBook #79905] Language: English Original publication: Springfield: P. F. Collier & Son Company, 1927 Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79905 Credits: Jens Sadowski. This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library. *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOMEBODY OUTSIDE *** [Illustration: They fed him, shooed him out of the way, thrust into his hands the paper the postman had left.] [Illustration: “Awful shape, but she’d been sick so long—a man’s slack ways!” he heard Flora say.] Somebody Outside He thought it was gone forever, the sound of that well-remembered voice, but it came to comfort him—out of the ether or out of the happy past Helen R. Hull Illustrations: Courtney Allen Collier’s, vol. 80, Aug. 20, 1927, pp. 20-21, 41. Thomas had finished his evening chores. That is, he had locked the door of the barn upon his car and had carried to the kitchen a handful of chips scraped up in the dark from the ground near the chopping block. He rubbed his hands along his baggy trousers, and listened a moment, his stocky figure crouched near the stove. He could hear Jennie’s rocker, little short creaks. On his round, sandy face lay a curious expression of bewilderment, like a garment meant for another man, so little did it fit into the wrinkles at the corners of his blue eyes, the cheerful furrows in his cheeks. “Thomas!” The word was a thin gasp. “Coming!” he sang out, and clattered into the living-room. “How you feeling now, Jennie?” “That pain is worse. Round my heart. You better get my drops.” She did not turn. Her rocker creaked, and her thin hands pressed against her knees, sharp under the gray shawl. Thomas hurried into the kitchen. He filled a glass, spilled out half the water. “Where is that darned bottle?” His searching hand sent a saucer splintering into the sink. “Look what I’ve done! Where—” “Look on the clock shelf.” “Here it is. I got it, Jennie.” He was back, the water slopping in the glass he carried. “You better pour it out. After the way I spilled it last time.” He held his breath as Jennie let the liquid drip from the mouth of the tiny bottle. Six drops. Then he sighed loudly. “Now you’ll feel better right off.” “Thomas, I should think those batteries ’d be charged. I can’t stand that whumping noise any longer. And the wind too.” “Oh, pshaw, I forgot them. Yes, they’re all right. I’ll bring ’em right up, and we’ll have a concert. Can’t turn off the wind, but I’ll give you a concert. That’ll help, Jennie.” He stumbled down the steep cellar stairs. Too bad he had forgotten about them. Jennie hated that noise. His fault too, leaving the switch on, so the batteries had run down. He was always forgetting something. No wonder Jennie lost patience with him. There, he’d left that cellar door open, for the March wind to rush into the house. His stubby fingers fumbled with the attachment, and the sound of the small dynamo ceased. Jennie turned her face toward him as he reëntered the living-room. “It’s much easier now,” she said, and smiled at him. “I told you!” Thomas spoke in loud relief. When Jennie felt better and smiled, he could slip out from that baffling oppression, could almost forget she was sick. He bustled around the table and got stiffly to his knees beside the stand at the window, connecting the wires for the battery. “You just wait a minute and I’ll have some music for you,” he said. There was something immensely diverting about this box. The bulbs glowed out, his fingers moved the dials slowly. He wasn’t very good at tuning in. Henry, his son, was clever about it. Henry could pick up any station he liked. Now, which way should he move that dial? Whirring, a faint disturbance against his eardrums. Whoop, there it came! A voice. He pulled off the ear phones and plugged in for the loud speaker. “Some style, Jennie, us sitting here and—” “Listen, Thomas!” Jennie leaned forward. “United States Navy Band, playing orchestral number, ‘Those Hot Ole Doggity Blues.’” “Oh, land, I’ve heard that enough.” Thomas lifted his hand to twirl the dial, but Jennie cried out: “Let it be, Thomas. Last night you didn’t get anything clear when you shut off that station. You let it be. They’ll have something else.” The notes blared into the little sitting-room; full orchestra, then a man’s voice, singing, “Those hot—ole—doggity blues!” Jennie tapped her foot softly. Suddenly, as if a door had closed, the sound stopped. Before Thomas touched the machine, Jennie had cried out, “Wait!” Remote, infinitely faint, there came the tone of a violin, gay, light, like a fountain in sunshine. “I’ll get it clearer.” Thomas attacked his dials, turned them, and there was the navy band, crashing out the final chords. “If you wouldn’t touch it!” Tears rolled down Jennie’s cheeks. “It’s that same station, somewhere you don’t know, and I like it.” “I wanted to get it closer for you.” Thomas pulled his ear phones into place again. He peered up at Jennie. Her lips moved, but he couldn’t hear her with the headpiece over his ears. Poor girl! She didn’t mean to sound so worked up. There! * * * * * They listened in silence. A city station and a lecture on Arizona. Thomas sat back, his legs in their wrinkled, smeared trousers crossed, with a fine air of achievement. Something grand, this listening to folks right in your own house. “Just a moment, please. In a moment we will announce the next offering on our program. Just a moment, please.” “I wish,” said Jennie, “that I knew where that violin was. It isn’t any of these stations near here.” “Texas, mebbe. Or Denver.” Thomas nodded proudly. “When we get that other wire up, and Henry said he’d help Sunday, mebbe we can pick up London.” “Or Mars.” Jennie was rocking again, but slowly, without the terrible short rhythm of pain. “Maybe Mars. I can’t see—” She lifted one tremulous hand, held it open, closed it, the thin fingers doubling into the palm. “Here in my hand are some of those sounds. You can’t see them. Nor hear them. Just the same as on top of the house. If you knew how to tune it, I think you might hear lots of things. They want to get in. That’s why they interfere. Wanting to be heard. I wish I could live long enough to get more of those things in the air. Not concerts. Or lectures. Even if Arizona is nice to hear about, I—” Thomas stared at her, his bushy eyebrows pulled together. Jennie had a way, sometimes, of talking queer. “You can hear enough—” He broke off, his frown disappearing in a grin, his blue eyes moving quickly to the bright hollow of the loud speaker. “Just listen here. More music.” “Our next offering—” began a deliberate voice. Finally they heard the weather report. Fair, with northerly gales, subsiding toward evening. And the time. Thomas pulled out his watch. A little slow. Then he shut off the current: “Show’s all over. Time for bed.” He stood beside Jennie, offering his shoulder for her hand, steadying himself as she slowly got to her feet. “Maybe if we tried it at midnight, say, we could catch some of those other sounds.” “We’d catch China,” cried Thomas—“China, where they stay up when we’re in bed. You wait till I get that other wire rigged Sunday.” “Sometimes”—they were moving slowly toward the stairs, Jennie’s feet dragging over the old rugs—“sometimes I’m real sure those interfering voices are—somebody outside, trying to get in.” * * * * * In the morning Jennie couldn’t get up. Her hands were numb, and when she lifted her eyelids there was a film across her eyeballs. Thomas scrambled into his clothes, he telephoned the doctor and his son. He ran out, his suspenders flapping, to chop more kindling. The handful of chips wouldn’t blaze up to heat the water. But Jennie’s eyelids never lifted again; her face kept its strangeness. Through the days that followed Thomas blundered like a clumsy, wretched sleepwalker. His son Henry and his wife, a plump, black-eyed woman with brisk, competent ways, took charge of things. They fed him, shooed him out of the way, thrust into his hands the morning paper which the postman had left. He crept out to the barn, away from the women who helped Henry’s wife clean the house. He heard Flora say, “Awful shape, but she’d been sick so long, and they wouldn’t have anyone in. A man’s slack ways!” * * * * * He sat on his chopping block in the old shed. The wind, shifting to southerly, flapped the bedding and rugs strung along the clotheslines. It caught a sheet of the newspaper spread on his knees and carried it up against the branches of an apple tree. Thomas, looking up, thought that the buds at the tips of the branches were swelling. The paper struggled and twisted. It was caught. He remembered that once, years ago, his kite had lodged in that very crotch. He was climbing the tree to rescue it, but a fresh gust had swept it away down the valley just as his hand reached toward it. His hands covered his face, his stubby fingers digging into his hair. Years— “Now, Father, you’re coming down to live with us. Room for your car in my garage. Don’t feel so bad. Poor Mother, she’s happier, out of her suffering.” “I’m all right.” Thomas ground his fist against his knee. Happier? Jennie? Where _was_ she? In the days that followed Thomas became aware for the first time in his life of the grinding pressure of time—slow, heavy hours from breakfast to bedtime. When he slept he would be awakened by Jennie’s voice, “Thomas!” only to be assaulted in every sense by the strangeness of the room; the flat, smooth mattress; the empty space beside him where his hand crept, trembling; the pencil of light on the ceiling; street noises outside the window. He suggested that he might go back to the old house. Flora disposed of that. “How would it look, us letting you stay there alone?” And Henry said, “You’ll get used to being here, Father, and we want you. You’d rather stay with your folks, now, wouldn’t you?” His folks! Jennie was his folks. And she was gone. One evening Henry came in, triumphant. He had a fine offer for the old place. A real estate agent wanted it for a city man. He’d pay any price for the location. The house wasn’t worth much. “I won’t sell!” Thomas thumped his fist down on the table. “Then you’d have a comfortable income. You’ve always been land poor. You should have sold the place years ago and moved to town. You’ve never farmed, really.” Thomas looked at the two: Flora’s dark eyes, determined and bright; Henry’s kindly face, shadowed a little by uncertainty. How could he tell them—vaguely he fumbled among his feelings—that the old house and hillside held all that was Thomas Parsons: the drifting, easy pattern of his days; his life with Jennie; that away from there he was nothing but a shambling old man, furtively watching the hands of a clock circle heavily around the hours. “Tomorrow I’ll drive up and look things over,” he said slowly. As he backed out of the garage the next morning Flora stood on the kitchen steps, her checked apron thrown over head. “Father!” she shrilled. “Bring your radio set down. It would be nice evenings.” His car slewed in the spring mud, jumped perilously out of the yard. “Damned if I will,” he muttered. “Bring Jennie’s radio—” His clumsy fingers wobbled the key all over the lock before they could insert it. The house puffed out at him with a clammy, musty sigh as he opened the door. He’d build up a fire to drive out that chill. It wasn’t good for the house. He tiptoed through the dining-room, to the living-room door. Flora had left everything shipshape—an empty orderly room. If he could just hear Jennie’s voice! There was the old phonograph in the corner, under the dingy chenille cover. Why, somewhere in that pile of records was that old one, Jennie’s voice. He hurried around the center table and squatted on the floor, fumbling over the disks. They hadn’t touched the phonograph all winter. But that record—smaller than the regular ones. He held it up, his hands shaking. Two years ago, the last time he and Jennie had gone to the city, he had dragged Jennie into the shop. “Hear your own voice,” the sign read. He thought it was a silly idea. He fitted the disk in place and ground at the handle. Squealing, humming, metallic and faint: _This is Jennie Parsons speaking. It is January, nineteen twenty-two, and I am in town with my husband._ Jennie, mincing her words, saying what the clerk told her. Thomas lifted the small black disk and stared at it. Her voice could stay on that piece of lifeless stuff; in those holes, waving in his unsteady grasp. He made a quick start toward the window, stumbled against the piles of records he had scattered over the floor, flung out his hands for support. “Oh, gosh a’mighty!” Between his fingers was one small bit of the disk. The rest clinked from the edge of the marble-topped table down on the floor. * * * * * Clumsily, his breath wheezing between his teeth, he picked up the bits and tried to fit them into place. “You doddering fool!” he cried out. That had been the only thing left of Jennie, that tracery of pin pricks. He moved across to the stand which held the black receiving apparatus of the radio. With his coat sleeve he wiped away the film of dust. That picked up things you couldn’t see nor hear. What was it Jennie was always saying? That those interfering voices might be people outside trying to get in? If he could just tune in properly— He laughed. Huh, he was getting foolish notions. But all around him came the pressure of a gentle insistence. Why, that was the way Jennie always made him feel when she wanted him to do something—every time he tried to duck out of it he would find her right in front of him, just waiting, until he finally gave up and did it, whatever it was she wanted. If he should rig up that new wire—it was ready, there in the barn. He ran his fingers wildly through his hair. At least no one would know how foolish he was. It would do no harm. Jennie had believed— In the corner of the barn stood the supports Henry had rigged; on the floor lay the shining coil of wire. Thomas moved with a dogged haste unlike his usual leisurely attacks. He set the long ladder against the house, slid the roof ladder up until the prongs caught over the ridge. The copper wire a circle of light about his shoulders, one of the supports under his arm, he clambered up to the ridge of the house. The morning haze had thickened into a fine spring rain, cool on his face, faintly silver against the shingles and the black trunks of the trees. They had planned, Henry and he, to run this new wire from the house to the peak of the barn. He filled his mouth with nails, dragged the hammer out of his hip pocket, wriggled astride the ridge to reach the gable end of the roof. Thomas drove in one nail. The hammer slipped out of his hand, bumped down the roof, and caught on a projecting shingle nail. Thomas stretched for it, his hand moving cautiously down the wet roof, farther.... Then, amazingly, he seemed to be again in the living-room, sitting before the instrument, turning the dials, his fingers curiously deft. The room was cool and dusky, as if the rain hung soft curtains within the walls. His eyes blurred: was it the living-room or a great space, limitless, with the spring rain falling, falling? Jennie was waiting. He was sure that in a moment he would have tuned—for Jennie. He wondered at his expertness; he was always so clumsy. A distant humming, and then—it was Jennie’s voice, clear and firm, without the plaintive undertone of those last months of illness. Jennie’s young voice, laughing at him: “Old curly-headed Butter Fingers!” “Where are you, Jennie?” How could he think that she would hear him? And yet she was answering. “I guess you need me around, don’t you?” That was what she had always said when she came back from a visit.... “I can’t find you, Jennie. I’m not much use alone.” “Next time I go I guess I’ll have to take you with me.” That gay, tender laugh! Why, she had just come back from her first visit home. He could see the gray light catch on the passementerie that edged her blue dress. As he tried to stumble toward her the rain fell in a close-pressing curtain over her, over him. * * * * * He couldn’t see clearly. With an effort he opened his eyelids wide and looked. Why, his thumb and finger moved slowly round and round the blunt head of his hammer. Over him swung a long, trailing branch of the clinging rose bush, and into his face dropped a bit of ragged cloth, torn loose from the trellis. That rose bush climbed against the side of the house. He had broken it away. Amazement shone in his blue eyes. He had fallen, then, slipped down from the roof. He could see the coil of wire spinning brightly above him, caught on the eaves trough; suddenly, as he watched, uncoiling in a great spiral. And Jennie—a shiver, like that of the wire as it dropped in its long spiral, moved over his limp body. Then the rain fell on his fast-closed eyelids. Transcriber’s Notes Transcribed from Collier’s, vol. 80, Aug. 20, 1927, pp. 20-21, 41. New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain. The original spelling and punctuation were mostly preserved. *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOMEBODY OUTSIDE *** 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.