The Project Gutenberg eBook of Murder mask
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: Murder mask
Author: Edgar Daniel Kramer
Illustrator: Margaret Brundage
Release date: July 30, 2025 [eBook #76592]
Language: English
Original publication: Indianapolis, IN: Popular Fiction Publishing Company, 1937
Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MURDER MASK ***
Murder Mask
By EDGAR DANIEL KRAMER
_A brief tale about the homicidal
effect of wearing a medieval mask._
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Weird Tales June 1937.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
With conflicting emotions in his faded eyes, the stooped and wrinkled
butler bowed Colletti into the sun-flooded drawing-room.
"I will tell the master and mistress you are here, sir," the old
servitor's cracked voice quavered, as he backed away. "I would as soon
meet the Devil!" he spat and crossed himself hastily as soon as he was
out of the visitor's sight. "With his hypocrite's smile and his cruel,
green eyes!" He shuddered. "Ugh!"
Colletti, tall, dark, slender, prematurely graying at the temples, set
his hat, gloves and stick on the nearest chair and with the lithe,
slinking movements of a velvet-footed jungle beast advanced to the
center table. His inscrutable gaze fastened on the gardenia in his
lapel, he drew a bit of silk from the inside pocket of his coat. For
a clock-tick or two he scrutinized it. Then, sucking in his breath
with a reptilian hiss, he let it slip from his tapering fingers to the
sun-splashed table top. It lay like a clot of blood on the polished
mahogany. From a vest pocket he thumbed a rectangle of pasteboard,
dog-eared and time-yellowed, which bore the badly faded, delicately
penned legend:
Who wears this mask
Is doomed to slay
Whom he loves best,
Ere break of day!
As Colletti stood, holding the worn card between his thumb and
forefinger, a hideous change crept over him. The ghost of a smile
playing about the corners of his thin-lipped mouth grew sardonic. His
whole bearing became as deadly, as sinister, as a rattler ready to
strike. Like a miasma lifting from a fen, he exuded an aura of evil
that polluted the atmosphere around him and took the warmth from the
sunlight.
His features grew wolfish and hardened into olive granite, while his
eyes blazed feverishly, as he thought of his dead grandfather's will,
that left all the eccentric importer's estate to his ward, Nita Tosca,
in trust for her children, if she married either of his nephews,
Antonio Colletti or Tomaso Romani, but divided the income equally among
the trio if the girl remained single or married somebody else. In such
a contingency, upon the demise of the last of the three, the principal
was to be distributed to stipulated charities.
Nita had rejected Colletti's passionate suit and married Romani.
Hiding his real feelings, Colletti had contrived to act as his
cousin's best man. After the wedding, feeling cheated, nursing his
wounded vanity, with hatred of the newly-weds festering in his veins,
he fled to Europe. That was six months ago. Now he was back in his
dead grandfather's house with a handful of silk, a frayed card, an
all-consuming hate, an inexorable determination to get Nita and her
husband out of the picture and----
"Tony!" A voice like the tinkling of silver bells roused Colletti from
his devilish introspection.
Thrusting the card away, a quick smile driving the satanic expression
from his face, he jerked around like an automaton, as a slip of a
woman, blue-eyed, golden-haired, ivory-skinned, came fluttering toward
him. Behind her, in the doorway, her husband paused. At first glance
and to the superficial observer, he was strikingly like Colletti.
Closer study of the cousins, however, brought out subtle differences.
Whereas Colletti was soft, hinting of unclean, forbidden things, with
the unhealthy pallor of a plant too long away from the sun, Romani was
as hard as a shining rapier, as clean as the salt tang of the sea, as
frank as the day itself.
"Nita!" Colletti's suave voice was a caress, as he seized the young
woman's impulsively outstretched hands. "It _is_ good to see you again.
You are lovelier than ever."
She laughed musically.
"You're looking splendid, Tom." Colletti shook hands with his cousin.
"I've never felt better," Romani answered. "When did you get back?"
"Yesterday," Colletti told him. "On the _Normandie_."
"You'll be coming to our masque tonight, Tony?" Nita queried.
"Just try to keep me away!" Colletti chuckled. He didn't deem it
necessary to explain that he had deliberately timed his return so
that he would not miss the masque. "In fact," he went on, "I've just
arranged for my costume. By the way," he turned back to the table,
"here's a mask I thought one of you might want to wear tonight. I
happened to find it, when I was unpacking this morning. It's unique, I
think."
Nita caught up the mask and shook out its deep crimson, almost black,
folds.
"I'd wear it myself," Colletti added hastily, "but I'm coming as Death
and it wouldn't go very well with my costume."
"It's lovely!" Nita breathed, her eyes enigmatic. "So rich! So
lustrous! So soft to the touch! Why, it's actually warm! Like living
flesh!"
Colletti eyed her narrowly.
"It's been lying in the sunlight, my dear," her husband reminded her.
"I'd wear it, Tony," Nita spoke dreamily, "but I'm attending the masque
as a Watteau shepherdess and I'm afraid it won't fit into the picture
at all."
"I'll wear it." Romani relieved his wife of the mask. "As a Florentine
dandy in the days of the Medici I couldn't ask for anything better.
It's just the thing to go with my black outfit."
* * * * *
The late-afternoon sunlight vanished. The room became a place of
whispering shadows. Nita shivered.
"What's the matter?" her husband asked anxiously.
"I'm getting jittery, I guess," she laughed nervously. "I've been going
too fast a pace lately. I'll be glad when tonight's over. We won't
unmask till we have breakfast at dawn." There was something akin to
fear in her shifting glances. "After tonight I'll be taking a long
rest."
Colletti unconsciously tautened.
"Where'd you get this, Tony?" Romani wanted to know, as his long
fingers stroked the silk.
"In Padua," Colletti replied. "In a little cubbyhole of a shop off
the beaten track. I figuratively fell into it." He chuckled at the
recollection. "The mask struck my fancy as soon as I saw it." He
fingered the card in his vest pocket. "I'll run along now. No need to
ring for Benito. I'll see you tonight."
They were not hearing him. As though fascinated, hypnotized,
metamorphosed into stone like those who looked upon the Gorgons, they
appeared completely absorbed in the mask. Colletti gathered up his hat
and gloves and stick and silently let himself out.
"After tonight," he chortled his satisfaction, as he strolled down Park
Avenue, "the house and all the income from the old man's estate will be
mine. I'll live like a lord and throw some parties that'll knock the
town's eyes out." He gloated in anticipation. "The poor, blind fools!
If the mask doesn't work, this will."
He brought a tiny vial to view and cuddled it in his palm.
"If the necessity arises, I will drop this into their wine. It is
odorless, colorless, tasteless and leaves no traces. Nita and Tom will
never see another dawn."
* * * * *
"You're beautiful tonight, my dear!" Romani rapturously murmured his
adoration. "Divinely lovely, Nita mine!"
"You're handsome yourself, Tom!" Her eyes glowed like summer stars.
"I'm mad about you, darling!"
She adjusted her domino. He caught her in his arms and clasped her
close. Their lips met and clung.
"I couldn't," he muttered thickly, "I wouldn't live without you, dear!"
"Be careful!" She struggled for breath and reluctantly shoved him
away. "You're crushing me, Tom! You're mussing me, too! Let me go now!
Please!"
Unwillingly he released her. From below there floated up to them the
dulcet strains of a stringed ensemble mingled with shrill feminine
laughter, the hoarser mirth of men, the rustling of garments, the
shuffling of feet. The air was heady with intoxicating perfumes.
"We must be going down!" she panted through Cupid-bow lips. "Are you
ready?"
"Just about." He slipped on the mask Colletti had brought. "All set!
Let's go!"
She started and gasped, while her tiny hands flew to her slender
throat.
"What are you staring at?" he demanded, cold steel suddenly in his
voice. "What's the matter, anyway?"
"Your eyes, Tom!" she choked. "They're--they're--they're----" She
couldn't go on.
"You have a bad case of nerves!" he sneered, as he pulled the lower
part of the mask away from his face. "This thing persists in pressing
against my mouth. You'd think it was alive."
"Your eyes are wild!" she managed to gulp. "You never looked at me like
this, Tom. Oh! Your eyes are hot and cruel! Like Tony's at times!"
"Like Tony's, eh?" he jeered in a voice that had lost all its
tenderness. "I wish he had stayed on the other side," he continued
vehemently. "I wish he had broken his neck, when he fell into that shop
in Padua. If I never saw the beggar again, it would be too soon."
Blinking her amazement, she seemed on the point of saying something,
changed her mind and turned to the door.
"Listen, lady!" He seized her arm and roughly yanked her back. "Don't
be too nice to Tony. Don't encourage him. The rotter has a way with
women."
"Tom!" She fought vainly to break his hold. "You're bruising my arm!
Let me go! You're hurting me! Let me go! Please!"
"Not too many dances with Tony!" He glared at her. "Mind, Nita! I don't
like the way he looked at you this afternoon. Nor the way he held your
hands. I felt like slamming him."
"What in the world has got into you, Tom?" she almost wailed, as she
wriggled free. "You never----" Her strained voice broke. "Why--why,"
she stammered her bewilderment, "I actually believe you're jealous of
Tony!"
"Jealous of Tony and every other man!" he confessed throatily. "I'd
kill you, Nita, before I'd let Tony or anybody else have you." His
hand dropped to the haft of the slender dagger at his waist. "I swear
it!"
There was no doubting his sincerity. His eyes blazed at her
challengingly through the thin slits in the mask.
"This thing seems to be blending with my skin." He tugged impatiently
at the silk that rippled to his agitated breathing like a thing alive.
"It seems to work convulsively against my mouth."
With a stifled cry, Nita staggered from the room like a stricken thing.
For a split second her husband stood glowering after her, fighting for
breath like a spent runner. Then he came to life and darted in her
wake. He reached the top of the broad stairway, as his wife poised at
the bottom like a bird on the point of trying out its wings.
The next instant, what appeared to be a skeleton, shrouded from head to
foot in the habiliments of the grave and wearing a mask in the form of
a grinning skull, detached itself from the swirling phantasmagoria of
nymphs, priests, satyrs, ballet dancers, monks, pirates, harlequins,
tramps, pierrettes, sailors, imps and other bizarre creatures, to bow
over Nita's hand and whirl her away in a dreamy Strauss waltz.
"Dancing with him already!" Romani growled, as he leisurely descended
the stairs. "They'd better not drive me too far!" All the while his
fingers were fondling the hilt of his dagger. "They----" He broke off
abruptly, while his angry gaze searched the hilarious throng for the
dainty shepherdess and her gruesome partner.
* * * * *
On a flood of delirious revelry Nita catapulted through the heavy
draperies into the dimly lit alcove. Her husband came bursting in after
her. The curtains trembled into place and the sounds of the frenzied
merrymaking came to them as though from far away.
"How dare you!" Nita expostulated furiously with a stamp of her foot.
"How dare you, Tom!"
He stood glaring at her fixedly, breathing hard, his slim hands
clenched until the knuckles showed like chalk. Her eyes were pools of
fire. Her breasts heaved tumultuously.
"You have been hateful tonight, Tom!" She dabbed frantically at her
eyes with a lacy handkerchief. "You have humiliated me terribly!"
He remained silent.
"You actually tore me out of Tony's arms just now!" she went on
scathingly. "You actually flung me in here!"
Romani swallowed hard.
"You'll have to apologize to Tony."
He dismissed the suggestion with a shrug.
"You'll have to!" she insisted.
"You've been dancing with Tony all night!" he rasped savagely. "Every
time I looked up, it seemed, he was holding you in his arms with his
dirty eyes undressing you."
"Tom!"
"I asked you not to dance with him so often."
"You're being ridiculous!"
"You've been acting deliberately contrary to my wishes." He didn't hear
her. "I pleaded with you but you persisted. It made my blood boil. I
saw red, while Tony exulted. Finally, I commanded you to dance no more
with him. After all, you are my wife, you know. You laughed in my face."
She tossed her head like a spoiled child.
"Hear it, Nita!" He eagerly took a step toward her. "The last dance!
Shall we waltz it together?"
"No!" She meant to punish him for his show of jealousy.
Romani recoiled as though from a slap in the face.
"I shall dance it with Tony," she told him airily. "Let me pass!"
She started to brush past her husband, as the draperies parted and
Colletti appeared.
"Nita," he began, "you----"
With a nerve-tearing snarl, Romani flashed his slender-bladed dagger
and lunged.
"Oh!" Nita started to scream. "Tom, you----"
Her strangled shriek ended in a gurgling gasp, as the dagger sheathed
itself to the hilt in her bosom. Blood gushed and bubbled around the
buried blade. An expression of mingled bewilderment, surprize and
incredulity flitted over her ghastly, painted face, as Romani caught
his crumpling wife in his arms.
"Nita!" he croaked, his red rage dropping from him like a discarded
cloak. "Speak to me, sweet! Nita! Nita! Nita! Good God! What have I
done?"
"You've killed her, Tom!" Colletti could not keep the oily satisfaction
from his voice. "You have murdered her!"
"Nita!" Romani was beside himself with grief. "Speak to me, dear! I
wouldn't hurt you! I wouldn't! I'd die first!"
He covered her face with kisses.
"Nita! Nita! Nita!"
She hung limp in his embrace.
"Speak to me, darling!" he beseeched, as he tore off his mask and flung
it across the shadowy alcove. "I love you! I love you! Speak to me,
Nita!"
"It's no use, Tom!" Colletti mocked him. "She's dead!"
Romani seemed to become aware of the other man's presence.
"This means the electric chair for you, Tom," Colletti cruelly reminded
his cousin. "You have murdered her."
For clock-ticks that seemed eternities Romani stared hard at the
speaker. Gently he lowered his dead wife to the thick-piled rug.
Carefully he pulled the dagger from her breast. Tenderly he closed her
eyes, crossed her hands on her bloody bosom and straightened her limbs.
"Thanks to the mask," Colletti pointed, "you have murdered your wife,
Tom." He handed the anguished man the time-yellowed card. "Soon you'll
be walking through that little green door."
"I can't live without you, Nita!" Romani declared brokenly, as he
deciphered the faded legend. "I won't!"
"The state will attend to that, Tom," Colletti jeered. "You need have
no worries on that score."
* * * * *
Romani retrieved the discarded mask and, whirling on Colletti, thrust
it at him.
"Put it on!" he ordered bruskly and tickled his cousin's ribs with his
blood-smeared dagger. "Put it on or I'll drive this steel into your
devil's heart!"
Colletti paled and gulped and hesitated.
"Put it on!" Romani reiterated huskily, increasing the pressure of
the dagger, while with his free hand he tore the death mask from his
cousin's face. "Hurry!"
With trembling fingers Colletti adjusted the red silk mask over his
twitching features.
"_Who wears this mask!_" Romani growled, as through the muted strains
of the waltz the weary revelers chorused _Good-night, Ladies_. "It's
your turn now, Tony! _Is doomed to slay!_ Murder, Tony! _Whom he loves
best!_ That's yourself, Tony! You're going to kill yourself! You've
never loved anybody but yourself! _Ere break of day!_ Which isn't far
off! You'll have to hurry, Tony! You haven't much time!"
Like a man suffering the tortures of the damned, Colletti's whole body
was writhing horribly. His palsied hands clawed at his throat. He
appeared to be wrestling with an invisible antagonist.
"_Whom he loves best!_" Romani repeated hoarsely. "You're taking your
own worthless life, Tony! Hurry!"
The crimson mask moving to his labored breathing, Colletti fumbled
inside the hideous grave garments he was wearing. His groping hands
brought a tiny vial to light.
"_Is doomed to slay!_" Romani hissed, stepping back, for the coercion
of the dagger was no longer needed. "_Whom he loves best!_"
While Romani watched him balefully, Colletti slowly lifted the
fluttering mask with his left hand, while with his right he tilted the
bottle on his mouth. With a hollow gulp he drained its contents. His
hands dropped like leaden plummets. For a split second he steadied.
Then a tremor shook him from heels to crown. He swung half-way around,
recovered, his knees buckled and he collapsed on his face. Romani
rolled him over, nudged him callously with his foot, stooped and
listened to his heart.
"Dead!" he mumbled and straightened. "Gone to the hell where he
belongs!"
He sank on his knees beside his dead wife. Tenderly he kissed her cold
eyes, her carmined lips, the little hollow at the base of her throat.
"Coming, Nita!" he spoke as though replying to an urgent summons and
plunged the dagger into his own heart. "Com----"
He pitched forward over the dead woman. The music and the singing
ceased. The gray dawning peered in at the window.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MURDER MASK ***
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.
