The silent cabin
Date: 2024-12-18T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Short stories; Alaska -- Fiction

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The silent cabin

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 silent cabin

Author: Evan Merritt Post

Release date: December 18, 2024 [eBook #74922]
Most recently updated: June 19, 2025

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Doubleday, Page & Co, 1926

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74922

Credits: Roger Frank and Sue Clark

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILENT CABIN ***

THE SILENT CABIN

By Evan Merrit Post

THE TRAIL WAS ROUGH, THE CRUEL ARCTIC WINTER WAS ALREADY CLOSING IN, AND THE SETTLEMENTS WERE STILL FAR AWAY. THERE WAS EVERY NEED FOR HASTE. AND THEN THEY CAME, THE OLD-TIMER AND THE CHECHAKO, TO THE SILENT CABIN BESIDE THE TRAIL.

Farrell knew that he was a dying man. There remained in his mind not the shadow of a doubt on that score.

Sitting at the present moment in the open doorway of his cabin, he gazed out over the frost-colored forests which for five years now had been a part of his life. A very close and integral part. He loved the forests, and especially did he love them in the flaming beauty of the fall garb which cloaked them at this time. His only regret, now that he knew he was leaving it all for good, was that he hadn’t come up here sooner in his life.

Well, he reflected, he had nothing to complain about, by and large. His life had on the whole been an eventful and satisfying one, and even the touch of tragedy that had sent him north no longer caused him the inward pain which it had at first.

Yes, taken as a whole, his had been a happy life, as lives go. He was sure of that. And if he had erred here and there—and he knew, of course, that such had been the case—he had, by the same token, now and again gone out of his way to do things that had caused others happiness. At the present moment this was a comforting and reassuring thought. Somehow he felt strangely at peace with the world.

Nor did the conviction that he was soon to die alone and unattended up here in the wilderness appall him. He found himself looking forward to it, rather, with a certain contented resignation, as do men who have an abiding faith that the next world is one step better than the present plane.

At any rate he had no regrets as he sat now in his doorway, smoking his pipe and gazing out over the gold and crimson forests which he loved so well. That is, he had no regrets save one. One thing did trouble him, it is true. It had been troubling him for some days past.

Dying alone as he knew he would, it would be hard to attend to, and there was furthermore no certainty that anyone would pass this way for some months to come.

He pondered for some time upon this, turning it over in his mind, seeking a solution and gradually as he puffed upon his pipe a way out occurred to him. He nodded his head as if in approval.

“Yes, I guess that’s the best, Farrell,” he mused presently, “I’ll do that. Sort of let it rest that way.”

And rising and going slowly to the table, he took up a piece of dry birchbark and proceeded to write thereon his last request.

Winter had laid hold of the Fairbanks country. Snow bowed the limbs of the spruces. The strong Alaskan cold had come to stay.

Two men were making their way over the Chena trail from Nation to Fairbanks, where rumor had it high wages were being paid in the mines. Over the welcomed noonday fire, while the dogs rested, the younger of the two men remarked, among other things, “If this trail doesn’t improve, Miller, we won’t get through to Fairbanks for another three days.”

Miller shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to another cup of the black coffee to top off the meal they had already finished. “With my luck,” he observed, “I’m thinkin’ we’ll be lucky if we get through at all. Confound such luck! And the chances are there won’t be a job left, time I get through, anyway. My luck always was rotten.”

The younger man smiled. “You make it so by talking that way,” he reasoned.

The other snorted. “Dry up with that kid philosophy of yours, Steel,” he said. “I’m gettin’ fed up on it.”

“Yes, but it’s so all the same,” the younger man argued. “Every time you talk that way, old man, you’re just putting in an advance order for hard luck.”

And in the silence that followed, he studied the other man’s face, round, heavily bearded, bearing marks of dissipation about the eyes.

Steel was young, twenty-five, and he had come north solely in a spirit of adventure. To him good luck and hard luck were all a part of the game. Miller, on the other hand, was nearer forty, and whatever spirit of adventure he once might have possessed had long since been lost in his life of hard reality. He made life hard. He had ceased to have visions. Among men he had earned the name of “Hardrock” Miller because of an incident that occurred one fall down on the— But no matter. That is another story.

To get back to Steel: he was, at the present moment, beginning to regret his accompanying the older man on the trip through to Fairbanks. Miller was proving himself far from the best of company. And the young man reflected that he might better have waited until someone else was going through. But there, no use grumbling. The trip would soon be over. In the future, however, he assured himself, he would pick his trail partners with considerable more care.

“Well, let’s be movin’,” Miller remarked shortly, rising from the log he had been sitting on. “Suppose you take a turn breakin’ trail, kid.”

“Sure,” said Steel willingly, “I was just going to suggest that.” And he took his snowshoes which he had stuck upright in the snow behind him, and proceeded to put them on. He added, as he did so, “Here’s hoping the drifts aren’t so bad up ahead. Likely they won’t be.”

“Oh, they will be,” the other corrected, stepping to the handlebars of the sled. “The devil knows when I’m comin’ along and sprinkles the stuff heavy along the trail.”

Steel chuckled, and in another moment, at a word from the man behind the sleigh, they started forward. The sun, which had put in a brief half-hour’s appearance, had now gone down amid a bank of purple mist, and the world which a while ago had sparkled like a carpet of diamonds was now a dull, cheerless gray. The long Arctic night was closing in. Too, it was growing steadily colder.

After perhaps half a mile had been covered, Steel observed, “Hello! There’s a cabin up there on the left.” He pointed a mittened hand. “Could just as well have stopped there for dinner, if we’d known.”

“Wasn’t there six years ago,” Miller replied. “That was the last time I mushed this trail.”

Steel, who had been studying the small cabin that stood on the wind swept crest of a hardwood knoll, now remarked, “There’s no smoke coming from the chimney. Must be deserted—hello!” he interrupted himself, “what’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“That on the door. Looks like something white’s been nailed there. Perhaps we’d better take a look. Wait, I’ll run up.” But Miller, from behind, said disapprovingly, “We ain’t got time to waste foolin’ around. Keep goin’.”

“But something might be wrong,” Steel reasoned. “I think we ought to take a look.”

Miller emitted a snort. “Well, if you’re set on it, go on. But make it fast. I didn’t agree to take you on a sight-seein’ trip.”

“It won’t take a minute,” Steel assured him, and he swung up the slope on his snowshoes. A moment later he called down to the waiting man, “Say, come up here!”

“What for?”

“Read this!”

Miller joined him presently and Steel pointed to the piece of birchbark that was nailed to the door. The writing on it made any words on the younger man’s part unnecessary. It read:

I will be dead when you find this. My name doesn’t matter. I leave nothing of value and I have no living relatives and no particular friends who interest me, or who would be interested in my death. But I have a simple request to make. The past five years have been the happiest in my life. And the happiest hours in those years were spent right in front of my door, where I could look out over the woods at sunset. It is my wish that I lie there.

It was signed merely, “Stranger.”

Miller gave his characteristic snort and tried the door. But the melting snows of early fall had frozen about the sill and the door wouldn’t move. He thrust his great shoulders against the thick panels, but still the door held fast. And he said, “No use. Can’t budge her. I’ll go down and fetch the ax.” There was in his voice a somewhat eager note. Steel understood why, and he disliked the man for it.

Presently the other was back with the implement and after hacking the ice away around the bottom, finally got the door loose. With a shove of his shoulders it flew open. He went in. Steel entered behind him.

It was a simple cabin, equipped with homemade furniture of rude yet serviceable design. On the one bunk that was built in against the wall opposite the door, the writer of the note lay, stiff with the cold. Steel went over and looked down upon the figure. He shook his head slowly.

“Too bad you had to die all alone that way,” he said, “It must have been pretty lonely for you during those last hours, old-timer.”

He heard Miller, who was standing behind him, give that snort of his, and somehow the sound got on Steel’s nerves, as any characteristic substitute for words will do if repeated often enough. Steel said, “Pretty tough, just the same, to pass out that way.” He turned and faced Miller. The bigger man had a rifle in his hands, eyeing it critically and working the breech.

“Little rusty,” Miller observed, “but she ain’t half bad. Better’n mine, anyhow. And—say, here’s something!”

The speaker went quickly to where a pair of Indian-made moccasins of finest moosehide stood on the floor near the long-neglected stove. They were, Steel saw, covered with glittering beads that were woven into strange, fantastic patterns. He had never seen a pair of moccasins like them, and he guessed that they must be rare.

Miller had picked one up. He now measured it against the sole of one of his own boots. “Say,” he exclaimed, “they’ll just fit me, and I’m here to say gear like them ain’t found every day.”

Steel watched him with growing disapproval. Under ordinary circumstances he himself might have been tempted to take some of the dead man’s belongings, particularly those moccasins which had caught Miller’s eye. They would, if left, only fall to pieces and rot. But somehow the very eagerness with which the big man had seized upon the property of the dead man created in him a distaste for the proceedings.

He came to dislike Miller in this moment, and inasmuch as he felt this way, he disliked also the man’s actions, disliked the way he fondled those moccasins which the dead man once had worn. Oh, he was probably a fool, no doubt, he reasoned, feeling this way.

He shrugged his shoulders, but said nothing. And if Miller noted the young man’s unspoken distaste, he too said nothing. He suggested finally, though, “Say, ain’t you goin’ to knuckle onto some of this truck? Might as well,” he pointed out.

Steel smiled. Then slowly the smile hardened. “You seem to have taken about everything for yourself,” he said.

Miller snorted. Steel felt like hitting him.

“Well, kid,” the other said, “up in this land, you’ve got to look out for yourself. If you wanted them moccasins, why didn’t you take ’em? Judgin’ by the way you act, you’d done well to brought your nurse along when you come north.”

Steel took a step forward, then swallowed hard and choked down his growing wrath. He said, meeting Miller’s eyes, “I’ll overlook that this time. Next time, be careful though.”

Miller continued to meet the younger man’s eyes for several long seconds in a challenging way. He said truculently, “Well, if you ain’t goin’ to take anythin’, come on! We’ve got to be movin’. Been wastin’ enough time as it is.”

Steel, looking squarely at the other, shook his head. “You can go along if you want to,” he said. “I’m staying here.”

“What?” Miller stared at him.

“I’m staying here,” Steel repeated in the same tones, and Miller laughed.

“Say, you gone crazy?” he asked.

“No,” said Steel.

“What are you gonna stay here for?”

“To do what he asked,” was Steel’s reply.

Miller snorted. “Well, you damn’ fool!” he said. “That’s all I can say for you.”

“That’s all you have to say, Miller. Goodby. The door’s open.”

Miller went toward the entrance, the newly acquired moccasins and rifle in his hand. He picked up the ax where he had stood it against the door-jamb a few moments before. Turning, he said, “You needn’t think I’m goin’ to wait for you. I can get through them damned trails alone, without your help.”

“I hope you can,” said Steel. “I’m not asking you to wait for me. In fact, the sooner I see that back of yours, Miller, the happier I’ll be.”

Still Miller hesitated in the doorway, as if realizing that starting on alone would more than double the task of getting through to Fairbanks. “Well, it’s your funeral, but you’d better think it over,” he said. “Stay here, and you’ll be up against it.”

“Don’t worry about me, Miller. Don’t concern yourself. There’s food enough here in the cabin to last till spring, if something else doesn’t turn up. I’ll make out all right.”

Again Miller shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said, and without another word went down the drifted slope to where the sled waited. A moment later the jingling bells of the departing team drifted back through the still, frosty air to the young man.

For two days Steel worked. The frozen ground was indeed like solid concrete. Even the pick which he had found in the shed adjoining the rear of the cabin failed to make much impression. That six-foot-by-three hole seemed to include the universe. His back by the end of the second day seemed to be on fire, and the muscles of his arms and shoulders throbbed from the ceaseless jarring of steel on unyielding ground. And still he was only down a foot and a half. Scarcely that.

He leaned on the pick at the end of the second day, and surveyed the pitiable results of his labor. And he was a little ashamed of himself for thinking now that maybe he had been a fool, as Miller said. What did it matter, he asked himself, whether a man were buried or not? Out here in the wilderness what difference did it make? It all amounted to the same thing. Death was a stern, inexorable thing, and graves meant nothing.

But even more than this, he was appalled by the thought that now, without dogs, he must remain here throughout the long, lonely winter, at least ninety miles from the nearest point of civilization. That is, unless some traveler happened along who would be willing to take him out. But there was no counting on that. The trails were bad, there wouldn’t be much traveling over them. And he couldn’t help wondering about Miller, half wishing he had gone on with the man. But there. The thing was done now. No use thinking of it.

Again he fell to work. And suddenly he pitched forward on his face. The pick, instead of coming to the usual shocking halt on the frozen ground, had sunk deep and had thrown him off his balance.

Amazed, he extracted it. For a moment he stood looking wonderingly down at the round black hole it had made. Then he fell to work with eager excitement. And in another moment, from a box that was half-filled with small leather bags, he had taken a note and was reading.

Dear Stranger:

I have no relatives and no friends. This ten thousand in gold dust is yours. Anyone who is white enough to do what you have done is worthy of it. Many thanks, Stranger. And good luck.

Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in the November 26, 1926 issue of Short Stories magazine.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILENT CABIN ***

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 SILENT CABIN

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE