diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:47:39 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:47:39 -0700 |
| commit | d722bbe02dc42d7320a62a61f197fa380695f224 (patch) | |
| tree | e7b5ba80abca911080fbb964c7f7aca2c88d30d2 | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 164562 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492-h/29492-h.htm | 1125 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492-h/images/001.png | bin | 0 -> 64233 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492-h/images/002-1.jpg | bin | 0 -> 11669 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492-h/images/002-2.jpg | bin | 0 -> 73479 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492.txt | 848 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 29492.zip | bin | 0 -> 13772 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
10 files changed, 1989 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29492-h.zip b/29492-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3931596 --- /dev/null +++ b/29492-h.zip diff --git a/29492-h/29492-h.htm b/29492-h/29492-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d5a812d --- /dev/null +++ b/29492-h/29492-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1125 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Old Rambling House, by Frank Herbert + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + h2 {text-align: center;} + h1 {text-align: left;} + hr {width: 45%; margin: 1em auto; visibility: hidden;} + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .rgt {text-align: right;} + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin: 1em 0 1em 1em; padding: 0; width: 374px;} + img {border: none;} + a:link,a:visited {text-decoration: none;} + p.cap:first-letter {float: left; margin-right: .05em; padding-top: .05em; font-size: 300%; line-height: .8em; width: auto;} + .dcap {text-transform: uppercase;} + .figt {float: left; clear: left; margin: 15px; padding: 0; width: 146px;} + .trn {border: solid 1px; margin: 3em 15%; min-height: 230px;} + .trn p {margin: 15px;} + .bk1 {margin: 2em auto; width: 20em;} + .bk2 {margin: 0 auto 4em; width: 20em;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Rambling House, by Frank Patrick Herbert + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 + + +Title: Old Rambling House + +Author: Frank Patrick Herbert + +Illustrator: Johnson + +Release Date: July 22, 2009 [EBook #29492] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD RAMBLING HOUSE *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1><big>Old Rambling House</big></h1> + +<h2>By FRANK HERBERT</h2> + +<div class="bk1"><p><big><b><i>All the Grahams desired was a +home they could call their own +... but what did the home want?</i></b></big></p></div> + +<div class="bk2"><p><big><b>Illustrated by JOHNSON</b></big></p></div> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">On</span> his last night on Earth, +Ted Graham stepped out +of a glass-walled telephone +booth, ducked to avoid a +swooping moth that battered itself +in a frenzy against a bare globe +above the booth.</p> + +<p>Ted Graham was a long-necked +man with a head of pronounced +egg shape topped by prematurely +balding sandy hair. Something +about his lanky, intense appearance +suggested his occupation: certified +public accountant.</p> + +<p>He stopped behind his wife, +who was studying a newspaper +classified page, and frowned. +"They said to wait here. They'll +come get us. Said the place is hard +to find at night."</p> + +<p>Martha Graham looked up from +the newspaper. She was a doll-faced +woman, heavily pregnant, a +kind of pink prettiness about her. +The yellow glow from the light +above the booth subdued the red-auburn +cast of her ponytail hair.</p> + +<p>"I just <i>have</i> to be in a house +when the baby's born," she said. +"What'd they sound like?"</p> + +<p>"I dunno. There was a funny +kind of interruption—like an argument +in some foreign language."</p> + +<p>"Did they sound foreign?"</p> + +<p>"In a way." He motioned along +the night-shrouded line of trailers +toward one with two windows +glowing amber. "Let's wait inside. +These bugs out here are fierce."</p> + +<p>"Did you tell them which trailer +is ours?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. They didn't sound at all +anxious to look at it. That's odd—them +wanting to trade their house +for a trailer."</p> + +<p>"There's nothing odd about it. +They've probably just got itchy +feet like we did."</p> + +<p>He appeared not to hear her. +"Funniest-sounding language you +ever heard when that argument +started—like a squirt of noise."</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Inside</span> the trailer, Ted Graham +sat down on the green couch +that opened into a double bed for +company.</p> + +<p>"They could use a good tax accountant +around here," he said. +"When I first saw the place, I got +that definite feeling. The valley +looks prosperous. It's a wonder +nobody's opened an office here +before."</p> + +<p>His wife took a straight chair +by the counter separating kitchen +and living area, folded her hands +across her heavy stomach.</p> + +<p>"I'm just continental tired of +wheels going around under me," +she said. "I want to sit and stare +at the same view for the rest of +my life. I don't know how a trailer +ever seemed glamorous when—"</p> + +<p>"It was the inheritance gave us +itchy feet," he said.</p> + +<p>Tires gritted on gravel outside.</p> + +<p>Martha Graham straightened. +"Could that be them?"</p> + +<p>"Awful quick, if it is." He went +to the door, opened it, stared down +at the man who was just raising +a hand to knock.</p> + +<p>"Are you Mr. Graham?" asked +the man.</p> + +<p>"Yes." He found himself staring +at the caller.</p> + +<p>"I'm Clint Rush. You called +about the house?" The man moved +farther into the light. At first, he'd +appeared an old man, fine wrinkle +lines in his face, a tired leather look +to his skin. But as he moved his +head in the light, the wrinkles +seemed to dissolve—and with them, +the years lifted from him.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we called," said Ted +Graham. He stood aside. "Do you +want to look at the trailer now?"</p> + +<p>Martha Graham crossed to +stand beside her husband. "We've +kept it in awfully good shape," she +said. "We've never let anything +get seriously wrong with it."</p> + +<p><i>She sounds too anxious</i>, thought +Ted Graham. <i>I wish she'd let me +do the talking for the two of us.</i></p> + +<p>"We can come back and look +at your trailer tomorrow in daylight," +said Rush. "My car's right +out here, if you'd like to see our +house."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham hesitated. He felt +a nagging worry tug at his mind, +tried to fix his attention on what +bothered him.</p> + +<p>"Hadn't we better take our +car?" he asked. "We could follow +you."</p> + +<p>"No need," said Rush. "We're +coming back into town tonight +anyway. We can drop you off +then."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham nodded. "Be right +with you as soon as I lock up."</p> + +<p>Inside the car, Rush mumbled +introductions. His wife was a dark +shadow in the front seat, her hair +drawn back in a severe bun. Her +features suggested gypsy blood. He +called her Raimee.</p> + +<p><i>Odd name</i>, thought Ted Graham. +And he noticed that she, too, +gave that strange first impression +of age that melted in a shift of +light.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Rush turned her gypsy +features toward Martha Graham. +"You are going to have a baby?"</p> + +<p>It came out as an odd, veiled +statement.</p> + +<p>Abruptly, the car rolled forward.</p> + +<p>Martha Graham said, "It's supposed +to be born in about two +months. We hope it's a boy."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Rush looked at her husband. +"I have changed my mind," +she said.</p> + +<p>Rush spoke without taking his +attention from the road. "It is +too ..." He broke off, spoke in +a tumble of strange sounds.</p> + +<p>Ted Graham recognized it as +the language he'd heard on the +telephone.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Rush answered in the same +tongue, anger showing in the intensity +of her voice. Her husband +replied, his voice calmer.</p> + +<p>Presently, Mrs. Rush fell moodily +silent.</p> + +<p>Rush tipped his head toward +the rear of the car. "My wife has +moments when she does not want +to get rid of the old house. It has +been with her for many years."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham said, "Oh." Then: +"Are you Spanish?"</p> + +<p>Rush hesitated. "No. We are +Basque."</p> + +<p>He turned the car down a well-lighted +avenue that merged into a +highway. They turned onto a side +road. There followed more turns—left, +right, right.</p> + +<p>Ted Graham lost track.</p> + +<p>They hit a jolting bump that +made Martha gasp.</p> + +<p>"I hope that wasn't too rough +on you," said Rush. "We're almost +there."</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> car swung into a lane, its +lights picking out the skeleton +outlines of trees: peculiar trees—tall, +gaunt, leafless. They added to +Ted Graham's feeling of uneasiness.</p> + +<p>The lane dipped, ended at a low +wall of a house—red brick with +clerestory windows beneath overhanging +eaves. The effect of the +wall and a wide-beamed door they +could see to the left was ultramodern.</p> + +<p>Ted Graham helped his wife out +of the car, followed the Rushes to +the door.</p> + +<p>"I thought you told me it was +an old house," he said.</p> + +<p>"It was designed by one of the +first modernists," said Rush. He +fumbled with an odd curved key. +The wide door swung open onto +a hallway equally wide, carpeted +by a deep pile rug. They could +glimpse floor-to-ceiling view windows +at the end of the hall, city +lights beyond.</p> + +<p>Martha Graham gasped, entered +the hall as though in a trance. +Ted Graham followed, heard the +door close behind them.</p> + +<p>"It's so—so—so <i>big</i>," exclaimed +Martha Graham.</p> + +<p>"You want to trade <i>this</i> for our +trailer?" asked Ted Graham.</p> + +<p>"It's too inconvenient for us," +said Rush. "My work is over the +mountains on the coast." He +shrugged. "We cannot sell it."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham looked at him +sharply. "Isn't there any money +around here?" He had a sudden +vision of a tax accountant with no +customers.</p> + +<p>"Plenty of money, but no real +estate customers."</p> + +<p>They entered the living room. +Sectional divans lined the walls. +Subdued lighting glowed from the +corners. Two paintings hung on +the opposite walls—oblongs of odd +lines and twists that made Ted +Graham dizzy.</p> + +<p>Warning bells clamored in his +mind.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Martha</span> Graham crossed to +the windows, looked at the +lights far away below. "I had no +idea we'd climbed that far," she +said. "It's like a fairy city."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Rush emitted a short, nervous +laugh.</p> + +<p>Ted Graham glanced around the +room, thought: <i>If the rest of the +house is like this, it's worth fifty +or sixty thousand</i>. He thought of +the trailer: <i>A good one, but not +worth more than seven thousand</i>.</p> + +<p>Uneasiness was like a neon sign +flashing in his mind. "This seems +so ..." He shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Would you like to see the rest +of the house?" asked Rush.</p> + +<p>Martha Graham turned from +the window. "Oh, yes."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham shrugged. <i>No harm +in looking</i>, he thought.</p> + +<p>When they returned to the living +room, Ted Graham had +doubled his previous estimate on +the house's value. His brain reeled +with the summing of it: a solarium +with an entire ceiling covered by +sun lamps, an automatic laundry +where you dropped soiled clothing +down a chute, took it washed and +ironed from the other end ...</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you and your wife +would like to discuss it in private," +said Rush. "We will leave you for +a moment."</p> + +<p>And they were gone before Ted +Graham could protest.</p> + +<p>Martha Graham said, "Ted, I honestly +never in my life dreamed—"</p> + +<p>"Something's very wrong, honey."</p> + +<p>"But, Ted—"</p> + +<p>"This house is worth at least a +hundred thousand dollars. Maybe +more. And they want to trade +<i>this</i>—" he looked around him—"for +a seven-thousand-dollar trailer?"</p> + +<p>"Ted, they're foreigners. And if +they're so foolish they don't know +the value of this place, then why +should—"</p> + +<p>"I don't like it," he said. Again +he looked around the room, recalled +the fantastic equipment of +the house. "But maybe you're +right."</p> + +<p>He stared out at the city lights. +They had a lacelike quality: tall +buildings linked by lines of flickering +incandescence. Something +like a Roman candle shot skyward +in the distance.</p> + +<p>"Okay!" he said. "If they want +to trade, let's go push the deal ..."</p> + +<p>Abruptly, the house shuddered. +The city lights blinked out. A humming +sound filled the air.</p> + +<p>Martha Graham clutched her +husband's arm. "Ted! Wha— what +was that?"</p> + +<p>"I dunno." He turned. "Mr. +Rush!"</p> + +<p>No answer. Only the humming.</p> + +<p>The door at the end of the room +opened. A strange man came +through it. He wore a short toga-like +garment of gray, metallic +cloth belted at the waist by something +that glittered and shimmered +through every color of the spectrum. +An aura of coldness and +power emanated from him—a sense +of untouchable hauteur.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">He</span> glanced around the room, +spoke in the same tongue the +Rushes had used.</p> + +<p>Ted Graham said, "I don't understand +you, mister."</p> + +<p>The man put a hand to his flickering +belt. Both Ted and Martha +Graham felt themselves rooted to +the floor, a tingling sensation vibrating +along every nerve.</p> + +<p>Again the strange language +rolled from the man's tongue, but +now the words were understood.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?"</p> + +<p>"My name's Graham. This is +my wife. What's going—"</p> + +<p>"How did you get here?"</p> + +<p>"The Rushes—they wanted to +trade us this house for our trailer. +They brought us. Now look, we—"</p> + +<p>"What is your talent—your occupation?"</p> + +<p>"Tax accountant. Say! Why all +these—"</p> + +<p>"That was to be expected," said +the man. "Clever! Oh, excessively +clever!" His hand moved again to +the belt. "Now be very quiet. This +may confuse you momentarily."</p> + +<p>Colored lights filled both the +Grahams' minds. They staggered.</p> + +<p>"You are qualified," said the +man. "You will serve."</p> + +<p>"Where are we?" demanded +Martha Graham.</p> + +<p>"The coordinates would not be +intelligible to you," he said. "I am +of the Rojac. It is sufficient for +you to know that you are under +Rojac sovereignty."</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Ted</span> Graham said, "But—"</p> + +<p>"You have, in a way, been kidnapped. +And the Raimees have +fled to your planet—an unregistered +planet."</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid," Martha Graham +said shakily.</p> + +<p>"You have nothing to fear," said +the man. "You are no longer on +the planet of your birth—nor even +in the same galaxy." He glanced +at Ted Graham's wrist. "That device +on your wrist—it tells your +local time?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"That will help in the search. +And your sun—can you describe +its atomic cycle?"</p> + +<p>Ted Graham groped in his mind +for his science memories from +school, from the Sunday supplements. +"I can recall that our galaxy +is a spiral like—"</p> + +<p>"Most galaxies are spiral."</p> + +<p>"Is this some kind of a practical +joke?" asked Ted Graham.</p> + +<p>The man smiled, a cold, superior +smile. "It is no joke. Now I will +make you a proposition."</p> + +<p>Ted nodded warily. "All right, +let's have the stinger."</p> + +<p>"The people who brought you +here were tax collectors we Rojac +recruited from a subject planet. +They were conditioned to make it +impossible for them to leave their +job untended. Unfortunately, they +were clever enough to realize that +if they brought someone else in +who could do their job, they were +released from their mental bonds. +Very clever."</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"You may have their job," said +the man. "Normally, you would +be put to work in the lower echelons, +but we believe in meting out +justice wherever possible. The +Raimees undoubtedly stumbled on +your planet by accident and lured +you into this position without—"</p> + +<p>"How do you know I can do +your job?"</p> + +<p>"That moment of brilliance was +an aptitude test. You passed. Well, +do you accept?"</p> + +<p>"What about our baby?" Martha +Graham worriedly wanted to +know.</p> + +<p>"You will be allowed to keep it +until it reaches the age of decision—about +the time it will take the +child to reach adult stature."</p> + +<div class="figright"><img src="images/001.png" width="374" height="500" alt="" title="" /></div> + +<p>"Then what?" insisted Martha +Graham.</p> + +<p>"The child will take its position +in society—according to its ability."</p> + +<p>"Will we ever see our child +after that?"</p> + +<p>"Possibly."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham said, "What's the +joker in this?"</p> + +<p>Again the cold, superior smile. +"You will receive conditioning +similar to that which we gave the +Raimees. And we will want to +examine your memories to aid us +in our search for your planet. It +would be good to find a new inhabitable +place."</p> + +<p>"Why did they trap us like +this?" asked Martha Graham.</p> + +<p>"It's lonely work," the man explained. +"Your house is actually a +type of space conveyance that +travels along your collection route—and +there is much travel to the +job. And then—you will not have +friends, nor time for much other +than work. Our methods are necessarily +severe at times."</p> + +<p>"<i>Travel?</i>" Martha Graham repeated +in dismay.</p> + +<p>"Almost constantly."</p> + +<p>Ted Graham felt his mind whirling. +And behind him, he heard his +wife sobbing.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> Raimees sat in what had +been the Grahams' trailer.</p> + +<p>"For a few moments, I feared +he would not succumb to the bait," +she said. "I knew you could never +overcome the mental compulsion +enough to leave them there without +their first agreeing."</p> + +<p>Raimee chuckled. "Yes. And +now I'm going to indulge in everything +the Rojac never permitted. +I'm going to write ballads and +poems."</p> + +<p>"And I'm going to paint," she +said. "Oh, the delicious freedom!"</p> + +<p>"Greed won this for us," he said. +"The long study of the Grahams +paid off. They couldn't refuse to +trade."</p> + +<p>"I knew they'd agree. The looks +in their eyes when they saw the +house! They both had ..." She +broke off, a look of horror coming +into her eyes. "One of them did +not agree!"</p> + +<p>"They both did. You heard +them."</p> + +<p>"The baby?"</p> + +<p>He stared at his wife. "But—but +it is not at the age of decision!"</p> + +<p>"In perhaps eighteen of this +planet's years, it <i>will</i> be at the +age of decision. What then?"</p> + +<p>His shoulders sagged. He shuddered. +"I will not be able to fight +it off. I will have to build a transmitter, +call the Rojac and confess!"</p> + +<p>"And they will collect another +inhabitable place," she said, her +voice flat and toneless.</p> + +<p>"I've spoiled it," he said. "I've +spoiled it!"</p> + +<p class="rgt"><b>—FRANK HERBERT</b></p> + +<div class="trn"><div class="figt"><a href="images/002-2.jpg"><img src="images/002-1.jpg" width="146" height="200" alt="" title="" /></a></div> + +<p><big><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></big></p> + +<p>This etext was produced from <i>Galaxy Science Fiction</i> April 1958. +Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. +copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and +typographical errors have been corrected without note.</p></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Old Rambling House, by Frank Patrick Herbert + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD RAMBLING HOUSE *** + +***** This file should be named 29492-h.htm or 29492-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/4/9/29492/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. 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-tm 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-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +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-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain 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-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside 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-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm 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 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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (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-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +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-tm 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-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (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-tm +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-tm 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-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm + 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-tm 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-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm 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 +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm 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 F3. 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 MERCHANTIBILITY 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-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm 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, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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 web page at https://www.pglaf.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. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. 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 principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread 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 https://pglaf.org + +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 including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain 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 Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +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. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/29492-h/images/001.png b/29492-h/images/001.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6fb5433 --- /dev/null +++ b/29492-h/images/001.png diff --git a/29492-h/images/002-1.jpg b/29492-h/images/002-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..de03f9f --- /dev/null +++ b/29492-h/images/002-1.jpg diff --git a/29492-h/images/002-2.jpg b/29492-h/images/002-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0366605 --- /dev/null +++ b/29492-h/images/002-2.jpg diff --git a/29492.txt b/29492.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..92e76ec --- /dev/null +++ b/29492.txt @@ -0,0 +1,848 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Rambling House, by Frank Patrick Herbert + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 + + +Title: Old Rambling House + +Author: Frank Patrick Herbert + +Illustrator: Johnson + +Release Date: July 22, 2009 [EBook #29492] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD RAMBLING HOUSE *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Old Rambling House + +By FRANK HERBERT + + + _All the Grahams desired was a + home they could call their own + ... but what did the home want?_ + + +Illustrated by JOHNSON + + +On his last night on Earth, Ted Graham stepped out of a glass-walled +telephone booth, ducked to avoid a swooping moth that battered itself in +a frenzy against a bare globe above the booth. + +Ted Graham was a long-necked man with a head of pronounced egg shape +topped by prematurely balding sandy hair. Something about his lanky, +intense appearance suggested his occupation: certified public +accountant. + +He stopped behind his wife, who was studying a newspaper classified +page, and frowned. "They said to wait here. They'll come get us. Said +the place is hard to find at night." + +Martha Graham looked up from the newspaper. She was a doll-faced woman, +heavily pregnant, a kind of pink prettiness about her. The yellow glow +from the light above the booth subdued the red-auburn cast of her +ponytail hair. + +"I just _have_ to be in a house when the baby's born," she said. "What'd +they sound like?" + +"I dunno. There was a funny kind of interruption--like an argument in +some foreign language." + +"Did they sound foreign?" + +"In a way." He motioned along the night-shrouded line of trailers toward +one with two windows glowing amber. "Let's wait inside. These bugs out +here are fierce." + +"Did you tell them which trailer is ours?" + +"Yes. They didn't sound at all anxious to look at it. That's odd--them +wanting to trade their house for a trailer." + +"There's nothing odd about it. They've probably just got itchy feet like +we did." + +He appeared not to hear her. "Funniest-sounding language you ever heard +when that argument started--like a squirt of noise." + + * * * * * + +Inside the trailer, Ted Graham sat down on the green couch that opened +into a double bed for company. + +"They could use a good tax accountant around here," he said. "When I +first saw the place, I got that definite feeling. The valley looks +prosperous. It's a wonder nobody's opened an office here before." + +His wife took a straight chair by the counter separating kitchen and +living area, folded her hands across her heavy stomach. + +"I'm just continental tired of wheels going around under me," she said. +"I want to sit and stare at the same view for the rest of my life. I +don't know how a trailer ever seemed glamorous when--" + +"It was the inheritance gave us itchy feet," he said. + +Tires gritted on gravel outside. + +Martha Graham straightened. "Could that be them?" + +"Awful quick, if it is." He went to the door, opened it, stared down at +the man who was just raising a hand to knock. + +"Are you Mr. Graham?" asked the man. + +"Yes." He found himself staring at the caller. + +"I'm Clint Rush. You called about the house?" The man moved farther into +the light. At first, he'd appeared an old man, fine wrinkle lines in his +face, a tired leather look to his skin. But as he moved his head in the +light, the wrinkles seemed to dissolve--and with them, the years lifted +from him. + +"Yes, we called," said Ted Graham. He stood aside. "Do you want to look +at the trailer now?" + +Martha Graham crossed to stand beside her husband. "We've kept it in +awfully good shape," she said. "We've never let anything get seriously +wrong with it." + +_She sounds too anxious_, thought Ted Graham. _I wish she'd let me do +the talking for the two of us._ + +"We can come back and look at your trailer tomorrow in daylight," said +Rush. "My car's right out here, if you'd like to see our house." + +Ted Graham hesitated. He felt a nagging worry tug at his mind, tried to +fix his attention on what bothered him. + +"Hadn't we better take our car?" he asked. "We could follow you." + +"No need," said Rush. "We're coming back into town tonight anyway. We +can drop you off then." + +Ted Graham nodded. "Be right with you as soon as I lock up." + +Inside the car, Rush mumbled introductions. His wife was a dark shadow +in the front seat, her hair drawn back in a severe bun. Her features +suggested gypsy blood. He called her Raimee. + +_Odd name_, thought Ted Graham. And he noticed that she, too, gave that +strange first impression of age that melted in a shift of light. + +Mrs. Rush turned her gypsy features toward Martha Graham. "You are going +to have a baby?" + +It came out as an odd, veiled statement. + +Abruptly, the car rolled forward. + +Martha Graham said, "It's supposed to be born in about two months. We +hope it's a boy." + +Mrs. Rush looked at her husband. "I have changed my mind," she said. + +Rush spoke without taking his attention from the road. "It is too ..." +He broke off, spoke in a tumble of strange sounds. + +Ted Graham recognized it as the language he'd heard on the telephone. + +Mrs. Rush answered in the same tongue, anger showing in the intensity of +her voice. Her husband replied, his voice calmer. + +Presently, Mrs. Rush fell moodily silent. + +Rush tipped his head toward the rear of the car. "My wife has moments +when she does not want to get rid of the old house. It has been with her +for many years." + +Ted Graham said, "Oh." Then: "Are you Spanish?" + +Rush hesitated. "No. We are Basque." + +He turned the car down a well-lighted avenue that merged into a highway. +They turned onto a side road. There followed more turns--left, right, +right. + +Ted Graham lost track. + +They hit a jolting bump that made Martha gasp. + +"I hope that wasn't too rough on you," said Rush. "We're almost there." + + * * * * * + +The car swung into a lane, its lights picking out the skeleton outlines +of trees: peculiar trees--tall, gaunt, leafless. They added to Ted +Graham's feeling of uneasiness. + +The lane dipped, ended at a low wall of a house--red brick with +clerestory windows beneath overhanging eaves. The effect of the wall and +a wide-beamed door they could see to the left was ultramodern. + +Ted Graham helped his wife out of the car, followed the Rushes to the +door. + +"I thought you told me it was an old house," he said. + +"It was designed by one of the first modernists," said Rush. He fumbled +with an odd curved key. The wide door swung open onto a hallway equally +wide, carpeted by a deep pile rug. They could glimpse floor-to-ceiling +view windows at the end of the hall, city lights beyond. + +Martha Graham gasped, entered the hall as though in a trance. Ted Graham +followed, heard the door close behind them. + +"It's so--so--so _big_," exclaimed Martha Graham. + +"You want to trade _this_ for our trailer?" asked Ted Graham. + +"It's too inconvenient for us," said Rush. "My work is over the +mountains on the coast." He shrugged. "We cannot sell it." + +Ted Graham looked at him sharply. "Isn't there any money around here?" +He had a sudden vision of a tax accountant with no customers. + +"Plenty of money, but no real estate customers." + +They entered the living room. Sectional divans lined the walls. Subdued +lighting glowed from the corners. Two paintings hung on the opposite +walls--oblongs of odd lines and twists that made Ted Graham dizzy. + +Warning bells clamored in his mind. + + * * * * * + +Martha Graham crossed to the windows, looked at the lights far away +below. "I had no idea we'd climbed that far," she said. "It's like a +fairy city." + +Mrs. Rush emitted a short, nervous laugh. + +Ted Graham glanced around the room, thought: _If the rest of the house +is like this, it's worth fifty or sixty thousand_. He thought of the +trailer: _A good one, but not worth more than seven thousand_. + +Uneasiness was like a neon sign flashing in his mind. "This seems +so ..." He shook his head. + +"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" asked Rush. + +Martha Graham turned from the window. "Oh, yes." + +Ted Graham shrugged. _No harm in looking_, he thought. + +When they returned to the living room, Ted Graham had doubled his +previous estimate on the house's value. His brain reeled with the +summing of it: a solarium with an entire ceiling covered by sun lamps, +an automatic laundry where you dropped soiled clothing down a chute, +took it washed and ironed from the other end ... + +"Perhaps you and your wife would like to discuss it in private," said +Rush. "We will leave you for a moment." + +And they were gone before Ted Graham could protest. + +Martha Graham said, "Ted, I honestly never in my life dreamed--" + +"Something's very wrong, honey." + +"But, Ted--" + +"This house is worth at least a hundred thousand dollars. Maybe more. +And they want to trade _this_--" he looked around him--"for a +seven-thousand-dollar trailer?" + +"Ted, they're foreigners. And if they're so foolish they don't know the +value of this place, then why should--" + +"I don't like it," he said. Again he looked around the room, recalled +the fantastic equipment of the house. "But maybe you're right." + +He stared out at the city lights. They had a lacelike quality: tall +buildings linked by lines of flickering incandescence. Something like a +Roman candle shot skyward in the distance. + +"Okay!" he said. "If they want to trade, let's go push the deal ..." + +Abruptly, the house shuddered. The city lights blinked out. A humming +sound filled the air. + +Martha Graham clutched her husband's arm. "Ted! Wha-- what was that?" + +"I dunno." He turned. "Mr. Rush!" + +No answer. Only the humming. + +The door at the end of the room opened. A strange man came through it. +He wore a short toga-like garment of gray, metallic cloth belted at the +waist by something that glittered and shimmered through every color of +the spectrum. An aura of coldness and power emanated from him--a sense +of untouchable hauteur. + + * * * * * + +He glanced around the room, spoke in the same tongue the Rushes had +used. + +Ted Graham said, "I don't understand you, mister." + +The man put a hand to his flickering belt. Both Ted and Martha Graham +felt themselves rooted to the floor, a tingling sensation vibrating +along every nerve. + +Again the strange language rolled from the man's tongue, but now the +words were understood. + +"Who are you?" + +"My name's Graham. This is my wife. What's going--" + +"How did you get here?" + +"The Rushes--they wanted to trade us this house for our trailer. They +brought us. Now look, we--" + +"What is your talent--your occupation?" + +"Tax accountant. Say! Why all these--" + +"That was to be expected," said the man. "Clever! Oh, excessively +clever!" His hand moved again to the belt. "Now be very quiet. This may +confuse you momentarily." + +Colored lights filled both the Grahams' minds. They staggered. + +"You are qualified," said the man. "You will serve." + +"Where are we?" demanded Martha Graham. + +"The coordinates would not be intelligible to you," he said. "I am of +the Rojac. It is sufficient for you to know that you are under Rojac +sovereignty." + + * * * * * + +Ted Graham said, "But--" + +"You have, in a way, been kidnapped. And the Raimees have fled to your +planet--an unregistered planet." + +"I'm afraid," Martha Graham said shakily. + +"You have nothing to fear," said the man. "You are no longer on the +planet of your birth--nor even in the same galaxy." He glanced at Ted +Graham's wrist. "That device on your wrist--it tells your local time?" + +"Yes." + +"That will help in the search. And your sun--can you describe its atomic +cycle?" + +Ted Graham groped in his mind for his science memories from school, from +the Sunday supplements. "I can recall that our galaxy is a spiral +like--" + +"Most galaxies are spiral." + +"Is this some kind of a practical joke?" asked Ted Graham. + +The man smiled, a cold, superior smile. "It is no joke. Now I will make +you a proposition." + +Ted nodded warily. "All right, let's have the stinger." + +"The people who brought you here were tax collectors we Rojac recruited +from a subject planet. They were conditioned to make it impossible for +them to leave their job untended. Unfortunately, they were clever enough +to realize that if they brought someone else in who could do their job, +they were released from their mental bonds. Very clever." + +"But--" + +"You may have their job," said the man. "Normally, you would be put to +work in the lower echelons, but we believe in meting out justice +wherever possible. The Raimees undoubtedly stumbled on your planet by +accident and lured you into this position without--" + +"How do you know I can do your job?" + +"That moment of brilliance was an aptitude test. You passed. Well, do +you accept?" + +"What about our baby?" Martha Graham worriedly wanted to know. + +"You will be allowed to keep it until it reaches the age of +decision--about the time it will take the child to reach adult +stature." + +[Illustration] + +"Then what?" insisted Martha Graham. + +"The child will take its position in society--according to its ability." + +"Will we ever see our child after that?" + +"Possibly." + +Ted Graham said, "What's the joker in this?" + +Again the cold, superior smile. "You will receive conditioning similar +to that which we gave the Raimees. And we will want to examine your +memories to aid us in our search for your planet. It would be good to +find a new inhabitable place." + +"Why did they trap us like this?" asked Martha Graham. + +"It's lonely work," the man explained. "Your house is actually a type of +space conveyance that travels along your collection route--and there is +much travel to the job. And then--you will not have friends, nor time +for much other than work. Our methods are necessarily severe at times." + +"_Travel?_" Martha Graham repeated in dismay. + +"Almost constantly." + +Ted Graham felt his mind whirling. And behind him, he heard his wife +sobbing. + + * * * * * + +The Raimees sat in what had been the Grahams' trailer. + +"For a few moments, I feared he would not succumb to the bait," she +said. "I knew you could never overcome the mental compulsion enough to +leave them there without their first agreeing." + +Raimee chuckled. "Yes. And now I'm going to indulge in everything the +Rojac never permitted. I'm going to write ballads and poems." + +"And I'm going to paint," she said. "Oh, the delicious freedom!" + +"Greed won this for us," he said. "The long study of the Grahams paid +off. They couldn't refuse to trade." + +"I knew they'd agree. The looks in their eyes when they saw the house! +They both had ..." She broke off, a look of horror coming into her eyes. +"One of them did not agree!" + +"They both did. You heard them." + +"The baby?" + +He stared at his wife. "But--but it is not at the age of decision!" + +"In perhaps eighteen of this planet's years, it _will_ be at the age of +decision. What then?" + +His shoulders sagged. He shuddered. "I will not be able to fight it off. +I will have to build a transmitter, call the Rojac and confess!" + +"And they will collect another inhabitable place," she said, her voice +flat and toneless. + +"I've spoiled it," he said. "I've spoiled it!" + + --FRANK HERBERT + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Galaxy Science Fiction_ April 1958. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. + copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and + typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Old Rambling House, by Frank Patrick Herbert + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD RAMBLING HOUSE *** + +***** This file should be named 29492.txt or 29492.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/4/9/29492/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. 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-tm 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-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +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-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain 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-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside 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-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm 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 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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (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-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +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-tm 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-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (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-tm +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-tm 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-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm + 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-tm 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-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm 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 +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm 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 F3. 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 MERCHANTIBILITY 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-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm 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, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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 web page at https://www.pglaf.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. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. 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 principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread 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 https://pglaf.org + +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 including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain 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 Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +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. diff --git a/29492.zip b/29492.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7081b19 --- /dev/null +++ b/29492.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3443660 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #29492 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29492) |
