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diff --git a/32686.txt b/32686.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5d70046 --- /dev/null +++ b/32686.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1079 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Day of the Druid, by Knut Enferd + +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: Day of the Druid + +Author: Knut Enferd + +Release Date: June 4, 2010 [EBook #32686] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAY OF THE DRUID *** + + + + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from Amazing Stories November 1948. Extensive + research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this + publication was renewed. + + + [Illustration: He had to strike at the source of their power ... they + leaped to prevent him] + + + DAY OF THE DRUID + + + by Knut Enferd + + + Be'al, all-powerful god, drank the blood of his victims. + Would Gaar be able to save Marna, whom Be'al kept in eternal + sleep, and avenge her people? + + * * * * * + + + + +Fog lay heavy on the North Sea, fog wreathed the land, fog crept into +a man's very bones. Meanwhile the ships were locked in the harbor. +Gaar lay stretched on the skin before the fire and cursed the fog. + +How much longer was this infernal whiteness going to last? A man was +thirty years old, in the prime of his life, with the blood running hot +through the seven foot length of him. How much longer was he going to +have to lie here in the great hall, eating and drinking and waiting +for the roll of fat to show around his middle? A man wanted action and +instead he was forced to loll around listening to stories. + +Niffleheim and Hotunheim were all right, Gaar thought. A man didn't +want to offend the Gods. On the other hand, Wodin forgive the thought, +a man could tire of listening to the same old tales. + +But wait. The voice that was speaking had stopped. This was a new +voice. Elgen was finished with his tale and Vornung had started one. +And this one wasn't about the Gods. Gaar twisted around and got up on +one elbow. + +"Who?" he demanded. "What did you say they called themselves?" + +"Picts," Vornung said. In his day Vornung had sailed with the best of +them, but now he was old. "It was many years ago. After a storm we +found ourselves washed up on this strange shore." + +"What sort of people are they?" + +"An unlovely bunch, hairy, dressed in skins." + +"Could they fight?" + +"Ptuh." Vornung spat into the fire. "One touch of our swords and +they'd had enough. Only one thing they could do well. They could tell +stories." + +He leaned back and took a draught of mead and wiped his mouth +reflectively. + +"But what stories! We were stuck there for months and I learned enough +of their tongue to understand them. They told tales that could curdle +a man's blood, tales of a land that lies to the south of them, of +treasure, of a beautiful woman locked in eternal sleep by the priests +of her people." + +Treasure and a beautiful woman. This was something to make a man sit +up. Gaar's big hands were locked about his knees as he rocked back and +forth thoughtfully. + +"How far?" he asked. + +"That they would not say. When they spoke of this they spoke +fearfully. We might have pressed them, but we were in a hurry to get +home." + +Gaar was on his feet now. He went to the door and looked out. There +was a hint of breeze, from landward for a change. Maybe the fog would +lift soon. + +"Tell us more," he said over his shoulder.... + + * * * * * + +Vornung had been wrong about these Picts. They weren't afraid to +fight, and they weren't waiting for the fight to come to them. Under +cover of darkness they swarmed in over the gunwales of the ship. + +Unlovely they were, and unwashed. Gaar had the scent of one in his +nostrils as the dark fellow came at him. Gaar struck out and the Pict +went overboard. + +Luckily, the surprise had not been complete. And these Norsemen were +used to fighting in close and rocky quarters. They sailed in with a +will. Gaar was not too busy to do a bit of wondering. + +A man was crazy to trust an old fool like Vornung, crazy to follow a +dream of white skin and red lips and incredible beauty. + +Of course, these men of the North would have admitted that they were +all a little mad to begin with. Who else but madmen would take such a +tiny craft across hundreds of leagues of stormy sea? + +Gaar laughed aloud. With ten men like his he'd sail anywhere, fight +anyone. Elgen, up in the bow, had a Pict in each hand and was cracking +their heads together. In the stern, Asgar was making short work of +three Picts. + +This fight wasn't going to last long. And a good thing. The way the +Picts swung their clubs they might just happen to knock a few holes in +the hull. Gaar breathed easier when the last of them went down. + +"Now," he said. "Maybe we can talk some sense to them." + +Vornung had taught him as much as he could recall of the language of +the Picts. With a silent prayer that Vornung's memory had been good in +at least this one respect, Gaar hauled a swarthy, bowlegged fellow to +his feet. + +"Look here. Can you understand me?" + +Then the sun came up and the Pict got a look at the man who held him. + +"I understand you." His words came through chattering teeth. + +"Good. Don't be afraid. We mean no harm." + +So Vornung hadn't been completely wrong. Gaar talked, keeping his eyes +glued on the man before him. The fellow knew what he was talking +about. Mention of the girl who slept brought a secret gleam to his +eye. What about all the others? What about the priests? + +"_The Druids._" It was a whisper. + +"Is that how they are called? How far to this land?" + +Gaar saw there wasn't going to be any answer to that. The Pict was +scared. He was shaking his head. Some of his friends were coming +around and they'd heard too. They were all turning pale around the +gills. + +"Tell him we'll hold his head under water until he speaks up," Asgar +suggested. + +Gaar hesitated. Fighting was one thing, torture another. It was all +right to cut a man to pieces as long as he had a chance to do the same +to you. + +Maybe threats would do the trick. He told the Pict what Asgar had +suggested and the man licked his lips. The rest of the Picts were in a +panic, babbling among themselves. + +Gaar understood enough of what they were saying. They were pointing at +the sun. What the devil? Was this going to turn into one of those +things? Were the Druids some sort of gods who lived in the sun? + +No, that wasn't it either. The Druids were real enough. But they had +some power that came from the sun, that could turn a man to cinders. +To speak too much about them would mean death. + +"No more certain a death than awaits you if you don't talk," Gaar +said. + +He narrowed his eyes, made them as cruel as he could. He drew the +sword from his scabbard, ran his finger along the edge. + +The blood was hammering at his temples. That dream wasn't so crazy +now. He could see her as though she were before him. Black hair hung +about alabaster shoulders. Lips as red as ripe berries, lips that had +waited a thousand years for his kiss. + +"Wait," Gaar whispered. "Not much longer now." His sword glinted in +the sunlight, hovered at the man's throat. + +"I will tell you all I know," the Pict said. + + * * * * * + +The inlet was a perfect hiding place for the ship. There were enough +branches about to screen it from distant eyes. And yet Gaar had the +feeling that they were being watched. + +He swung around suddenly. Nothing to be seen except the gently waving +branches. A harmless scene, the dancing waters of the inlet and the +serenity of the woods, and yet terror lurked there. + +Considering the fact that their knowledge was only from hearsay, the +Picts had directed him well. Down the coast of this great island, they +had said, and then through a long channel. And then you sailed around +the southern end and to the westward. There was a smaller island and a +smaller channel. + +And now it would be overland travel. Not far, the Picts had said, and +they had wondered at these men who had the daring to sail through +strange waters to certain death. There was a plain rising from the +coast. Somewhere on that plain Gaar would find what he sought. + +"I have a feeling," Asgar muttered. He was as blond as the rest, but a +foot shorter than Gaar and with a chest that threatened to burst +through his breastplate. + +"So have I," Gaar admitted. "In my bones." And out of the plain to the +north came a scent like an opened grave. + +They walked through the forest with their hands on their swords, these +men of the North. A long twilight here, a twilight that brought +shadows that could deceive a man. A strange land this, where Spring +came early and where the air was soft. + +Swords were worthless here, the Picts had said. A man's strength meant +nothing. + +A voice whispered to Gaar's mind that the Picts were right. But there +was another voice, a voice that had grown stronger night by night as +he sailed southward. This was a voice that came from long dead lips, +but lips that retained their freshness. + +"I hear something," Asgar whispered. "I hear something inside my +head." + +The others had heard it too. They stared at each other in the +gathering dusk. There was magic here. But Gaar knew that there was +magic to fight this magic. + +And then suddenly it was night. On a far off peak a fire spurted +upward. Was it a beacon or a device to lure them to doom? Gaar +wondered. They paused in a grove, in a circle of stones. It was time +to rest. A lassitude crept over them. + +He knew then how strong the dark forces were. His inner voice warned +him of the death that lurked in a circle of stones. But the power in +this grove was strong. Gaar felt the torpor take hold of him. He saw +the men stagger. Then, with his last ounce of strength, he had his +foot against one of the stones and was kicking out. + +The circle was broken and with it the spell. Gaar shook himself. He +had learned one thing, to stay outside stone circles. + + * * * * * + +Overhead the stars wheeled. There was the Bear, and there was the +Bull. If you could read them rightly the ocean was not trackless. The +seasons were there if you could read them. + +Tomorrow would be Spring. And tonight men in long black robes walked +the great circle, related each of the stones to its constellation in +the heavens, canted their hymns to the dark powers that had spawned +them. + +Tomorrow would be Spring. Tomorrow the sun would slant down between +the two tallest stones and fall blood-red upon the Cromlech, upon the +altar. Tonight they would burn brighter. + +And Be'al would be appeased. Be'al the All-Powerful would taste the +blood of the victims, would smell their flesh, and Be'al would know +that his sons had not forgotten him. + +He was all they had not forgotten. Too long for them to remember, too +long since they had crossed the void from their parent planet. The +sciences they had brought were gone. Only this residue of blood-lust +remained. + +"The girl stirs," Cyngled said. His beard was black and thick, his +skin white, and whiter still the circular scar on his forehead. + +In the sepulchre the air was damp as the high-priest looked down upon +the girl. In the light of the flickering yew-torches her eyelids +seemed to move. Cyngled's fingers hovered at the hilt of the +sacrificial knife. + +"Marna stirs," Glendyn whispered. "Tomorrow she will awaken. Let it be +for the last time. As long as she lives we are in danger." + +"She can do nothing alone." + +"But she is never alone. How many times has her beauty brought men to +her aid?" + +"Their bones would make a tall pile," Cyngled agreed. His eyes were +bright beneath hooded lids. "What about those who landed today?" + +"They are somewhere in the forest. Once we thought we had them, but +they broke away." + +Footsteps sounded in the corridor and a hooded priest came hurrying +over the worn stones of the floor. His fingers traced the sacred +symbols in the damp air of the crypt. + +"Well?" Cyngled demanded. + +"We are having trouble following them. Their thoughts are shrouded. +Something comes between us and them." + +Cyngled's eyes darted back to Marna. He knew what it was that +protected these strangers. Even in her sleep the girl had power. +Glendyn was right. + +"Tomorrow, then," Cyngled murmured. "In the meantime, watch her. You +here, Glendyn, and you above, Twyn." + + * * * * * + +Gaar moved swiftly. Behind him came the others. They had covered miles +but they were not tired. Not much farther, Gaar knew. The growth was +thinner. + +"We'll come at them straight ahead," Elgen said, moving up to Gaar's +side. "They'll never know what hit them." + +In the starlight Gaar could see his outline. Asgar's bulk loomed close +behind. Maybe the usual method of attack was best. Maybe Elgen was +right. Yet there was this knowledge that swords would not be enough. + +Then he caught the sound of voices. Out of the darkness ahead came a +deep-throated, monotonous chant. With startling abruptness the forest +ended and they were at the edge of a vast clearing. + +Huge stones, too great for a man to move, formed a perfect circle. +Towering thirty feet above the others were two monoliths standing a +few feet apart. And directly before them was an altar, a great slab of +rock supported by four stone legs. + +About the altar hooded shadows moved slowly, murmuring their endless +chants. Gaar was tempted. The surprise should be complete. But this +thing held him. + +He waited, and was glad that he had. There was the faint and +flickering light of a torch. It seemed to come out of the very ground +beyond the circle of stones. It _did_ come out of the ground. + +There was an opening of some sort, the mouth of a cave. Two figures +emerged and he saw them clearly before the torch was extinguished. +Then, even in the dim starlight, Gaar saw one of the figures move +away. + +"One of them is guarding the cave," Asgar whispered. + +"In that case there must be something to guard." He thought he knew +what it was. He was certain he knew. + +"Listen," Gaar whispered. "I'm going to try to get inside." + +"Alone?" + +"One is better than a dozen for this job. That fellow seems to have +pulled back into the mouth of the cave. If I can get him quickly his +friends may never notice he's gone." + +"What about us?" + +"You wait here. It's almost dawn. By then I should be back." + +"And if you're not back by then?" + +"Turn around and get to the ship as fast as you can. There's no use +trying if I can't get through. Don't ask me how I know that. I just +do. That's an order. Understand?" + + * * * * * + +They understood. Gaar unbuckled his sword, handed his shield to Elgen. +Next to come off was the breastplate. When a man's greatest need was +stealth, he didn't want any metal on him. + +A moment later he was off through the thin screen of trees, moving +silently around the great circle of stones. At every step he felt it +stronger, this voice inside himself. He had to keep out of the circle. +He knew that. + +Then he was behind the slight rise in the earth that was the opening +of the cave. Very slowly now, Gaar moved, feeling his way. He felt the +rock beneath his fingers. A few steps more and there was no rock. He +turned inward. + +Hugging the wall he inched forward. There was a shadow, darker then +the rest. Lips moved in the darkness, forming soundless words. Gaar's +hands reach out, found a throat. The lips stopped moving. + +Gaar lifted the body, carried it back away from the mouth of the cave. +He almost fell down the stone staircase that yawned suddenly at his +feet. When Gaar had recovered his poise he went on, taking each step +gingerly. + +He was going down into a darkness that smelled of the dungeon and even +worse. Walls grew damp and clammy where he touched them. Slimy things +scurried across the floor. The path Gaar was following twisted and +turned. + +Then there was a door. Gaar fumbled in the darkness. The door opened +soundlessly. Beyond it was a faint and fitful light that led him +onward toward its source. It led him into the room. + +Gaar knew it was the end of the search. Its bareness told him what he +had already suspected. There was no treasure. This was a people that +did not believe in jewelled trappings. But the girl was here, in this +very room. That was the only thing that mattered. + +A black-robed figure hid the sarcophagus from Gaar's view. A broad +back, wearing the folds of the dark priesthood. The back shifted +uneasily, as though feeling eyes upon it, and Gaar caught a glimpse of +something white beyond. + +He stepped forward, light as a giant cat. He took another step and his +foot scraped earth. The sound was minute, almost inaudible, but +Glendyn heard. He whirled, his hand flashing toward his girdle. Gaar +closed the gap between them in a single leap. His left hand caught +Glendyn's wrist, forced the knife back. But Glendyn was a tricky one, +hard to hold. He shifted, kicked out, and Gaar stumbled. + +The knife was at his throat now. He knocked it aside, drove his fist +upward into a soft belly. Glendyn doubled and his jaw met Gaar's other +fist as it came up. There was the splintering of bone. + + * * * * * + +Beneath a white, filmy covering she lay, beneath a flimsy veil that +pressed gently upon her rounded form. Her limbs were whiter than the +veil that covered them. Her hair was black as night. Her lips were +redder than in his vision. + +A thousand sleeps she had slept, and more. Older than the land from +which Gaar had come, and yet she was younger than he. He bent forward +and pressed his lips to hers. They were warm and yielding. + +"Wake up," Gaar whispered. Then, louder, "Wake up!" + +Was she dead? It seemed to him that she stirred, and yet it might have +been the flickering light which created an illusion. Now he ran his +hand through her hair. His big hands slapped at her cheeks, gently at +first and then harder. His voice was insistent, commanding. + +Very slowly, then, her eyes opened. Blank and staring, they were, as +she hovered on the brink. Gaar's will pulled her to life. The +blankness went out of her eyes and was replaced by a sudden gladness. + +"You came. I knew you would come." + +She struggled to sit up and saw that only the veil covered her nudity. +She blushed. Gaar turned his back, bent and removed the black robe +from the crumpled figure on the floor. Over his shoulder he handed the +robe to the girl. When he turned to her again she was sitting up, a +trace of color still in her cheeks. + +"Where are they?" Marna asked fearfully. There was loathing in the +glance she threw at Glendyn's body. "There are many more. Where are +they?" + +"Up above," Gaar told her. "This one and another were left to watch +you." + +"Good. They won't be coming back for a long time. Now they are busy +preparing the sacrifices to Be'al." Marna shuddered. "It is the feast +of Beltane." + +Gaar spoke quickly. "What sort of men are they?" + +"They are not men. They are devils. A long time ago they came out of +the sky in strange ships. They brought strange powers and a strange +god who demanded human sacrifices. My people were driven out, killed. +I am the only one left." + +"But why did they save you?" + +"As a hostage, at first. And later because it pleased them to keep me +as a symbol of the race they had vanquished. Every year I have +awakened and they have used me as a mock sacrifice. And then they have +put me to sleep again for another year." + +"And today again?" + +"For the last time. They have lost their power to act at a distance. +And they grow afraid that I may call someone they cannot defeat. Their +power is great now on only this one day when the sun comes directly +between the two stones they brought with them from their mother +world." + +She started suddenly and Gaar stared at her. "What is it?" he +demanded. + +"I feel something. I feel danger." + + * * * * * + +There was no time to ask questions. Gaar knew she would not be wrong. +This daughter of a lost people had a knowledge he could not fathom. He +lifted her out of the sarcophagus and set her on her feet. + +"We've got to get out of here. Once we reach my men and set back for +the coast they'll never stop us." + +They were running now, back along the corridor down which Gaar had +come. Half way they went, and then they heard the voices and the feet +that came toward them from above. + +Gaar listened intently. There were too many. One or two he would have +fought, maybe even a half-dozen. But this was the tramp of many feet. +They must have found the body at the head of the Stairs. Gaar cursed +his luck. + +"We'll have to go back. Is there another way out?" + +"No none. It was the burial place for the kings of my people before +the Druids came." + +And it looked like it would be his burial place as well, Gaar thought. +But he had to go back anyway. He couldn't take a chance on the girl +being hurt in a fight in the dark. Besides, that fellow he had killed +had a knife. It would be better than no weapon at all. + +The feet were close behind them as they ran. The girl was too slow. +Gaar scooped her up and ran with her under his arm. But still not +swiftly enough. They had been overheard. + +He had barely time to swing Marna behind the sarcophagus and out of +immediate danger. He bent and tore the knife from Glendyn's loose +grasp. And then they were on him, a flood of black-robed figures. + +Blood spurted as the knife in Gaar's hand flashed. A man screamed, and +then another as Gaar's fist made pulp of flesh and bone. His hands +struck blows like Thor's hammer. He made them pay dearly for every +backward step he took. But they came on still. + +They were too many for him. They forced him back until a cold wall +stopped him. Then, by the sheer force of numbers they overwhelmed him. +He went down under a torrent of blows that drove everything from his +mind but the thought that he had failed Marna. + + * * * * * + +Daylight, and Gaar's head ached as consciousness returned. He seemed +to be a single aching bruise from head to foot. After a while he +realized that Marna lay beside him at the bottom of the stairs that +led to the cavern mouth. + +Light came down strongly, too strongly. It was long after dawn. A +stray thought flashed across Gaar's mind: his men would be well on +their way to the ship: Yet there was no use castigating himself. Marna +would have died before they could have reached her if they had come in +a body. + +"I'm sorry," Gaar said, and tried to turn toward Marna. Leather thongs +bound him tightly but he rocked back and forth until he tipped onto +his side. + +"Not as sorry as I," she said, her eyes soft on his face. "If I had +not called you would never have come." + +"The only thing a Norseman fears is that he should die in bed," Gaar +told her. + +But he wasn't ready to die yet. If he could only get a little play +into these thongs! His muscles bulged with the strain as he threw his +strength into the effort. Then a scream filtered down and sent a +shiver along his spine. + +"The sacrifices have started," Marna said. "It will not be long now. +They will be coming for us soon." + +"Can't _you_ do anything?" Gaar asked. "Can't you fight them with +their own weapons?" + +"Not while I am awake. When I sleep my soul is in communion with my +people who have gone and I draw strength from them. But this is the +feast of Beltane. While the sun comes directly between the two great +stones the magic of the Druids is at its most potent. And mine is +waning." + +As her voice faded there came again the scream of a soul in mortal +fear. The scream died quickly, merging into a rising paean from the +Druids. Then there was a patter of sandal-clad feet and the light from +above was blocked by the figure of Cyngled, the high priest. + +In Cyngled's hand the great sacrificial knife dripped blood. Be'al +would drink well this day, Be'al would be appeased. Behind Cyngled +came other priests, lesser ones whose faces revealed unholy joy as +they came down the stairs. + +Two of them lifted Marna but it took four to carry Gaar. Strong light +made him blink as they emerged from the mouth of the cave. Shock +forced his eyes to remain open as they entered the charmed circle. + +Blood-red came the sun between the two monoliths to fall upon the +great Cromlech that was redder still with human gore. A wave of nausea +swept up from Gaar's stomach. He fought it down. + +Then the strength filtered out of him as he was carried into the +circle. Now he was a child in their hands. He felt himself being +lifted, felt his back touch the slippery stone. Beside him Marna was +laid, the black robe she had worn ripped from her body. + +Cyngled's chant rose above them, the knife came up and hovered at +Gaar's throat. The knife was coming down. And then it stopped! It +stopped as the air was split by the battle cry of the Norsemen! + + * * * * * + +Gaar twisted his head and saw them come out of the woods beyond the +circle. Like madmen they raged across the clearing. But nobody rushed +to oppose them! Instead, the Druid priests drew back, gathered about +Cyngled. As the Norsemen came into the circle the high priest's hands +drew the magic symbols in the air. + +And the Norsemen stopped! Like men of stone they were, a tableau of +arrested motion. + +There was no hope. The bitterness of gall was in Gaar's mouth as he +turned his head from the scene. He looked at Marna. Her eyes were +bright, burning into his own. No hopelessness there. Her eyes were +speaking to him. + +They were willing him, willing him to strength! Gaar felt it come back +to him. Her magic was stronger than she knew. He felt the strength +come back in a surge that would not be denied. + +This was only leather that held him. The leather could bite into his +flesh as he strained. But it could not hurt him. His great chest +filled with air and the thongs gave, stretched. And burst! + +In a single leap he was off the altar. He wanted to rage into the +Druid priests, to tear them apart with his bare hands. But there were +too many. And Marna's will was telling him that there was something +else he must do. + +He knew what it was. He had to strike at the source of their power. +They were turning to meet his charge, setting themselves solidly. + +Gaar wheeled, spurted around them and then around the Cromlech. They +guessed his purpose and leaped to stop him. They had to prevent him +from reaching the two great stones. Gaar battered them aside and went +through them. + +His back was against one of the monoliths, his feet against the other. +He climbed that way, ignoring the knives that slashed at his back. +Then he was above the reach of their arms. The sun was full in his +face. His shadow blocked the altar. His back was on stone, his feet +were on stone. Two great pillars, rooted in the earth, and against +them the strength of one man. + + * * * * * + +But that man was Gaar. Slowly his legs straightened, his shoulders +went back. All the power that was in his mighty frame went into the +thrust. It was a power that would not be denied. + +A pillar swayed, tottered, and was ripped out of the earth. Gaar felt +himself falling and twisted catlike in the air to land on his feet. + +He whirled to meet the charge of the Druids. Cyngled's hands still +traced the air but his power was gone. The Norsemen exploded into life +again, their swords whirring a song of death. Only Cyngled did not +lose his head. Defeated the Druids were, and defeated forever, but he +could snatch some measure of victory from the defeat. He was at +Marna's side when Gaar reached him. + +One great hand on Cyngled's throat, another at his waist. Gaar lifted +him high and hurled him earthward. Cyngled twitched once and was +still. The stone knife was in his hand but it would never be used +again. The day of the Druids was over. + +Marna was smiling at Gaar as he cut the thongs that bound her. This +time her lips came up to meet his. For Elgen and Asgar and the rest +there was no treasure. But they had no complaints. It had been a good +fight. For Gaar there was the greatest treasure of all. + +The hint of sorrow was out of Marna's eyes. The past was gone, and +there was nothing here for her now. She was the daughter of a once +great people. She would be the mother of a greater one. Her arm was +linked with Gaar's as they took the first steps back toward the ship +which would take them northward. + +THE END + + * * * * * + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Day of the Druid, by Knut Enferd + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAY OF THE DRUID *** + +***** This file should be named 32686.txt or 32686.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/6/8/32686/ + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://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. 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