, Jr., PLEASE DO _NOT_ READ!)

Ah, but wait! There _is_ a villain in the piece!

_I_ did not lie to you, no. But you were lied to, all the same.

By whom?

By none less than that conniving arch-fiend, John W. Campbell, Jr.,
that's who!

Wasn't it he who bought the story?

And wasn't it he who, with malice aforethought, published it in a
package which was plainly labeled Science Fiction?

And, therefore, didn't you have every right to think it _was_ science
fiction?

Sure you did!

I am guilty of nothing more than weakness; my poor, frail sense of
ethics collapsed completely at the sight of the bribe he offered me to
become a party to the dark conspiracy that sprang from the depths of his
own demoniac mind. Ah, well; none of us is perfect, I suppose.

DAVID GORDON.

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from _Astounding Science Fiction_ March
1959. 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 the Project Gutenberg EBook of Despoilers of the Golden Empire, by
Gordon Randall Garrett

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