Do you need something else than "make check"?
I think I need to read the documentation more... I had completely overlooked "make check"
The help procedure opens up the Gambit manual from the file ~~doc/gambit-c.html , so it is a local file (no internet needed). On the other hand, if you click on a procedure name in the Gambit manual, you will be brought to the wiki page which documents that procedure (a copy of the local documentation to which you can add comments, such as examples and clarifications, at the bottom of the wiki page).
Hum. It ran lynx, and it did seem to be checking data from the net (as it was not instantaneous and showed some kind of "downloading" message in the status bar). I guess I need more sleep, or just double check what I send on the mailing list...
Sorry for the noise.
P!