id=703285&AY13 Major players in the market include Aurora Computer Services, Ayonix corp., Collins Aerospace, FaceFirst, Inc., Gemalto (Thales Group), Kairos AR, Inc, NEC Corporation, Safran ...

Airport Facial Recognition Market 2023-2030 Shows Unbelievable Growth | Top Companies - Ayonix corp., Collins Aerospace, FaceFirst

Get the most recent info and news about FaceFirst on HackerNoon, where 10k+ technologists publish stories for 4M+ monthly readers.

The FaceFirst platform uses face recognition technology to prevent fraud, security risks and public safety threats.

FaceFirst

Why is it difficult to fit UI/UX into Scrum? “ - But we need designs!” © Frontend Developers Ideally, the Scrum process works like this: we have a nice and shiny product backlog, and every 2 weeks or so the team meets to select new items for the next sprint and agree on tasks that are needed to deliver those items. At the end of the sprint, we have a new increment of software. Sounds simple, right? But when it comes to projects that involve a significant amount of design you might face some challenges. Let’s talk about some of them. UI/UX Frontend engineers might not accept a story without designs Well, they of course can accept a story defined as a few words on a sticky note. However, estimation of this item can be difficult. Frontend folks quite often think in terms of components they need to implement. Without design, it’s hard to know what components they need to implement. Sure, I don’t say it’s the only way to estimate items. In fact, being able to estimate based on minimum information without design is a good skill. But I am pretty sure you might get this pushback from the frontend team in the form “Yeah, we can estimate it without designs, but you know, it’s super rough and the story can mean anything depending on specific designs”. Multi-disciplinary work is hard to fit into one Sprint We take items one by one from the backlog and show an increment after a fixed interval of time. Sounds good, but we somehow have to ensure that we are actually completing our work during sprints. Yeah, a lot of people think that accomplishing a sprint is the same as delivering the scope of stories we planned. Actually, it’s a bit more relaxed: requires us to achieve a Spring Goal. It allows some flexibility in the scope of stories. The problem is that if you have absolutely no idea about estimates, it’s impossible to commit to achieving a Sprint Goal. This is why we have all these estimation techniques like story points and T-shirt sizes. Let me tell you an ugly truth: if you need multiple specialties to finish the work, the estimation becomes super unreliable. Just predicting how long coding will take is hard. Add a design to this picture and hitting your Sprint Goal becomes a challenge. Remember our ideal process? Scrum Designers don’t like Scrum The way designers are taught to work is typically quite different from Scrum. Their typical process looks like this: Image source Few observations here. The UX process is typically multistage and tends to be lengthy. Software engineers are trained to work in 2-week sprints or even shorter. Creative folks treat their work as exploratory R&D activity without fixed deliverables defined in the beginning. Well, the software process is quite similar. The problem is that it’s similar, but ultimately not the same type of activity. The periodicity of development and design work is unlikely to match. There were attempts to synchronize. It can work, but bear in mind sometimes we are talking about 2 different activities. Why bother with Scrum? At this point, you might think, ok, if we see all these problems of trying to fit design activities into our Scrum process maybe we should not be using Scrum. I still believe that the overall idea of fixed-sprint delivery is a good one. I can see two reasons: Shorter iterations are good because it’s a risk reduction. Fixed interval delivery reduces complexity. Instead of endless synchronization meetings, you have fixed scrum events. Even authors of Scrum admit that “it’s hard to implement”. But all these difficulties are rather signs of underlying problems - Scrum just highlights them. The main question is “Can you develop a shippable increment within some reasonable timebox?” If not, it means you have problems with transparency and adaptability. Possible solutions As we discussed before, fitting design into Scrum is challenging, so there is one universal solution. However, I’ve seen several approaches that were effective if used in the right context. Let’s look at them starting from the most lightweight. Designs done by Engineers Developers should not be designers! This is what some fundamental books like The Inmates Are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper teach us. But it’s not a rule of nature and just one of these beliefs like “developers are bad testers”. Well, some are. But it doesn’t mean you cannot build a culture of product-oriented developers. One more thing is why have you initially decided to use Scrum as your process? Well, perhaps because your project is new and innovative if you know what you are doing :) These projects with high uncertainty benefit from iterative processes like Scrum. If it’s the case you should think if you actually need a heavy design process at this stage. For a new project, you can eliminate design as a separate activity completely. It’s not 1998 and we have things like design systems and libraries of components. The only participation of a dedicated design team you need is to help to create a design system. Specific features designs can be done by engineers. Optionally, designers can consult engineers and give them feedback. Perhaps, this is the most Agile and fast way to build complex interfaces. If you have started a startup company this approach is something you should definitely consider. Asynchronous Design Imagine you started with a developer-made design and created the first MVP of your product. By analyzing usage data from real users you will likely find bottlenecks in your product. Perhaps it’s a good time to invest in more systematic design. I would not really spend much time on the design activities during the MVP stage, but the post-MVP situation is different. You might face first problems of growth and many of these problems can be addressed by proper UX. The idea here is that you involve designers when the product has already been launched. So the designers can do user research, create prototypes and test with real users. All these activities can be done independent from the delivery of the software and this is why I call it asynchronous design. Discovery Track There are situations when it’s not acceptable to create designs by developers. Developers might be just against it. Another situation is an existing product with a big user base. If an MVP can be scrappy, existing products sxhould have a different bar of quality. In these situations, you would actually need to have a dedicated design activity and think about how to fit it into Sprint. From Scrum’s point of view, design can be considered as spike activities. Spikes are research items that are needed to make Stories ready (in terms of “definition of ready”). So when you see that a story requires designs to be finished you create a corresponding Spike item. Only when a spike is ready, you can mark your original item as “ready” (for instance, during your Sprint Refinement activity). As you can see, some work happens “in advance”, to unblock future sprints. This is what we call a discovery track. The main challenge for this approach is to plan for 2-3 sprints in advance, so you have a good idea of what items can be taken into the next sprint and for what items you need designs. Optimization It can be quite dangerous to require a ready design for all your stories. Even though “dual-track Agile” is becoming very popular, you should be aware that it can make your Scrum process very much like Waterfall. Design should not be done in isolation in a functional silo and thrown over the fence to developers. You at least should try to involve engineers in the design process. Another approach is to practice in-sprint Design. In that case, developers might accept some stories without designs or with partial designs and work collaboratively with designers during the sprint. Conclusion As we can see, there is no silver bullet. Product development is hard and the process tends to be messy. Having spoken with a number of people from different product companies, it seems that there is no simple one-fit-all approach to the product development process. The real project will likely involve a combination of tactics I listed in my article. Also, it’s important to be adaptive and be able quickly to figure out current teams’ needs and bottlenecks. Also published here.

Integrating UI/UX Design in Agile Scrum Methodology

The market offers a wide range of solution providers to choose from. The Best Identity Verification Software category on any listing platform includes over 200 products. Add to it all sorts of hardware devices, and you’ll get the impression that the market is over-saturated, and there are plenty of go-to solutions for handling ID documents and Biometric verification for any business use case. Identity Verification Below is a 9-step guide that will empower you with insights on how to choose the best Identity Verification (IDV) software provider effectively, guiding your selection towards ones that excel in delivering precision, security, and the utmost trustworthiness in the field of identity verification. Step 1: Make sure that document capture is fully automated If you ask any forensic expert how to verify ID documents reliably, they will likely give you the following answer: first of all, make sure you have a physical document at hand. The reality, however, is often far from such ideals. In the face of digital transformation, the capture process largely determines the check’s credibility. At the capture stage, an identity verification solution should cope with two things: recognize the submitted document and assess its quality. The thing is that software solutions use the capabilities of the user’s device, and rely on the user’s accuracy in taking photos. A bad camera, poor lighting, glares, or a skewed image make it difficult to read the information. This may lead to either errors or asking users to re-take photos over and over again until they meet the quality requirements. The best solutions can assess an image's quality and fine-tune it if necessary: adjust brightness or contrast, remove glares, or deskew the photo if it was shot at an angle. As for document type recognition, it’s mostly a matter of Unfortunately, many identity verification solutions still add two extra steps in the user journey: “choose your document type” and “choose your country.” UX. You can avoid making your users do extra clicks and typing by choosing a solution that identifies the document type and its origin country. As simple as it sounds, such capabilities require the vendor to invest a lot of time, money, and effort into creating a comprehensive document template database. For now, let’s just make a mental note that, ideally, your identity verification solution should do most of the work automatically. Questions to ask a vendor: Does your solution identify the document type automatically? Does it assess the document image quality? What are the criteria? Can it enhance the image’s quality to improve the data's readability? Step 2: Test-drive document checks Identity verification solutions must comply with ICAO and BSI guidelines for checking international documents, visas, etc. For domestic ID documents, though, there may be their own variants of execution of security elements of protection that require specific checks. Ideally, an identity verification solution should offer a check for each aspect: both standardized international features and local characteristics. The denser the coverage with checks, the more credible the conclusion about the authenticity and validity of the document. You can judge a vendor to provide first-class performance when their solution performs a long list of checks, plus runs massive cross-checks comparing the data from different elements to make sure they match. Document checks to ask for: Automatic document type identification Visual inspection zone verification MRZ validation Barcode type and format reading and validation Document liveness check (includes checks of holograms and screenshot detection) RFID chip detection and reading Cross-checks of the data fetched from different elements Step 3: Ensure that NFC-based RFID chip verification is in place A radio-frequency identification—or simply —chip is a tiny device that modern electronic ID documents contain. RFID chips store document holders’ data. The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) strictly regulates the exact list of the data encoded in the chip. RFID Usually, reading this information entails using special passport readers or NFC technology built into mobile phones. You should be especially careful if it’s the latter. In the case of a remote process, there’s a risk that fraudsters can intercept and modify verification results. That’s why a good vendor needs to practice a zero-trust-to-mobile approach. In practice, the data needs to be re-verified to ensure the chip is not cloned or its data manipulated. Here’s an example of how Regula tackles this issue. RFID sessions can be re-verified on the server side in addition to the checks conducted on mobiles. Thanks to this, the data of the check is impossible to compromise. All this is done strictly on-premises: the results of the verification session are stored on a customer’s server, so it’s possible to get back to them afterward. This approach is considered the most reliable and secure way to verify a document with an NFC chip. Questions to ask a vendor: Does your identity verification solution read and verify an RFID chip? Can it read the information encoded in the chip? Do you apply a zero-trust-to-mobile approach? If so, how exactly does it work in your solution? Step 4: Explore capabilities for Biometric checks Validating the ID document is just a part of identity verification. Another part is ensuring that the person submitting it is the legitimate holder. That’s done with the help of biometric checks. Biometrics is a broad term that may imply a wide range of checks: face, fingerprints, voice, or even iris recognition. Most of them are overkill for regular business’ digital onboarding, but state authorities can require them, for example, when you apply for a visa. The most common way to run a biometric check for business is by using face biometrics. The process is simple: the user takes a selfie, and then the technology matches that photo with the photos in the submitted ID document (e.g., in the visual inspection zone and the RFID chip), and flags if there’s anything wrong. The essential feature of a proper face recognition module is liveness detection. That means you need not only to determine that it’s the same person in the photographs but also to make sure that the selfie is real. Sometimes attackers try to pass off an edited photo as a real selfie. Sometimes, they might use various masks and even deepfake technology. A good identity verification solution should be able to detect such issues. There are two types of liveness verification: passive and active. A passive liveness check implies the use of a static selfie, while active liveness requires the user to perform a series of simple movements: rotating the head, moving closer or further away, etc. Questions to ask a vendor: Do you perform biometric verification? What components does it include (face detection, face matching, face search, age verification, etc.)? Do you provide active or passive liveness checks? What PAD (Presentation Attack Detection) do you protect from? Step 5: Investigate the database of supported documents Cutting-edge technologies on their own aren’t enough for thorough identity verification. The most reliable IDV requires a deep knowledge of identity documents. This usually comes in the form of a document template database containing detailed information for every document: layout, fields, data recording methods, security elements, and more. Gathering such a collection requires tremendous resources and a solid background in document forensics. Ideally, your vendor should have seasoned forensic experts on their team to guarantee the comprehensiveness of templates and competent maintenance of the database. The importance of this cannot be overstated. If the vendor has thoroughly examined thousands of document types, its software solutions can easily distinguish one from another, fully read them, and extract the required data, therefore effectively verifying them as a result. The database needs to be extensive, as even within one country, there can be multiple versions of a document based on the date of issuance. Considering the frequent renewal and re-issuance of identity documents, the database should be regularly updated too. Cooperation with international organizations and security agencies is also a point in favor of the provider. Established relationships help them regularly expand the database with new document types and share the best practices in detecting document fraud. Questions to ask a vendor: How long have you been operating in the identity verification industry? Are there experts on your team with hands-on experience as forensic analysts? Do you have a document template database? How many items does it include? If there is no document in the database, how long does it take to add? Is it proprietary or bought from third parties? Step 6: Evaluate the time to value Reliability and completeness of checks are all good, but they won’t be of help if the integration process takes ages and blows up your budget. The pressure comes from multiple sides. On one side, there are regulators whose requirements are better met sooner than later. Then, there’s also your product and workflows, which will likely demand some customization from the identity verification solution. Add to it a learning curve that, for some solutions, can be rather steep, and lengthy. Questions to ask a vendor: Is it possible to build your solution into a web app? How fast will we be able to get up and running? What does the integration process look like? What customization options does your solution offer? Are they available out of the box, or will they require additional configuration/costs? Step 7: Check out the compliance of the workflows Regardless of the industry, safeguarding customer data is of the utmost importance. Therefore, it’s crucial to find out how your identity verification provider addresses the matter. When it comes to working with customers’ personally identifiable information (PII) during identity verification, there are two primary approaches: where vendors handle the storage and processing of customer data on their own infrastructure. A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) scenario, where you store and process your customers' PII within your own secured perimeter. An On-premises approach, While the SaaS use case can save you time and the expenses associated with securing the data on your own, it’s even more critical to thoroughly examine the vendor’s procedures for customer data security and protection. Data breaches aren’t uncommon. An on-premises option places a higher emphasis on data privacy and security. Since no third parties have access to PII, it reduces the risk of breaches. However, extra protection comes at a price. The maintenance of infrastructure and reliability for following security policies is on you, so you’ll need to budget resources for engineering and security training for employees. Questions to ask a vendor: What type of solution do you offer: cloud or on-prem? Do you collect and store the personal data of end users? If it’s cloud… What certifications does your service have? (e.g., SOC1 type 2, HIPAA, etc.) Where can I read your security policy? What’s your service availability time? Step 8: Try to contact tech support Salespeople might be responsive before making the sale, but a company’s true colors show when a customer faces difficulties or has a request. If a vendor can provide prompt and professional technical support, it saves you a lot of time, effort, and headaches. Ideally, it’s good to have more than one way to contact support: by phone, email, live chat, or messengers. In most companies, additional communication channels come with the premium support option. Such support may include a dedicated manager, and the ability to communicate with the vendor’s team in real-time, 24/7. If this option is not available, pay attention to the response time SLA. This is the time in which the vendor commits to respond to a client’s issue. It’s usually defined by the support policy. As for cases when a client needs off-hours assistance, the vendor’s website should provide all essential instructions, guides, and FAQs. Comprehensive documentation should answer 90% of the questions, so pay attention to how thoroughly it is made, if it includes demo examples, how often it is updated, and if it’s localized to your language. Questions to ask a vendor: What’s your response time for support requests? Do you have a premium support option? Is support documentation comprehensive and easy to navigate? Step 9: Find customer references If you made it through the steps above, you can confidently trust the results. Still, it’s always a good idea to look for additional social proof from companies that have already succeeded in what you’re trying to achieve. Here, we advise you to conduct your own research and find as many reviews about the vendor as possible. The first go-to source of information is the case study section on the vendor’s website. There, you can look for stories from customers from your niche and find relevant use cases. For example, if you’re a crypto platform on a quest to deploy KYC, then KYC-related cases from banks will also give you valuable insights. Also, pay attention to who a vendor’s existing customers are. The presence of well-known names is a good sign. If the vendor has state-level organizations and security agencies, such as border controls, among their customers, it’s also great, because they have the strictest requirements for identity verification. Also, you may want to research what the media say about different vendors. Consider exploring not only so-called tier-one resources, such as The New York Times or Business Insider but focus more on industry-specific publications that specialize in covering identity verification and cybersecurity. This approach will broaden your research and provide a more comprehensive understanding of different vendors' reputations. Among such media outlets are: Biometric Update, Help Net Security, Infosecurity Magazine, Source Security, Identity Week, Find Biometrics, and others. Try to find out: Are there any references available in open sources from customers in my industry? Can the vendor provide those references on request? Are there relevant use cases in the vendors’ customer success stories? Are there any mentions of the vendor in the industry and/or tier-one media? In conclusion, this 9-step guide empowers you to choose Identity Verification software that aligns with your specific needs while excelling in precision, security, and trustworthiness, ensuring your data and operations are in safe hands. With the right software, you can confidently navigate the evolving landscape of identity verification for a secure and seamless future. If you’re struggling with finding the right solution for your business use case – feel free to get in touch. Also published . here

How to Choose the Best Identity Verification Software

A Floating City and The Blockade Runners by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Crockston’s trick here CROCKSTON’s TRICK. It was not long before the whole crew knew Miss Halliburtt’s story, which Crockston was no longer hindered from telling. By the Captain’s orders he was released from the capstan, and the cat-o’-nine-tails returned to its place. “A pretty animal,” said Crockston, “especially when it shows its velvety paws.” As soon as he was free, he went down to the sailors’ berths, found a small portmanteau, and carried it to Miss Jenny; the young girl was now able to resume her feminine attire, but she remained in her cabin, and did not again appear on deck. As for Crockston, it was well and duly agreed that, as he was no more a sailor than a horse-guard, he should be exempt from all duty on board. In the meanwhile the “Dolphin,” with her twin screws cutting the waves, sped rapidly across the Atlantic, and there was nothing now to do but keep a strict look out. The day following the discovery of Miss Jenny’s identity, James Playfair paced the deck at the poop with a rapid step; he had made no attempt to see the young girl and resume the conversation of the day before. Whilst he was walking to and fro, Crockston passed him several times, looking at him askant with a satisfied grin; he evidently wanted to speak to the Captain, and at last his persistent manner attracted the attention of the latter, who said to him, somewhat impatiently,— “How now, what do you want? You are turning round me like a swimmer round a buoy: when are you going to leave off?” “Excuse me, Captain,” answered Crockston, winking, “I wanted to speak to you.” “Speak, then.” “Oh, it is nothing very much, I only wanted to tell you frankly that you are a good fellow at bottom.” “Why at bottom?” “At bottom and surface also.” “I don’t want your compliments.” “I am not complimenting you, I shall wait to do that when you have gone to the end.” “To what end?” “To the end of your task.” “Ah! I have a task to fulfil?” “Decidedly, you have taken the young girl and myself on board; good. You have given up your cabin to Miss Halliburtt; good. You released me from the cat-o’-nine-tails; nothing could be better. You are going to take us straight to Charleston; that’s delightful, but it is not all.” “How not all?” cried James Playfair, amazed at Crockston’s boldness. “No, certainly not,” replied the latter, with a knowing look, “the father is prisoner there.” “Well, what about that?” “Well, the father must be rescued.” “Rescue Miss Halliburtt’s father?” “Most certainly, and it is worth risking something for such a noble man and courageous citizen as he.” “Master Crockston,” said James Playfair, frowning, “I am not in the humour for your jokes, so have a care what you say.” “You misunderstand me, Captain,” said the American. “I am not joking in the least, but speaking quite seriously. What I have proposed may at first seem very absurd to you; when you have thought it over you will see that you cannot do otherwise.” “What, do you mean that I must deliver Mr. Halliburtt?” “Just so, you can demand his release of General Beauregard, who will not refuse you.” “But if he does refuse me?” “In that case,” replied Crockston, in a deliberate tone, “we must use stronger measures, and carry off the prisoner by force.” “So,” cried James Playfair, who was beginning to get angry, “so, not content with passing through the Federal fleets and forcing the blockade of Charleston, I must run out to sea again from under the cannon of the forts, and this to deliver a gentleman I know nothing of, one of those Abolitionists whom I detest, one of those journalists who shed ink instead of their blood!” “Oh! it is but a cannon-shot more or less!” added Crockston. “Master Crockston,” said James Playfair, “mind what I say; if ever you mention this affair again to me, I will send you to the hold for the rest of the passage, to teach you manners.” Thus saying the Captain dismissed the American, who went off murmuring, “Ah, well, I am not altogether displeased with this conversation: at any rate, the affair is broached; it will do, it will do!” James Playfair had hardly meant it when he said an Abolitionist whom I detest; he did not in the least side with the Federals, but he did not wish to admit that the question of slavery was the predominant reason for the civil war of the United States, in spite of President Lincoln’s formal declaration. Did he then think that the Southern States, eight out of thirty-six, were right in separating when they had been voluntarily united? Not so; he detested the Northerners, and that was all; he detested them as brothers separated from the common family—true Englishmen—who had thought it right to do what he, James Playfair, disapproved of with regard to the United States: these were the political opinions of the Captain of the “Dolphin.” But more than this, the American war interfered with him personally, and he had a grudge against those who had caused this war; one can understand, then, how he would receive a proposition to deliver an Abolitionist, thus bringing down on him the Confederates, with whom he pretended to do business. However, Crockston’s insinuation did not fail to disturb him, he cast the thought from him, but it returned unceasingly to his mind, and when Miss Jenny came on deck the next day for a few minutes, he dared not look her in the face. And really it was a great pity, for this young girl with the fair hair and sweet, intelligent face deserved to be looked at by a young man of thirty. But James felt embarrassed in her presence; he felt that this charming creature who had been educated in the school of misfortune possessed a strong and generous soul; he understood that his silence towards her inferred a refusal to acquiesce in her dearest wishes; besides, Miss Jenny never looked out for James Playfair, neither did she avoid him. Thus for the first few days they spoke little or not at all to each other. Miss Halliburtt scarcely ever left her cabin, and it is certain she would never have addressed herself to the Captain of the “Dolphin” if it had not been for Crockston’s strategy, which brought both parties together. The worthy American was a faithful servant of the Halliburtt family, he had been brought up in his master’s house and his devotion knew no bounds. His good sense equalled his courage and energy, and, as has been seen, he had a way of looking things straight in the face. He was very seldom discouraged, and could generally find a way out of the most intricate dangers with a wonderful skill. This honest fellow had taken it into his head to deliver Mr. Halliburtt, to employ the Captain’s ship, and the Captain himself for this purpose, and to return with him to England. Such was his intention, so long as the young girl had no other object than to rejoin her father and share his captivity. It was this Crockston tried to make the Captain understand, as we have seen, but the enemy had not yet surrendered, on the contrary. “Now,” said he, “it is absolutely necessary that Miss Jenny and the Captain come to an understanding; if they are going to be sulky like this all the passage we shall get nothing done: they must speak, discuss; let them dispute even, so long as they talk, and I’ll be hanged if during their conversation James Playfair does not propose himself what he refused me to-day.” But when Crockston saw that the young girl and the young man avoided each other, he began to be perplexed. “We must look sharp,” said he to himself, and the morning of the fourth day he entered Miss Halliburtt’s cabin, rubbing his hands with an air of perfect satisfaction. “Good news!” cried he, “good news! You will never guess what the Captain has proposed to me. A very noble young man he is. Now try.” “Ah!” replied Jenny, whose heart beat violently, “has he proposed to—” “To deliver Mr. Halliburtt, to carry him off from the Confederates, and bring him to England.” “Is it true?” cried Jenny. “It is, as I say, miss. What a good-hearted man this James Playfair is! These English are either all good or all bad. Ah! he may reckon on my gratitude, and I am ready to cut myself in pieces if it would please him.” Jenny’s joy was profound on hearing Crockston’s words. Deliver her father! she had never dared to think of such a plan, and the Captain of the “Dolphin” was going to risk his ship and crew! “That’s what he is,” added Crockston; “and this, Miss Jenny, is well worth an acknowledgment from you.” “More than an acknowledgment,” cried the young girl; “a lasting friendship!” And immediately she left the cabin to find James Playfair, and express to him the sentiments which flowed from her heart. “Getting on by degrees,” muttered the American. James Playfair was pacing to and fro on the poop, and, as may be thought, he was very much surprised, not to say amazed, to see the young girl go up to him, her eyes moist with grateful tears, and holding out her hand to him saying,— “Thank you, sir, thank you for your kindness, which I should never have dared to expect from a stranger.” “Miss,” replied the Captain, as if he understood nothing of what she was talking, and could not understand, “I do not know—” “Nevertheless, sir, you are going to brave many dangers, perhaps compromise your interests for me, and you have done so much already in offering me on board an hospitality to which I have no right whatever—” “Pardon me, Miss Jenny,” interrupted James Playfair, “but I protest again I do not understand your words; I have acted towards you as any well-bred man would towards a lady, and my conduct deserves neither so many thanks nor so much gratitude.” “Mr. Playfair,” said Jenny, “it is useless to pretend any longer; Crockston has told me all!” “Ah!” said the Captain, “Crockston has told you all, then I understand less than ever the reason for your leaving your cabin, and saying these words which—” Whilst speaking the Captain felt very much embarrassed; he remembered the rough way in which he had received the American’s overtures, but Jenny, fortunately for him, did not give him time for further explanation; she interrupted him, holding out her hand and saying,— “Mr. James, I had no other object in coming on board your ship except to go to Charleston, and there, however cruel the slave-holders may be, they will not refuse to let a poor girl share her father’s prison, that was all; I had never thought of a return as possible; but since you are so generous as to wish for my father’s deliverance, since you will attempt everything to save him, be assured you have my deepest gratitude.” James did not know what to do or what part to assume; he bit his lip; he dared not take the hand offered him; he saw perfectly that Crockston had compromised him, so that escape was impossible; at the same time he had no thoughts of delivering Mr. Halliburtt, and getting complicated in a disagreeable business: but how dash to the ground the hope which had arisen in this poor girl’s heart? How refuse the hand which she held out to him with a feeling of such profound friendship? How change to tears of grief the tears of gratitude which filled her eyes? So the young man tried to reply evasively, in a manner which would insure his liberty of action for the future. “Miss Jenny,” said he, “rest assured I will do everything in my power for—” And he took the little hand in both of his, but with the gentle pressure he felt his heart melt and his head grow confused: words to express his thoughts failed him. He stammered out some incoherent words,— “Miss—Miss Jenny—for you—” Crockston, who was watching him, rubbed his hands, grinning and repeating to himself,— “It will come! it will come! it has come!” How James Playfair would have managed to extricate himself from his embarrassing position no one knows, but fortunately for him, if not for the “Dolphin,” the man on watch was heard crying,— “Ahoy, officer of the watch!” “What now?” asked Mr. Mathew. “A sail to windward!” James Playfair, leaving the young girl, immediately sprang to the shrouds of the main-mast. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (2022). A Floating City and The Blockade Runners. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/67829/67829-h/67829-h.htm 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 , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

Crockston’s trick.

Kite or Board?

¿Cometa o tabla?

Cerf-volant ou planche ?

पतंग या बोर्ड?

カイトかボードか？

Kite ou prancha?

Diều hay ván?

风筝还是木板？

FRESH SUSPICIONS

THE SIMULATION OF DEATH

All Aboard for Mars!

Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Prophecy and Fulfillment Prophecy and Fulfillment Then Tarzan turned his attention to the man. He had not slain Numa to save the Negro—he had merely done it in revenge upon the lion; but now that he saw the old man lying helpless and dying before him something akin to pity touched his savage heart. In his youth he would have slain the witch-doctor without the slightest compunction; but civilization had had its softening effect upon him even as it does upon the nations and races which it touches, though it had not yet gone far enough with Tarzan to render him either cowardly or effeminate. He saw an old man suffering and dying, and he stooped and felt of his wounds and stanched the flow of blood. “Who are you?” asked the old man in a trembling voice. “I am Tarzan—Tarzan of the Apes,” replied the ape-man and not without a greater touch of pride than he would have said, “I am John Clayton, Lord Greystoke.” The witch-doctor shook convulsively and closed his eyes. When he opened them again there was in them a resignation to whatever horrible fate awaited him at the hands of this feared demon of the woods. “Why do you not kill me?” he asked. “Why should I kill you?” inquired Tarzan. “You have not harmed me, and anyway you are already dying. Numa, the lion, has killed you.” “You would not kill me?” Surprise and incredulity were in the tones of the quavering old voice. “I would save you if I could,” replied Tarzan, “but that cannot be done. Why did you think I would kill you?” For a moment the old man was silent. When he spoke it was evidently after some little effort to muster his courage. “I knew you of old,” he said, “when you ranged the jungle in the country of Mbonga, the chief. I was already a witch-doctor when you slew Kulonga and the others, and when you robbed our huts and our poison pot. At first I did not remember you; but at last I did—the white-skinned ape that lived with the hairy apes and made life miserable in the village of Mbonga, the chief—the forest god—the Munango-Keewati for whom we set food outside our gates and who came and ate it. Tell me before I die—are you man or devil?” Tarzan laughed. “I am a man,” he said. The old fellow sighed and shook his head. “You have tried to save me from Simba,” he said. “For that I shall reward you. I am a great witch-doctor. Listen to me, white man! I see bad days ahead of you. It is writ in my own blood which I have smeared upon my palm. A god greater even than you will rise up and strike you down. Turn back, Munango-Keewati! Turn back before it is too late. Danger lies ahead of you and danger lurks behind; but greater is the danger before. I see—” He paused and drew a long, gasping breath. Then he crumpled into a little, wrinkled heap and died. Tarzan wondered what else he had seen. It was very late when the ape-man re-entered the boma and lay down among his black warriors. None had seen him go and none saw him return. He thought about the warning of the old witch-doctor before he fell asleep and he thought of it again after he awoke; but he did not turn back for he was unafraid, though had he known what lay in store for one he loved most in all the world he would have flown through the trees to her side and allowed the gold of Opar to remain forever hidden in its forgotten storehouse. Behind him that morning another white man pondered something he had heard during the night and very nearly did he give up his project and turn back upon his trail. It was Werper, the murderer, who in the still of the night had heard far away upon the trail ahead of him a sound that had filled his cowardly soul with terror—a sound such as he never before had heard in all his life, nor dreamed that such a frightful thing could emanate from the lungs of a God-created creature. He had heard the victory cry of the bull ape as Tarzan had screamed it forth into the face of Goro, the moon, and he had trembled then and hidden his face; and now in the broad light of a new day he trembled again as he recalled it, and would have turned back from the nameless danger the echo of that frightful sound seemed to portend, had he not stood in even greater fear of Achmet Zek, his master. And so Tarzan of the Apes forged steadily ahead toward Opar’s ruined ramparts and behind him slunk Werper, jackal-like, and only God knew what lay in store for each. At the edge of the desolate valley, overlooking the golden domes and minarets of Opar, Tarzan halted. By night he would go alone to the treasure vault, reconnoitering, for he had determined that caution should mark his every move upon this expedition. With the coming of night he set forth, and Werper, who had scaled the cliffs alone behind the ape-man’s party, and hidden through the day among the rough boulders of the mountain top, slunk stealthily after him. The boulder-strewn plain between the valley’s edge and the mighty granite kopje, outside the city’s walls, where lay the entrance to the passage-way leading to the treasure vault, gave the Belgian ample cover as he followed Tarzan toward Opar. He saw the giant ape-man swing himself nimbly up the face of the great rock. Werper, clawing fearfully during the perilous ascent, sweating in terror, almost palsied by fear, but spurred on by avarice, following upward, until at last he stood upon the summit of the rocky hill. Tarzan was nowhere in sight. For a time Werper hid behind one of the lesser boulders that were scattered over the top of the hill, but, seeing or hearing nothing of the Englishman, he crept from his place of concealment to undertake a systematic search of his surroundings, in the hope that he might discover the location of the treasure in ample time to make his escape before Tarzan returned, for it was the Belgian’s desire merely to locate the gold, that, after Tarzan had departed, he might come in safety with his followers and carry away as much as he could transport. He found the narrow cleft leading downward into the heart of the kopje along well-worn, granite steps. He advanced quite to the dark mouth of the tunnel into which the runway disappeared; but here he halted, fearing to enter, lest he meet Tarzan returning. The ape-man, far ahead of him, groped his way along the rocky passage, until he came to the ancient wooden door. A moment later he stood within the treasure chamber, where, ages since, long-dead hands had ranged the lofty rows of precious ingots for the rulers of that great continent which now lies submerged beneath the waters of the Atlantic. No sound broke the stillness of the subterranean vault. There was no evidence that another had discovered the forgotten wealth since last the ape-man had visited its hiding place. Satisfied, Tarzan turned and retraced his steps toward the summit of the kopje. Werper, from the concealment of a jutting, granite shoulder, watched him pass up from the shadows of the stairway and advance toward the edge of the hill which faced the rim of the valley where the Waziri awaited the signal of their master. Then Werper, slipping stealthily from his hiding place, dropped into the somber darkness of the entrance and disappeared. Tarzan, halting upon the kopje’s edge, raised his voice in the thunderous roar of a lion. Twice, at regular intervals, he repeated the call, standing in attentive silence for several minutes after the echoes of the third call had died away. And then, from far across the valley, faintly, came an answering roar—once, twice, thrice. Basuli, the Waziri chieftain, had heard and replied. Tarzan again made his way toward the treasure vault, knowing that in a few hours his blacks would be with him, ready to bear away another fortune in the strangely shaped, golden ingots of Opar. In the meantime he would carry as much of the precious metal to the summit of the kopje as he could. Six trips he made in the five hours before Basuli reached the kopje, and at the end of that time he had transported forty-eight ingots to the edge of the great boulder, carrying upon each trip a load which might well have staggered two ordinary men, yet his giant frame showed no evidence of fatigue, as he helped to raise his ebon warriors to the hill top with the rope that had been brought for the purpose. Six times he had returned to the treasure chamber, and six times Werper, the Belgian, had cowered in the black shadows at the far end of the long vault. Once again came the ape-man, and this time there came with him fifty fighting men, turning porters for love of the only creature in the world who might command of their fierce and haughty natures such menial service. Fifty-two more ingots passed out of the vaults, making the total of one hundred which Tarzan intended taking away with him. As the last of the Waziri filed from the chamber, Tarzan turned back for a last glimpse of the fabulous wealth upon which his two inroads had made no appreciable impression. Before he extinguished the single candle he had brought with him for the purpose, and the flickering light of which had cast the first alleviating rays into the impenetrable darkness of the buried chamber, that it had known for the countless ages since it had lain forgotten of man, Tarzan’s mind reverted to that first occasion upon which he had entered the treasure vault, coming upon it by chance as he fled from the pits beneath the temple, where he had been hidden by La, the High Priestess of the Sun Worshipers. He recalled the scene within the temple when he had lain stretched upon the sacrificial altar, while La, with high-raised dagger, stood above him, and the rows of priests and priestesses awaited, in the ecstatic hysteria of fanaticism, the first gush of their victim’s warm blood, that they might fill their golden goblets and drink to the glory of their Flaming God. The brutal and bloody interruption by Tha, the mad priest, passed vividly before the ape-man’s recollective eyes, the flight of the votaries before the insane blood lust of the hideous creature, the brutal attack upon La, and his own part of the grim tragedy when he had battled with the infuriated Oparian and left him dead at the feet of the priestess he would have profaned. This and much more passed through Tarzan’s memory as he stood gazing at the long tiers of dull-yellow metal. He wondered if La still ruled the temples of the ruined city whose crumbling walls rose upon the very foundations about him. Had she finally been forced into a union with one of her grotesque priests? It seemed a hideous fate, indeed, for one so beautiful. With a shake of his head, Tarzan stepped to the flickering candle, extinguished its feeble rays and turned toward the exit. Behind him the spy waited for him to be gone. He had learned the secret for which he had come, and now he could return at his leisure to his waiting followers, bring them to the treasure vault and carry away all the gold that they could stagger under. The Waziri had reached the outer end of the tunnel, and were winding upward toward the fresh air and the welcome starlight of the kopje’s summit, before Tarzan shook off the detaining hand of reverie and started slowly after them. Once again, and, he thought, for the last time, he closed the massive door of the treasure room. In the darkness behind him Werper rose and stretched his cramped muscles. He stretched forth a hand and lovingly caressed a golden ingot on the nearest tier. He raised it from its immemorial resting place and weighed it in his hands. He clutched it to his bosom in an ecstasy of avarice. Tarzan dreamed of the happy homecoming which lay before him, of dear arms about his neck, and a soft cheek pressed to his; but there rose to dispel that dream the memory of the old witch-doctor and his warning. And then, in the span of a few brief seconds, the hopes of both these men were shattered. The one forgot even his greed in the panic of terror—the other was plunged into total forgetfulness of the past by a jagged fragment of rock which gashed a deep cut upon his head. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1993). Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/92/pg92-images.html 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 , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

FACEFIRST

facefirst.com

11-50 employees

Since 2012

COMPANY RANKING

FACEFIRST

EVERGREEN INDEX #4405

Representing this company? Click here to claim and customize this page!

FaceFirst WIKI

Apply to get your Tech Company News Page live on HackerNoon.com today!

FACEFIRST

facefirst.com

11-50 employees

Since 2012

COMPANY RANKING

FACEFIRST

EVERGREEN INDEX #4405

RELATED COMPANIESRANK

STORIES ABOUT FACEFIRST

Representing this company? Click here to claim and customize this page!

FaceFirst WIKI

Apply to get your Tech Company News Page live on HackerNoon.com today!