Penzils

penzils

AI Business: Enterprise Models for LLMs Profitability

Should You Mine Bitcoin with Everminer?

আপনার কি এভারমাইনারের সাথে বিটকয়েন মাইন করা উচিত?

Sollten Sie Bitcoin mit Everminer schürfen?

¿Deberías extraer Bitcoin con Everminer?

Devriez-vous miner du Bitcoin avec Everminer ?

क्या आपको एवरमाइनर के साथ बिटकॉइन माइन करना चाहिए?

Everminer でビットコインをマイニングすべきでしょうか?

Everminer로 비트코인을 채굴해야 할까요?

Você deveria minerar Bitcoin com Everminer?

Стоит ли майнить биткойны с помощью Everminer?

Everminer ile Bitcoin Madenciliği Yapmalı mısınız?

Bạn có nên khai thác Bitcoin với Everminer không?

您应该使用 Everminer 挖掘比特币吗？

Authors: (1) Yuwen Lu, he contributed equally to this work, University of Notre Dame, USA; (2) Chao Zhang, he contributed equally to this work and work done as a visiting researcher at the University of Notre Dame; (3) Yuewen Yang, Work done as a visiting researcher at the University of Notre Dame; (4) Yaxin Yao, Virginia Tech, USA; (5) Toby Jia-Jun Li, University of Notre Dame, USA. Table of Links Introduction Background and Related Work Co-Design Workshops Technology Probe Study Results Scaling Up: A Research Agenda Limitations and Future Work Conclusions and References Appendix 3 CO-DESIGN WORKSHOPS In the first phase of our study, we conducted 5 in-person exploratory co-design workshops[6] to achieve the following goals: (1) Exploring users’ perceived disruptiveness and annoyance of different dark patterns in various usage contexts; (2) Learning the existing measures that users have developed or adopted, consciously or subconsciously, to cope with dark patterns; (3) Investigating users’ needs and expectations regarding dark pattern intervention techniques. 3.1 Participants We recruited 12 participants (PA1–PA12; 5 men, 7 women) through word of mouth, email mailing list, and flyer distribution. Our participants represent diverse backgrounds in occupational domains (e.g., health, education, social assistance, and information services), Internet usage (ranging from 2–5 hours to 8+ hours per day), and knowledge of dark patterns (7 had heard of the concept, the remaining 5 had not). Detailed demographics can be found in Appendix A.1. We conducted 5 in-person workshops with 2–4 participants in each session. The groups were divided based on participants’ time availability. Each participant was compensated $30 for their time. 3.2 Workshop Activities Each workshop lasted 2 hours and started with a brief introduction to the concept and examples of dark patterns. The participants completed three activities together: a focus group discussion, a storyboard fill-in session, and a tangible website redesign activity. In a focus group, participants were first introduced to the concept of dark patterns, then reflected on and shared dark patterns examples they previously encountered in everyday lives. During the discussion, researchers provided feedback and clarifications to help them understand the boundary and varied “darkness” level of dark patterns [38]. The participants were then asked to rank their examples by the level of perceived annoyance and disruptiveness and provide explanations. Researchers followed up with questions to find out the current strategies adopted by participants to address the impacts of dark patterns. 3.2.1 Focus Group Discussion. We designed this activity to help participants ground their understanding of dark patterns’ prevalence and impact in their concrete personal experiences. Reflecting on dark patterns and the associated level of annoyance also acted as a stimulus, prompting participants to contemplate countermeasures in subsequent activities. The format was intentionally less structured, with an emphasis on encouraging speak-up and fostering a comfortable environment that would promote open dialogue in subsequent activities. The second activity was a storyboard fill-in. Storyboards are commonly used HCI tools to visually communicate user experience scenarios to the audience [119, 122, 134]. In co-design workshops, storyboards help contextualize participants and prompt them to think about their needs, goals, and constraints in the scenarios described [9, 90]. In our study, we adopted “fill-in-the-blanks” storyboards [88, 129] to explore the users’ desired solutions to dark patterns. For each storyboard, we left one or two frames blank, encouraging participants to provide insights into their understanding of dark patterns and their preferred abilities to counter these patterns [7]. 3.2.2 Storyboard Fill-in. Specifically, we presented participants with 6 storyboards (Fig. 1) depicting scenarios in which a tool helped them mitigate the negative impacts of dark patterns. Of these, 3 focused on improving users’ awareness of dark patterns (Fig. 1a), and 3 (Fig. 1b) others on helping users take act against dark patterns. Each storyboard contained 4 frames, representing the background of the scenario, the tool used, how the tool helped, and the desired outcome respectively. We left the second or/and the third frames blank and asked participants to brainstorm their desired tools and their interactions. The last activity was a tangible user interface redesign. While storyboard fill-in focused on the design of intervention scenarios (e.g. the user flow of interventions), this activity targeted intervention at a lower, more granular level—the specific alternatives of dark patterns on UI design. We designed this activity to be tangible, in the form of paper prototyping instead of digital UI mockup modification, to encourage participants to make bold changes and think outside the box [113]. It also avoids the learning process for a new digital design tool. 3.2.3 Tangible Website Redesign. We curated 13 representative dark pattern examples on 7 websites for online shopping, flight booking, video streaming, and social media as a diverse set of scenarios. These examples were selected from previous research literature [11, 38], online discussions of dark patterns [15], and the researchers’ own experiences, with the goal of triggering discussions among participants. In each workshop, participants selected around 5 dark patterns that they were most concerned about to work on. For each dark pattern instance, we provided a printout of the website interface and a set of cut-out UI widgets from the same interface. During the activity, participants edited the cut-out widgets and drew new UI widgets using a variety of provided stationery[8], and re-assembled them into a more desired design of the original website interface. The interfaces created by the participants were collected for analysis [9]. 3.3 Workshop Findings Following the open coding methods [14, 63], two researchers conducted a thematic analysis of audio transcriptions for workshops and materials produced in the three activities. The researchers conducted three rounds of iterative labeling, in which descriptive labels on relevant transcript pieces were created, grouped, and generalized into higher-level themes. The analysis was discussion-based, with no necessity for inter-rater reliability due to the aim of discovering emergent themes [84]. Comparative analysis was not the focus of the study, but a comparison of responses from tech industry users and other users showed no significant difference in their perceptions or coping mechanisms concerning dark patterns. This is in line with previous work [55] which showed no significant differences between end users and experts in perceptions of dark patterns. Our workshop findings (WF) are described below in response to our workshop goals. Participants expressed their desire to know more about the potential impacts of dark patterns. Although many were able to detect dark patterns, most participants only developed a vague assumption about the impacts, falling short of articulating the specifics. The particular mechanisms and impact remain as a “blackbox”, confirming findings in [11, 35]. WF1: Users would like to learn more about the impact of dark patterns. Participants often asked about the detailed mechanisms and impact of dark patterns and felt the knowledge was useful. Importantly, clear knowledge of dark patterns’ impact can help users choose services more consciously and potentially reduce the irritation of seeing dark patterns. PA6 and PA7 mentioned that for disguised ads on Instagram, “those are annoying at first, but once you know that (its impact) and come to expect it, it’s like okay (less annoying) (PA6)”. These findings complement existing research by demonstrating users’ autonomy—they are not merely passive consumers of dark patterns. They are interested in actively learning, and the acquired knowledge can change their usage behavior and connections with online platforms. Despite the prevalent negative perception of manipulative UX design patterns, not all participants viewed them unfavorably. In fact, responses varied widely from negative to positive, echoing findings from studies on online behavioral advertising [124]. Users often perceived a persuasive pattern as helpful when it aligns user goals with stakeholder profits. PA2 liked the autoplay feature on Netflix, even when understanding it used forced continuation, because “it is useful when I am away from my mouse”. Similarly, for disguised ads on social media, PA12 expressed that “I won’t block them. I usually don’t engage or buy stuff... Maybe I’ll see something in the future I like”. We summarized 3 most common perceptions from participants: disruptiveness (the user experience was disrupted by the dark pattern), indifference (the dark pattern was neither harmful nor useful), and helpfulness (the pattern was helpful in the current context). WF2: Users’ perceptions of dark patterns are personal and dynamically changing, which are formed based on user preferences, types of dark pattern instances, and usage contexts. Users encountering a dark pattern typically evaluate its potential pros and cons subconsciously, influenced by factors like perceived convenience, potential consequences, and the pattern’s apparent malicious intent. Accordingly, three factors—the user, the dark pattern, and the usage context— determine this perception. An example is the autoplay feature for the next episode on Netflix. PA1, PA10, and PA12 expressed their dislike of this feature, while PA2, PA5, and PA11 generally thought it was convenient. Furthermore, even the same user’s perception can shift with different usage contexts and changing goals. PA11 found auto-play harmful when using Netflix during work because of the short break time, but useful when casually browsing after work just for fun. These findings are in parallel with results in [35] and enhance previous findings by highlighting the highly individualized and contextualized nature of users’ perceptions of dark patterns. This finding reveals more details regarding how end users react when facing dark patterns’ perceived influences, in addition to the conclusions in [11]. For disruptive dark patterns, many users actively seek solutions to mitigate the impact. PA12 used a calendar to track the end of free subscription trials as a reminder to unsubscribe. On Instagram, PA6 developed a habit to avoid disguised ads when tapping through all stories. “Funnily enough, every time I watch a story, I have developed... an unconscious habit, I close out (by swiping down) and I click the next one. (PA6)” If the user can successfully find a solution, it becomes a “muscle memory” for them. For the Instagram habit, PA6 expressed that “I didn’t know why I do that, but I guess that’s a dark pattern and I am unconsciously adapted.” PA1 also developed the habit of reaching their mouse before an episode ends on Netflix, to wiggle the cursor in time and avoid forced continuation. WF3: Users develop varied coping mechanisms based on their different dark pattern perceptions. For dark patterns that users feel indifferent to, the most common strategy is ignoring them. PA6 mentioned that they gradually got used to “confirmshaming” dark patterns and “just don’t care anymore”. When asked about a disguised advertisement on a flight booking website during the redesign activity, PA8, PA9, and PA10 reported that they did not even notice it. They considered it “too colorful” to be relevant and therefore simply ignored it. 3.4 Design Implications The thematic analysis results of our co-design workshops offered several design implications for dark pattern intervention techniques and user empowerment. When encountering disruptive dark patterns, users often feel manipulated but have no ability to resist (WF1). To help participants regain self-autonomy [82], we can empower end users with the ability to change the interfaces of dark patterns. It would help users take the initiative to mitigate the negative impact. DI1: Empower users with the ability to make changes on dark patterns. During our workshops, participants expressed the need for information on the potential influences of dark patterns and envisioned a ranking of their severity. With such information, users can make better informed evaluations of the impact of a dark pattern on themselves (WF2) and develop their coping mechanism accordingly (WF3). DI2: Provide information on the potential consequences of dark patterns. Perceptions of dark patterns may shift with users, types of dark pattern instances, and usage contexts. Even for the same dark pattern, users may act differently (WF3). As a result, it is necessary to have multiple intervention options for users to choose from. In this way, users can have more flexibility in personalization and autonomy. DI3: Offer users multiple intervention options for each dark pattern. In our redesign activity, participants proposed intervention techniques for dark patterns that can be categorized into three approaches: (1) modifying interface components and layouts to eliminate malicious design, (2) adjusting user flows to prevent users from falling into behavioral traps, and (3) evoking reflection by uncovering the outcomes of dark patterns for long-term self-change. Future intervention designs can take inspiration from these strategies and apply them in appropriate scenarios. DI4: Design dark pattern interventions with three strategies: interface design change, user flow adjustment, and behavioral outcome reflection. For example, on a flight booking website, while the website highlighted the more expensive first-class and main-cabin options over the basic economy, PA8, PA9, and PA10 changed them to the same size and color to pursue a fair style. PA1, PA2, and PA3 designed an agent to provide an appropriate action guide with dark patterns on Amazon to help them save money. PA6 and PA7 wanted to know, in the long term, how many times dark patterns on a certain website affected their behavior, to reflect on their relationship with the platform. We used these findings and design implications from our co-design workshop to guide our second co-design phase—a technology probe study. [6] The protocol of workshops has been reviewed and approved by the IRB at our institution. [7] Examples of participant-filled storyboards are available in the supplemental materials. [8] The provided stationery included but was not limited to pencils, colored pens, scissors, highlighters, and glue sticks [9] Examples of participant-redesigned interfaces are available in the supplemental materials. This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv

Navigating User Responses to Dark Patterns in UX Design 

On the Causes and Consequences of Large Factories

I awoke, and my first thought was, Adrian and Clara are dead.

LIGHT IS A THRID FORM OF THAT ENERGY

Business English: A Practice Book by Rose Buhlig is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . SPELLING RULES here SPELLING RULES Exercise 29—Plurals of Nouns ( ) a dress, dresses ( ) b chair, chairs splash, splashes wave, waves business, businesses book, books church, churches pencil, pencils fox, foxes paper, papers The usual way of forming the plural of English nouns is illustrated by the words in column ( ) above. What is it? b If you add to the singular form , could you distinguish the pronunciation of the plural from the pronunciation of the singular? Does this suggest a reason for adding to form the plural? s dress es How many syllables must you use to pronounce the plural of fox? Does this suggest another reason for adding to form the plural? es Every word that ends in a sibilant or hissing sound ( , , , , , ) forms its plural like . Give several illustrations. ch s sh ss x z fox Rule 1.—Nouns regularly form the plural by adding , but those ending in a sibilant must add .\Exercise 30 s es ( ) a lady, ladies ( ) b valley, valleys ally, allies alley, alleys soliloquy, soliloquies journey, journeys Name five words belonging to group ( ) above. Does a vowel or a consonant precede the in each case? a y Name other words belonging to the group ( ) above. Does a vowel or a consonant precede the in each case? b y **Rule 2.—Nouns ending in preceded by a consonant (and nouns ending in ) form the plural by changing to and adding .\Exercise 31—Words ending in o y quy y i es ( ) a potato, potatoes hero, heroes mulatto, mulattoes tomato, tomatoes buffalo, buffaloes cargo, cargoes negro, negroes echo, echoes motto, mottoes ( ) b solo, solos piano, pianos memento, mementos halo, halos lasso, lassos canto, cantos zero, zeros quarto, quartos soprano, sopranos stilletto, stillettos The older English words ending in form the plural by adding , as in potatoes; those more recently taken into the language form the plural by adding , as in quartos. o es s Exercise 32—Nouns in f and fe leaf, leaves calf, calves wife, wives loaf, loaves sheaf, sheaves shelf, shelves half, halves wolf, wolves elf, elves life, lives beef, beeves wharf, wharves (or wharfs) self, selves knife, knives ith the exception of the words given above, nouns ending in an sound form the plural in the regular way; as, f hoof, hoofs scarf, scarfs beliefs, beliefs chief, chiefs reef, reefs grief, griefs Exercise 33—Irregular Plurals Some nouns form their plural by a change of vowel; as, man men foot feet woman women tooth teeth goose geese mouse mice A few words retain the old time plural as, en; brother    brethren child children ox oxen A few words are the same in both singular and plural; as, sheep, trout, deer Some nouns have two plurals which differ in meaning; as, Singular Plural brother brothers brethren penny pennies pence pea peas pease die dies dice Consult a dictionary for the difference in meaning between the two plurals of each word. **Exercise 34—Compound Nouns Singular Plural brother-in-law brothers-in-law father-in-law fathers-in-law court-martial courts-martial commander-in-chief commanders-in-chief man-of-war men-of-war major general major generals goose quill goose quills bill of fare bills of fare spoonful spoonfuls cupful cupfuls Rule 3.—Compound nouns usually add the sign of the plural to the fundamental part of the word. Note.—In the thought is of one spoon many times full. spoonfuls Plural of Letters and Figures Rule 4.—Letters and figures form the plural by adding the apostrophe (') and as, s; a a's 3 3's w w's 5 5's The same rule applies to the plural of words which ordinarily have no plural; as, Don't use so many and . and's if's Exercise 35—Foreign Plurals Some nouns derived from foreign languages retain their original plural. The following are in common use. Consult a dictionary for their pronunciation and definition. Singular Plural Singular Plural crisis crises stratum strata thesis theses radius radii hypothesis hypotheses parenthesis parentheses focus foci synopsis synopses datum data basis bases alumnus alumni automaton automata alumna alumnae analysis analyses oasis oases nucleus nuclei axis axes phenomenon phenomena genus genera Some words admit of two plurals, one the foreign plural, and one the regular English plural; as, Singular Plural beau beaux beaus formula formulae formulas vertex vertices vertexes index indices indexes cherub cherubim cherubs seraph seraphim seraphs bandit banditti bandits Consult a dictionary to see whether there is any difference of meaning between the two plurals of these words. **Exercise 36—The Formation of Participles , , Rap rapping rapped , , Reap reaping reaped is a monosyllable ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel. The final consonant in such words is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel is added. Rap In the final consonant is not doubled because it is preceded by two vowels. reap Make the participles of the following verbs: chat lap suit step cheat leap sit steep rot train sop trot root trim soap treat , , Trap trapping trapped , , Track tracking tracked Why is the final consonant in doubled before or is added? trap ing ed The final consonant in is not doubled because ends with two consonants. track track , Pin pinning , Pine pining drops the silent because the tendency in English is to drop endings that are not needed for pronunciation before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. Pine e Form the participles of the following verbs: knot rob flop note robe elope deal swim quit ( is not here a vowel) u clap strike crawl ( is here a vowel) w stop oil wax ( equals ) x cks peal rush bow ( is here a vowel) w Exercise 37 Exercise 36 applies also to words of more than one syllable accented on the last syllable, if they retain the accent on the same syllable after the suffix is added. Thus we have Rule 5.—Monosyllables or words accented on the last syllable, ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. Form participles from the following words that are accented on the last syllable: prefer intervene escape expel refer reveal acquire contain occur repeal secure forbid permit pursue conceal incur interfere erase arrange forget retain control acquit repel Form participles from the following words not accented on the last syllable: benefit travel marvel shelter revel answer exhibit render quarrel profit shovel limit Words in which the accent changes do not double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, confer conference infer inference refer reference prefer preferable Explain why the final consonant is doubled in each of the following words: not neglect neglecting lean leaning prefer preference select selecting creep creeping receipt receipting wonder wondering answer answering Exercise 38 Rule 6.—In forming the present participle of verbs ending in , retain the before adding as, y y ing; study studying obey obeying carry carrying convey conveying pity pitying In forming the perfect participle, if in the present tense the is preceded by a consonant, the is changed to and added; if the is preceded by a vowel, the is retained; as, y y i ed y y study studied carry carried pity pitied but obey obeyed convey conveyed Compare with . Rule 2 Exercise 39 Rule 7.—In words containing a long sound spelled either or , follows follows one of the other consonants; as, e ie ei ei c; ie ei ie deceive relieve siege perceive believe yield receive belief grief conceive chief field conceit priest piece receipt niece wield reprieve lien —Either, neither, weird, seize, leisure. Exceptions. The following couplet may help in remembering when to write and when to write ie ei: When the letter you spy, Put the before the . c e i Exercise 40—The Pronunciation of and c g The letter is pronounced sometimes like and sometimes like . c s k What sound does have before Illustrate. c a? Before Illustrate. e? Before Illustrate. i? Before Illustrate. o? Before Illustrate. u? Before Illustrate. y? If is pronounced like , it is called hard and is marked . c k [\c] If is pronounced like , it is called soft and is marked . The mark used to indicate the soft is called the . c s ç c cedilla Make a statement telling when is hard and when it is soft. c What sound does have before each of the vowels, as in , , , , g game gone gymnasium Gunther gentle? Rule 8.— and usually are soft before , , and .\Exercise 41 C g e i y Words ending in silent , according to Rule 5, drop the before a suffix beginning with a vowel. Exceptions occur when the is needed to preserve the soft sound of and . Tell why is dropped in and retained in . e e e c g e encouraging courageous In words containing , as in and , the gives the the soft sound, and there is no need to retain the before adding a suffix, as in . dg judge lodge d g e judgment Rule 9.—Words ending in silent usually drop the before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, unless the is needed to preserve the pronunciation; as after soft and , when the suffix begins with or . e e e c g a o Tell why the is retained before the suffix in the following: e noticeable damageable pronounceable outrageous courageous peaceable serviceable manageable Tell why the is dropped before adding the suffix in the following: e managing curable erasure besieging admirable realization receiving obliging precedence perseverance The fact that has two different sounds causes a slight peculiarity in words ending in . Final has the sound of . When words end in , the letter is usually added before a suffix beginning with either , , or , to show that is not pronounced like as, c c c k c k e i y c s; frolic       frolicked       frolicking If the is not added, the changes its pronunciation; as, k c public       publicity Exercise 42 It follows by inference from Rule 9 that words ending in silent retain the before a suffix beginning with a consonant; as, e e move movement disgrace disgraceful defense defenseless fate fateful arrange arrangement fierce fiercely noise noiseless manage management severe severely rude rudeness —Truly, duly, wisdom, awful, wholly. Exceptions. Bring to class a list of twenty words that retain the final before a suffix beginning with a consonant. e Exercise 43 What spelling rule does each of the following words illustrate? advantageous gigantic boxes admittance mimicking piece libraries occurrence arrangement receipt keys acquittal Exercise 44—Abbreviations Write abbreviations for the months of the year. Are there any that should not be abbreviated? The abbreviations for the states and territories are: Alabama, Ala. Maryland, Md. Arizona, Ariz. Massachusetts, Mass. Arkansas, Ark. Michigan, Mich. California, Cal. Minnesota, Minn. Colorado, Colo. Mississippi, Miss. Connecticut, Conn. Missouri, Mo. Delaware, Del. Montana, Mont. District of Columbia, D.C. Nebraska, Nebr. Florida, Fla. Nevada, Nev. Georgia, Ga. New Hampshire, N.H. Idaho, Idaho New Mexico, N. Mex. Illinois, Ill. New York, N.Y. Indiana, Ind. New Jersey, N.J. Iowa, Ia. North Carolina, N.C. Kansas, Kans. North Dakota, N. Dak. Kentucky, Ky. Ohio, O. Louisiana, La. Oklahoma, Okla. Maine, Me. Oregon, Ore. Pennsylvania, Pa. Utah, Utah Philippine Islands, P.I. Vermont, Vt. Porto Rico, P.R. Virginia, Va. South Carolina, S.C. Washington, Wash. South Dakota, S.D. Wisconsin, Wis. Tennessee, Tenn. West Virginia, W. Va. Texas, Tex. Wyoming, Wyo. Note.—It is much better to write the full name rather than the abbreviation whenever the former would make the address clearer, especially as regards similar abbreviations, such as Cal. and Colo. Exercise 45—Abbreviations of Commercial Terms A 1, first class doz., dozen @, at E. & O.E., errors and omissions excepted acct., account ea., each adv., advertisement e.g., for example agt., agent etc., and so forth a.m., forenoon exch., exchange amt., amount ft., foot app., appendix f.o.b., free on board atty., attorney gal., gallon av., average i.e., that is avoir., avoirdupois imp., imported bal., balance in., inches bbl., barrel inst., this month (instant) B/L, bill of lading Jr., junior bldg., building kg., keg B/S, bill of sale lb., pound bu., bushel ltd., limited C.B., cash book mdse., merchandise C., hundred mem., memorandum coll., collection, collector mo., month Co., company M.S. (MSS)., manuscript C.O.D., cash on delivery mtg., mortgage cr., creditor N.B., take notice cwt., hundredweight no., number D., five hundred O.K., all right dept., department per, by disc., discount p.m., afternoon do., ditto %, per cent dr., debtor, debit St., street pkg., package str., steamer pp., pages ult., last month pr., pair U.S.M., United States Mail pc., piece viz., namely pk., peck vol., volume prox., next month W/B, way bill pt., pint wt., weight Sr., senior 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. Rose Buhlig (2011). Business English: A Practice Book. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/38046/pg38046-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 , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

SPELLING RULES

Judgement Day.

The $30,000 Bequest, and Other Stories by Mark Twain, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . CHAPTER II here CHAPTER II Now came great news! Stunning news—joyous news, in fact. It came from a neighboring state, where the family's only surviving relative lived. It was Sally's relative—a sort of vague and indefinite uncle or second or third cousin by the name of Tilbury Foster, seventy and a bachelor, reputed well off and corresponding sour and crusty. Sally had tried to make up to him once, by letter, in a bygone time, and had not made that mistake again. Tilbury now wrote to Sally, saying he should shortly die, and should leave him thirty thousand dollars, cash; not for love, but because money had given him most of his troubles and exasperations, and he wished to place it where there was good hope that it would continue its malignant work. The bequest would be found in his will, and would be paid over. PROVIDED, that Sally should be able to prove to the executors that he had Taken no notice of the gift by spoken word or by letter, had made no inquiries concerning the moribund's progress toward the everlasting tropics, and had not attended the funeral. As soon as Aleck had partially recovered from the tremendous emotions created by the letter, she sent to the relative's habitat and subscribed for the local paper. Man and wife entered into a solemn compact, now, to never mention the great news to any one while the relative lived, lest some ignorant person carry the fact to the death-bed and distort it and make it appear that they were disobediently thankful for the bequest, and just the same as confessing it and publishing it, right in the face of the prohibition. For the rest of the day Sally made havoc and confusion with his books, and Aleck could not keep her mind on her affairs, not even take up a flower-pot or book or a stick of wood without forgetting what she had intended to do with it. For both were dreaming. “Thir-ty thousand dollars!” All day long the music of those inspiring words sang through those people's heads. From his marriage-day forth, Aleck's grip had been upon the purse, and Sally had seldom known what it was to be privileged to squander a dime on non-necessities. “Thir-ty thousand dollars!” the song went on and on. A vast sum, an unthinkable sum! All day long Aleck was absorbed in planning how to invest it, Sally in planning how to spend it. There was no romance-reading that night. The children took themselves away early, for their parents were silent, distraught, and strangely unentertaining. The good-night kisses might as well have been impressed upon vacancy, for all the response they got; the parents were not aware of the kisses, and the children had been gone an hour before their absence was noticed. Two pencils had been busy during that hour—note-making; in the way of plans. It was Sally who broke the stillness at last. He said, with exultation: “Ah, it'll be grand, Aleck! Out of the first thousand we'll have a horse and a buggy for summer, and a cutter and a skin lap-robe for winter.” Aleck responded with decision and composure— “Out of the ? Nothing of the kind. Not if it was a million!” capital Sally was deeply disappointed; the glow went out of his face. “Oh, Aleck!” he said, reproachfully. “We've always worked so hard and been so scrimped: and now that we are rich, it does seem—” He did not finish, for he saw her eye soften; his supplication had touched her. She said, with gentle persuasiveness: “We must not spend the capital, dear, it would not be wise. Out of the income from it—” “That will answer, that will answer, Aleck! How dear and good you are! There will be a noble income and if we can spend that—” “Not of it, dear, not all of it, but you can spend a part of it. That is, a reasonable part. But the whole of the capital—every penny of it—must be put right to work, and kept at it. You see the reasonableness of that, don't you?” all “Why, ye-s. Yes, of course. But we'll have to wait so long. Six months before the first interest falls due.” “Yes—maybe longer.” “Longer, Aleck? Why? Don't they pay half-yearly?” “ kind of an investment—yes; but I sha'n't invest in that way.” That “What way, then?” “For big returns.” “Big. That's good. Go on, Aleck. What is it?” “Coal. The new mines. Cannel. I mean to put in ten thousand. Ground floor. When we organize, we'll get three shares for one.” “By George, but it sounds good, Aleck! Then the shares will be worth—how much? And when?” “About a year. They'll pay ten per cent. half yearly, and be worth thirty thousand. I know all about it; the advertisement is in the Cincinnati paper here.” “Land, thirty thousand for ten—in a year! Let's jam in the whole capital and pull out ninety! I'll write and subscribe right now—tomorrow it maybe too late.” He was flying to the writing-desk, but Aleck stopped him and put him back in his chair. She said: “Don't lose your head so. mustn't subscribe till we've got the money; don't you know that?” We Sally's excitement went down a degree or two, but he was not wholly appeased. “Why, Aleck, we'll it, you know—and so soon, too. He's probably out of his troubles before this; it's a hundred to nothing he's selecting his brimstone-shovel this very minute. Now, I think—” have Aleck shuddered, and said: “How you, Sally! Don't talk in that way, it is perfectly scandalous.” can “Oh, well, make it a halo, if you like, don't care for his outfit, I was only just talking. Can't you let a person talk?” I “But why should you to talk in that dreadful way? How would you like to have people talk so about , and you not cold yet?” want you “Not likely to be, for while, I reckon, if my last act was giving away money for the sake of doing somebody a harm with it. But never mind about Tilbury, Aleck, let's talk about something worldly. It does seem to me that that mine is the place for the whole thirty. What's the objection?” one “All the eggs in one basket—that's the objection.” “All right, if you say so. What about the other twenty? What do you mean to do with that?” “There is no hurry; I am going to look around before I do anything with it.” “All right, if your mind's made up,” sighed Sally. He was deep in thought awhile, then he said: “There'll be twenty thousand profit coming from the ten a year from now. We can spend that, can't we, Aleck?” Aleck shook her head. “No, dear,” she said, “it won't sell high till we've had the first semi-annual dividend. You can spend part of that.” “Shucks, only —and a whole year to wait! Confound it, I—” that “Oh, do be patient! It might even be declared in three months—it's quite within the possibilities.” “Oh, jolly! oh, thanks!” and Sally jumped up and kissed his wife in gratitude. “It'll be three thousand—three whole thousand! how much of it can we spend, Aleck? Make it liberal!—do, dear, that's a good fellow.” Aleck was pleased; so pleased that she yielded to the pressure and conceded a sum which her judgment told her was a foolish extravagance—a thousand dollars. Sally kissed her half a dozen times and even in that way could not express all his joy and thankfulness. This new access of gratitude and affection carried Aleck quite beyond the bounds of prudence, and before she could restrain herself she had made her darling another grant—a couple of thousand out of the fifty or sixty which she meant to clear within a year of the twenty which still remained of the bequest. The happy tears sprang to Sally's eyes, and he said: “Oh, I want to hug you!” And he did it. Then he got his notes and sat down and began to check off, for first purchase, the luxuries which he should earliest wish to secure. “Horse—buggy—cutter—lap-robe—patent-leathers—dog—plug-hat— church-pew—stem-winder—new teeth— , Aleck!” say “Well?” “Ciphering away, aren't you? That's right. Have you got the twenty thousand invested yet?” “No, there's no hurry about that; I must look around first, and think.” “But you are ciphering; what's it about?” “Why, I have to find work for the thirty thousand that comes out of the coal, haven't I?” “Scott, what a head! I never thought of that. How are you getting along? Where have you arrived?” “Not very far—two years or three. I've turned it over twice; once in oil and once in wheat.” “Why, Aleck, it's splendid! How does it aggregate?” “I think—well, to be on the safe side, about a hundred and eighty thousand clear, though it will probably be more.” “My! isn't it wonderful? By gracious! luck has come our way at last, after all the hard sledding. Aleck!” “Well?” “I'm going to cash in a whole three hundred on the missionaries—what real right have we care for expenses!” “You couldn't do a nobler thing, dear; and it's just like your generous nature, you unselfish boy.” The praise made Sally poignantly happy, but he was fair and just enough to say it was rightfully due to Aleck rather than to himself, since but for her he should never have had the money. Then they went up to bed, and in their delirium of bliss they forgot and left the candle burning in the parlor. They did not remember until they were undressed; then Sally was for letting it burn; he said they could afford it, if it was a thousand. But Aleck went down and put it out. A good job, too; for on her way back she hit on a scheme that would turn the hundred and eighty thousand into half a million before it had had time to get cold. 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. Mark Twain (2004). The $30,000 Bequest, and Other Stories. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/142/pg142-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 , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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