rhome

Loss of Amazon Rainforest Resilience: Author Contributions

The Linux terminal is a powerful tool that allows users to interact with their system through text-based commands. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, having a grasp of basic terminal commands is crucial. In this guide, we’ll explore some essential Linux terminal commands along with explanations and practical examples. Table of Contents tar - Archiving and Compression rm - Removing Files and Directories ls - Listing Files and Directories history - Command History whoami - Current User uname - System Information ping - Network Connectivity date - Current Date and Time cp - Copying Files and Directories mkdir - Creating Directories pwd - Present Working Directory cd - Changing Directories file - File Type Information head and tail - Viewing File Content echo - Printing to the Terminal more and cat - File Content Display mv - Moving and Renaming Files wc - Word Count and Line Count sort - Sorting Lines in Files grep - Searching for Text Conclusion 1. tar - Archiving and Compression The tar command is used for archiving and compressing files and folders. Create a compressed archive of a file: tar -zcvf archive.tar filename Create an archive of multiple files: tar -zcvf archive2.tar filename1 filename2 filename3 Create an archive of a folder: tar -zcvf folder.tar folder/ 2. rm - Removing Files and Directories The rm command is used to remove files and directories. Remove a directory and its contents: rm -r folder/ Remove multiple files: rm filename1 filename2 filename3 3. ls - Listing Files and Directories The ls command lists the contents of a directory. List all files and directories in long format: ls -al 4. history - Command History The history command displays previously executed commands. Display command history: history Clear command history: history -c 5. whoami - Current User The whoami command displays the current user. Display current user: whoami 6. uname - System Information The uname command provides system information. Display system and kernel information: uname -a Display kernel release information: uname -r 7. ping - Network Connectivity The ping command checks network connectivity to a host. Ping a host four times: ping -c4 orioninsist.org 8. date - Current Date and Time The date command displays the current date and time. Display current date and time: date 9. cp - Copying Files and Directories The cp command is used to copy files and directories. Copy a file with a new name: cp filename newfilename Copy a file to a specific directory: cp filename /home/orion/ Copy a directory and its contents recursively: cp -r /home/orion/newfolder /tmp/newfolder 10. mkdir - Creating Directories The mkdir command creates directories. Create a new directory: mkdir newfolder 11. pwd - Present Working Directory The pwd command displays the present working directory. Display current directory path: pwd 12. cd - Changing Directories The cd command is used to change directories. Change to the Desktop directory: cd Desktop Move up one directory level: cd .. 13. file - File Type Information The file command provides information about file types. Determine file type: file filename.txt 14. head and tail - Viewing File Content The head and tail commands display the beginning and end of files. Display the first lines of a file: head filename.txt Display the last lines of a file: tail filename.txt 15. echo - Printing to the Terminal The echo command prints text to the terminal. Append new content to a file: echo "new content" >> filename.txt 16. more and cat - File Content Display The more and cat commands display file content. Display file content with paging: more filename.txt Concatenate and display multiple files: cat filename.txt filename2.txt 17. mv - Moving and Renaming Files The mv command moves or renames files and directories. Move a file to a new directory: mv filename newfolder/ 18. wc - Word Count and Line Count The wc command counts words, lines, and characters in a file. Count words in a file: wc -w filename.txt Count lines in a file: wc -l filename.txt 19. sort - Sorting Lines in Files The sort command sorts lines in files. Sort lines in a file: sort filename.txt Sort lines based on the second field: sort -k 2 filename.txt 20. grep - Searching for Text The grep command searches for text in files. Search for a specific pattern: grep "orion" filename.txt Search for a pattern and exclude matches: grep -v "orion" filename.txt Conclusion These are just a few of the fundamental Linux terminal commands that can empower you to navigate and interact with your system efficiently. As you continue to explore the Linux terminal, you’ll discover even more commands and functionalities that can help you streamline your workflow and manage your system effectively. So, dive in, experiment, and become a master of the Linux command line! GitHub ⭐ GitHub: https://github.com/orioninsist/linux-basic Also published here.

Must-Know Linux Terminal Commands with Practical Examples

So you have your Docker Containers deployed, which in turn are hosting critical applications of your organization? Great! So far, so good! For the interest of the organization, it remains extremely crucial to keep not only the Containers but also the hosted applications protected from security threats. By default, a deployed Docker originally remains secured through an auto-generated profile docker-default for its containers. This profile, however, provides moderate security on the application level, and thus it remains highly recommended to implement a security profile through AppArmor which works at the process/program level of an application. What is AppArmor? AppArmor (Application Armor) is a Linux Security Module that allows implementing security on a program/process level. Specifically developed security profiles through AppArmor can allow capabilities like folder access, network access, and permission(or not) to read, write, or execute files. One of the beauties of AppArmor is that it allows a which logs profile violations without preventing them proactively. The Log eventually helps administrators to create a security profile which forms a much hardened security armor based on an application's process execution. Default Security policies when clubbed with Logs, help forming security policies for even very complex applications in quick turnaround. Learning Mode Learning Mode Learning Mode AppArmor proactively protects the operating system and applications from external or internal threats and even zero-day attacks by enforcing a specific rule set on a per-application basis. Security policies completely define what system resources individual applications can access, and with what privileges. Access is denied by default if no profile says otherwise. Installing and Enabling AppArmor Though AppArmor comes inbuilt with all Linux Kernels, it is not by default the security profile loaded with every boot. Apparmor can be set as the default security profile on every boot by setting the following parameter on kernel : apparmor= security=apparmor
CONFIG_SECURITY_APPARMOR_BOOTPARAM_VALUE= CONFIG_DEFAULT_SECURITY_APPARMOR=y 1 1 To load all AppArmor security profiles on boot, . enable apparmor.service Display AppArmor loaded profiles The system default AppArmor comes with a number of security profiles, on top of which an administrator can add his own security profiles based on the . To check the list of AppArmor security profiles correctly loaded : Learning Mode $ aa-enabled
------------
Yes To display the current loaded status use : apparmor_status 29 profiles are loaded. 
29 profiles are enforce mode.  
 ... 
0 profiles are complain mode. 
0 processes have profiles defined. 
0 processes are enforce mode. 
0 processes are complain mode. 
0 processes are unconfined but have a profile defined. # apparmor_statusapparmor module is loaded. in in in in Above you can see the loaded profiles and processes with their respective statuses. Parsing AppArmor profiles AppArmor allows a number of options using to parse either its default or custom generated profiles. is widely used to load, unload, debug, remove, replace, cache and match-strings within profiles out of the other available options. apparmor_parser apparmor_parser - Default Action to load a new profile in enforce mode. - Loading a new profile in complain mode. - Overwrite an existing profile. - Remove an existing profile in the kernel. - Display the profile version. - Display reference guide. -a -C -r -R -V -h Understanding AppArmor profiles AppArmor profiles are text files found under . A quick look into a profile file explains its execution as shown below: /etc/apparmor.d/ /etc/apparmor.d/usr.bin.test profile /usr/lib/ /test_binary 
{ /usr/share/TEST/** r,
    /usr/lib/TEST/** rm, @{HOME}/.config/ r,     
    @{HOME}/.config/TEST/** rw, 
} #include <tunables/global> test test #include <abstractions/base> # Main libraries and plugins # Configuration files and logs Strings following the symbol are variables defined under abstractions ( ), tunables ( ) or by the profile itself. includes other profile-files directly. Paths followed by a set of characters are while the helps with pattern matching. @ /etc/apparmor.d/abstractions/ /etc/apparmor.d/tunables/ #include access permissions Globbing Syntax Commonly used command options on profile files : - reading data - creating, deleting or write on an existing file - executing a file - memory mapping an executable file r w x m Creating a new AppArmor profile Creating an AppArmor profile can be done through a or S method. Systemic tand-Alone 1) Stand-Alone Profile Creation ( ) : Used for creating a profile affecting single program/application which runs for a finite amount of time, such as a web browsing client, mail client, etc. Though a Stand-Alone profile is comparatively quicker and easier to be developed, it comes with its own limitations as such the profiling is lost on a reboot. A profile can be created through AppArmor's profile generating utility. It runs on the specified program/application by creating an approximate profile, sets it to complain mode, reloads it into AppArmor, marks the log, and prompts the user to execute the program and exercise its functionality. aa-genprof Stand-Alone aa-genprof aa-autodep aa-genprof [ -d /path/to/profiles ] PROGRAM 2) Systemic Profile Creation ( ): Used for creating a profile affecting multiple programs and/or applications that runs indefinitely or continuously across reboots, such as network server applications like mail servers, security policies, etc. This method updates all of the profiles on the system at once, as opposed to one or a few targeted by profiling. aa-autodep Stand-Alone Steps to create Systemic profile for a program : Run an initial to create an approximate profile for a program - this lets AppArmor consider the program for monitoring. aa-autodep Activate learning or complain mode for all profiled programs by entering aa-complain /etc/apparmor.d/* Run the application. Ensure that the running program gets to access each file representing its access needs. As a result, the execution might run for several days through multiple system reboots. Analyze the log with . aa-logprof Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 to generate an optimal profile. Subsequent iterations generate fewer messages and run faster. Systemic Edit the profiles in as required. /etc/apparmor.d/ Return to enforce mode using which eventually enforces the rules of the profiles. aa-enfore /etc/apparmor.d/* Rescan all kernel profiles to ensure no conflict. Modifying an existing AppArmor profile Monitor the system for AppArmor denials dmesg, /var/log/kern.log, /var/log/messages, etc aa-notify Run to update the policy aa-logprof Disabling AppArmor In case you would like to disable AppArmor for the current session, you can do so by clearing out all AppArmor profiles for the current session by # aa-teardown. Additionally, to prevent the kernel from loading AppArmor profiles at the next boot and from kernel parameters. disable apparmor.service remove apparmor=1 security=apparmor AppArmor when implemented properly, provides an enhanced level of security to the deployed containers at a program level. There are endless possibilities of creating varied profiles through , and hence makes it stand apart from the system generated profile. Learning Mode docker-default

Advanced Docker Security with AppArmor - An Overview

The United States v Meta Platforms Court Filing October 24, 2023 is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This is part 94 of 100. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here COUNT XLIX: VIOLATIONS OF RHODE ISLAND DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT, R.I. GEN. L. §§ 6-13.1-1 TO 6-13.1-10 1133. The State of Rhode Island incorporates and realleges each of the paragraphs 1 through 850 as if fully set forth herein. 1134. The Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practices Act (RI DTPA) makes unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce unlawful. R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-2. 1135. The RI DTPA defines “unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts or practices” as, among other things, “conduct that . . . creates a likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding,” “any other methods, acts, or practices that mislead or deceive members of the public in a material respect,” and “any act or practice that is unfair or deceptive to the consumer.” R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-1(6)(xii), (xiv), (xiii). 1136. Any person, firm, or corporation who violates the RI DTPA is liable for a civil penalty up to $10,000 for each violation. R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-8. 1137. Meta’s acts or practices enumerated in the foregoing paragraphs have been in the conduct of trade or commerce, directly or indirectly, in Rhode Island. 1138. As alleged herein, Meta made representations including that Meta’s Social Media Platforms are not designed to harm young users or to induce compulsive use, that Meta’s Social Media Platforms are less addictive than they actually are, that the incidence of negative user experiences was lower than it actually was, that Meta was not prioritizing profit maximization over young users’ well-being when it was, that Meta effectively excluded under-13 users when its safeguards were insufficient, that Meta complied with federal laws and regulations related to the exclusion of under-13 users when it did not, and that Meta did not collect user data for the purpose of causing addiction to its Social Media Platforms when it had such a purpose. These representations constitute conduct that creates a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding and that deceive and mislead members of the public regarding Meta’s Social Media Platforms. R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-1(6)(xii), (xiii), (xiv). 1139. Similarly, as alleged herein, Meta is engaging in unfair acts to consumers, including implementing psychologically manipulative, engagement-inducing features that harm consumers and targeting young users despite knowing their specific vulnerability to compulsive and unhealthy platform use. These unfair acts constitute conduct that is especially unfair to younger users. R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-1(6)(xiii). 1140. Meta’s acts or practices, both past and continuing, are immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous, and substantially injurious to Rhode Island consumers. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-2 and § 6-13.1-5, the acts, practices, representations, and omissions of Meta described herein are unlawful, violate the prohibition against unfair or deceptive acts or practices found in RI DTPA, and restraint of these practices is in the public interest. Continue Reading . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case 4:23-cv-05448 retrieved on October 25, 2023, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. Washingtonpost.com Lead image by Dima Solomin on Unsplash

Meta Accused of Violating Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practices Act

When I wrote my first book, , my goal was to create an unconventional programming book with the appearance of a regular storybook, but is actually written in code.  C programming concepts are taught through code explanations. Since a standard picture book has 32 pages, I imposed the requirement on myself to make the book 32 pages, which is funny in retrospect. A Day in Code: An Illustrated Story Written in the C Programming Language Fast forward three years, and I released that has 94 pages. In this book, classic rhymes and stories you’re familiar with are “translated” into full C programs. When you run the programs on your computer, the logic of the programs makes the text of the nursery rhyme or the fairy tale story print out on the console. Programs gradually increase in complexity, with simple nursery rhymes teaching a single topic, followed by more complex fairy tales combining multiple concepts. I think readers’ familiarity with the classic rhymes/stories will help with naturally understanding the logic of the programs. Of course, it’s also illustrated like a picture book to maintain a comforting storybook feel. Learn C Programming through Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales Compared to my first book, my objective with this new book was to delve deeper into code explanations, have longer programs, and add a few additional topics—including pointers, which allow you to access memory and directly manipulate it. Pointers are considered an advanced and difficult topic that beginners still must learn, as they are fundamental to the C programing language’s low-level memory control.  Pointers are introduced in a program that tells the story of “The Three Little Pigs”, with each pig’s house being located at a memory address. This book is a follow-up to my previous book, . The “translation” of nursery rhymes and fairy tales into C programs was more challenging and space-consuming than Python. The biggest takeaway is that strings are much easier to work with in Python. was made possible by using constants and variable names representing elements in the rhyme or story. Learn Python through Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales Learn C Programming through Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales C is Useful As an embedded software engineer, I’m a big proponent of C programming. It’s efficient and fast.  It provides high level logical constructs like and loops, while also being “close to the hardware” by allowing for low level manipulation of memory and bits. It has influenced many other programming languages like Python and Java, so provides a strong foundation for learning other languages. if…else while()

Learn To Code in C with Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales

FTC v. Amazon Court Filing, retrieved on Sep 26, 2023, is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This is part 78 of 80. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here COUNT XIX: VIOLATIONS OF RHODE ISLAND LAW 557. Plaintiff State of Rhode Island repeats and re-alleges and incorporates by reference each and every preceding paragraph and allegation in the Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 558. Amazon’s actions as alleged herein violate the Rhode Island Antitrust Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-36-1, et seq. 559. Plaintiff State of Rhode Island seeks all remedies available under the Rhode Island Antitrust Act, R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 6-36-10, 6-36-11 and 6-36-12 and seeks relief, including but not limited to injunctive relief, equitable monetary relief, fees, costs, and such other relief as this Court deems just and equitable. 560. Amazon’s actions as alleged herein constitute unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices as defined in the Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practices Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.3-1, et seq. 561. The State of Rhode Island brings this action pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1- 5, and seeks relief, including but not limited to injunctive relief, equitable monetary relief, fees, costs, and such other relief as this Court deems just and equitable. Continue Reading . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case 2:23-cv-01495 retrieved on October 2, 2023, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. ftc.gov

Rhode Island Takes Legal Action Against Amazon for Unfair Trade Practices 

Tales and Stories by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE FALSE RHYME here VI. THE FALSE RHYME. “Come, tell me where the maid is found Whose heart can love without deceit, And I will range the world around To sigh one moment at her feet.” —Moore. On a fine July day, the fair Margaret, Queen of Navarre, then on a visit to her royal brother, had arranged a rural feast for the morning following, which Francis declined attending. He was melancholy; and the cause was said to be some lover’s quarrel with a favourite dame. The morrow came, and dark rain and murky clouds destroyed at once the schemes of the courtly throng. Margaret was angry, and she grew weary: her only hope for amusement was in Francis, and he had shut himself up,—an excellent reason why she should the more desire to see him. She entered his apartment: he was standing at the casement, against which the noisy shower beat, writing with a diamond on the glass. Two beautiful dogs were his sole companions. As Queen Margaret entered, he hastily let down the silken curtain before the window, and looked a little confused. “What treason is this, my liege,” said the queen, “which crimsons your cheek? I must see the same.” “It is treason,” replied the king, “and therefore, sweet sister, thou mayest not see it.” This the more excited Margaret’s curiosity, and a playful contest ensued. Francis at last yielded: he threw himself on a huge high-backed settee; and as the lady drew back the curtain with an arch smile, he grew grave and sentimental, as he reflected on the cause which had inspired his libel against all womankind. “What have we here?” cried Margaret; “nay, this is lêse majesté— “‘Souvent femme varie, Bien fou qui s’y fie!’ Very little change would greatly amend your couplet:—would it not run better thus— “‘Souvent homme varie, Bien folle qui s’y fie?’ I could tell you twenty stories of man’s inconstancy.” “I will be content with one true tale of woman’s fidelity,” said Francis drily; “but do not provoke me. I would fain be at peace with the soft Mutabilities, for thy dear sake.” “I defy your grace,” replied Margaret rashly, “to instance the falsehood of one noble and well-reputed dame.” “Not even Emilie de Lagny?” asked the king. This was a sore subject for the queen. Emilie had been brought up in her own household, the most beautiful and the most virtuous of her maids of honour. She had long loved the Sire de Lagny, and their nuptials were celebrated with rejoicings but little ominous of the result. De Lagny was accused but a year after of traitorously yielding to the emperor a fortress under his command, and he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment. For some time Emilie seemed inconsolable, often visiting the miserable dungeon of her husband, and suffering on her return, from witnessing his wretchedness, such paroxysms of grief as threatened her life. Suddenly, in the midst of her sorrow, she disappeared; and inquiry only divulged the disgraceful fact, that she had escaped from France, bearing her jewels with her, and accompanied by her page, Robinet Leroux. It was whispered that, during their journey, the lady and the stripling often occupied one chamber; and Margaret, enraged at these discoveries, commanded that no further quest should be made for her lost favourite. Taunted now by her brother, she defended Emilie, declaring that she believed her to be guiltless, even going so far as to boast that within a month she would bring proof of her innocence. “Robinet was a pretty boy,” said Francis, laughing. “Let us make a bet,” cried Margaret: “if I lose, I will bear this vile rhyme of thine as a motto to my shame to my grave; if I win”— “I will break my window, and grant thee whatever boon thou askest.” The result of this bet was long sung by troubadour and minstrel. The queen employed a hundred emissaries,—published rewards for any intelligence of Emilie,—all in vain. The month was expiring, and Margaret would have given many bright jewels to redeem her word. On the eve of the fatal day, the jailor of the prison in which the Sire de Lagny was confined sought an audience of the queen; he brought her a message from the knight to say, that if the Lady Margaret would ask his pardon as her boon, and obtain from her royal brother that he might be brought before him, her bet was won. Fair Margaret was very joyful, and readily made the desired promise. Francis was unwilling to see his false servant, but he was in high good-humour, for a cavalier had that morning brought intelligence of a victory over the Imperialists. The messenger himself was lauded in the despatches as the most fearless and bravest knight in France. The king loaded him with presents, only regretting that a vow prevented the soldier from raising his visor or declaring his name. That same evening as the setting sun shone on the lattice on which the ungallant rhyme was traced, Francis reposed on the same settee, and the beautiful Queen of Navarre, with triumph in her bright eyes, sat beside him. Attended by guards, the prisoner was brought in: his frame was attenuated by privation, and he walked with tottering steps. He knelt at the feet of Francis, and uncovered his head; a quantity of rich golden hair then escaping, fell over the sunken cheeks and pallid brow of the suppliant. “We have treason here!” cried the king. “Sir jailor, where is your prisoner!” “Sire, blame him not,” said the soft faltering voice of Emilie; “wiser men than he have been deceived by woman. My dear lord was guiltless of the crime for which he suffered. There was but one mode to save him:—I assumed his chains—he escaped with poor Robinet Leroux in my attire—he joined your army: the young and gallant cavalier who delivered the despatches to your grace, whom you overwhelmed with honours and reward, is my own Enguerrard de Lagny. I waited but for his arrival with testimonials of his innocence, to declare myself to my lady, the queen. Has she not won her bet! And the boon she asks”— “Is de Lagny’s pardon,” said Margaret, as she also knelt to the king. “Spare your faithful vassal, sire, and reward this lady’s truth.” Francis first broke the false-speaking window, then he raised the ladies from their supplicatory posture. In the tournament given to celebrate this “Triumph of Ladies,” the Sire de Lagny bore off every prize; and surely there was more loveliness in Emilie’s faded cheek—more grace in her emaciated form, type as they were of truest affection—than in the prouder bearing and fresher complexion of the most brilliant beauty in attendance on the courtly festival. 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. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (2018). Tales and Stories. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/56665/pg56665-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

THE FALSE RHYME

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Chapter XXIII CHAPTER XXIII (Anne’s Narrative Resumed) I thoroughly enjoyed the journey up to Rhodesia. There was something new and exciting to see every day. First the wonderful scenery of the Hex river valley, then the desolate grandeur of the Karoo, and finally that wonderful straight stretch of line in Bechuanaland, and the perfectly adorable toys the natives brought to sell. Suzanne and I were nearly left behind at each station—if you could call them stations. It seemed to me that the train just stopped whenever it felt like it, and no sooner had it done so than a horde of natives materialized out of the empty landscape, holding up mealie bowls and sugar canes and fur karosses and adorable carved wooden animals. Suzanne began at once to make a collection of the latter. I imitated her example—most of them cost a “tiki” (threepence) and each was different. There were giraffes and tigers and snakes and a melancholy looking eland and absurd little black warriors. We enjoyed ourselves enormously. Sir Eustace tried to restrain us—but in vain. I still think it was a miracle we were not left behind at some oasis of the line. South African trains don’t hoot or get excited when they are going to start off again. They just glide quietly away, and you look up from your bargaining and run for your life. Suzanne’s amazement at seeing me climb upon the train at Cape Town can be imagined. We held an exhaustive survey of the situation on the first evening out. We talked half the night. It had become clear to me that defensive tactics must be adopted as well as aggressive ones. Travelling with Sir Eustace Pedler and his party, I was fairly safe. Both he and Colonel Race were powerful protectors, and I judged that my enemies would not wish to stir up a hornet’s nest about my ears. Also, as long as I was near Sir Eustace, I was more or less in touch with Guy Pagett—and Guy Pagett was the heart of the mystery. I asked Suzanne whether in her opinion it was possible that Pagett himself was the mysterious “Colonel.” His subordinate position was, of course, against the assumption, but it had struck me once or twice that, for all his autocratic ways, Sir Eustace was really very much influenced by his secretary. He was an easy-going man, and one whom an adroit secretary might be able to twist round his little finger. The comparative obscurity of his position might in reality be useful to him, since he would be anxious to be well out of the limelight. Suzanne, however, negatived these ideas very strongly. She refused to believe that Guy Pagett was the ruling spirit. The real head—the “Colonel”—was somewhere in the background and had probably been already in Africa at the time of our arrival. I agreed that there was much to be said for her view, but I was not entirely satisfied. For in each suspicious instance Pagett had been shown as the directing genius. It was true that his personality seemed to lack the assurance and decision that one would expect from a master criminal—but after all, according to Colonel Race, it was brain work only that this mysterious leader supplied, and creative genius is often allied to a weak and timorous physical constitution. “There speaks the Professor’s daughter,” interrupted Suzanne, when I had got to this point in my argument. “It’s true, all the same. On the other hand, Pagett may be the Grand Vizier, so to speak, of the All Highest.” I was silent for a minute or two, and then went on musingly: “I wish I knew how Sir Eustace made his money!” “Suspecting him again?” “Suzanne, I’ve got into that state that I can’t help suspecting somebody! I don’t really suspect him—but, after all, he is Pagett’s employer, and he did own the Mill House.” “I’ve always heard that he made his money in some way he isn’t anxious to talk about,” said Suzanne thoughtfully. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean crime—it might be tin-tacks or hair restorer!” I agreed ruefully. “I suppose,” said Suzanne doubtfully, “that we’re not barking up the wrong tree? Being led completely astray, I mean, by assuming Pagett’s complicity? Supposing that, after all, he is a perfectly honest man?” I considered that for a minute or two, then I shook my head. “I can’t believe that.” “After all, he has his explanations for everything.” “Y—es, but they’re not very convincing. For instance, the night he tried to throw me overboard on the Kilmorden, he says he followed Rayburn up on deck and Rayburn turned and knocked him down. Now we know that’s not true.” “No,” said Suzanne unwillingly. “But we only heard the story at second-hand from Sir Eustace. If we’d heard it direct from Pagett himself, it might have been different. You know how people always get a story a little wrong when they repeat it.” I turned the thing over in my mind. “No,” I said at last, “I don’t see any way out. Pagett’s guilty. You can’t get away from the fact that he tried to throw me overboard, and everything else fits in. Why are you so persistent in this new idea of yours?” “Because of his face?” “His face? But——” “Yes, I know what you’re going to say. It’s a sinister face. That’s just it. No man with a face like that could be really sinister. It must be a colossal joke on the part of Nature.” I did not believe much in Suzanne’s argument. I know a lot about Nature in past ages. If she’s got a sense of humour, she doesn’t show it much. Suzanne is just the sort of person who would clothe Nature with all her own attributes. We passed on to discuss our immediate plans. It was clear to me that I must have some kind of standing. I couldn’t go on avoiding explanations for ever. The solution of all my difficulties lay ready to my hand, though I didn’t think of it for some time. The Daily Budget! My silence or my speech could no longer affect Harry Rayburn. He was marked down as “The Man in the Brown Suit” through no fault of mine. I could help him best by seeming to be against him. The “Colonel” and his gang must have no suspicion that there existed any friendly feeling between me and the man they had elected to be the scapegoat of the murder at Marlow. As far as I knew, the woman killed was still unidentified. I would cable to Lord Nasby, suggesting that she was no other than the famous Russian dancer “Nadina” who had been delighting Paris for so long. It seemed incredible to me that she had not been identified already—but when I learnt more of the case long afterwards I saw how natural it really was. Nadina had never been to England during her successful career in Paris. She was unknown to London audiences. The pictures in the papers of the Marlow victim were so blurred and unrecognizable that it is small wonder no one identified them. And, on the other hand, Nadina had kept her intention of visiting England a profound secret from every one. The day after the murder a letter had been received by her manager purporting to be from the dancer, in which she said that she was returning to Russia on urgent private affairs and that he must deal with her broken contract as best he could. All this, of course, I only learned afterwards. With Suzanne’s full approval, I sent a long cable from De Aar. It arrived at a psychological moment (this again, of course, I learnt afterwards). The Daily Budget was hard up for a sensation. My guess was verified and proved to be correct and the Daily Budget had the scoop of its lifetime. “Victim of the Mill House Murder identified by our special reporter.” And so on. “Our reporter makes voyage with the murderer. ‘The Man in the Brown Suit.’ What he is really like.” The main facts were, of course, cabled to the South African papers, but I only read my own lengthy articles at a much later date! I received approval and full instructions by cable at Bulawayo. I was on the staff of the Daily Budget, and I had a private word of congratulation from Lord Nasby himself. I was definitely accredited to hunt down the murderer, and I, and only I, knew that the murderer was not Harry Rayburn! But let the world think that it was he—best so for the present. 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. Agatha Christie (2020). The Man in the Brown Suit. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/61168/pg61168-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.

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey up to Rhodesia

Miss Winchelsea Goes to Rome

A Short History of the World, by H. G. Wells, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . BETWEEN ROME AND CHINA BETWEEN ROME AND CHINA The second and first centuries B.C. mark a new phase in the history of mankind. Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean are no longer the centre of interest. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were still fertile, populous and fairly prosperous, but they were no longer the dominant regions of the world. Power had drifted to the west and to the east. Two great empires now dominated the world, this new Roman Empire and the renascent Empire of China. Rome extended its power to the Euphrates, but it was never able to get beyond that boundary. It was too remote. Beyond the Euphrates the former Persian and Indian dominions of the Seleucids fell under a number of new masters. China, now under the Han dynasty, which had replaced the Ts’in dynasty at the death of Shi-Hwang-ti, had extended its power across Tibet and over the high mountain passes of the Pamirs into western Turkestan. But there, too, it reached its extremes. Beyond was too far. China at this time was the greatest, best organized and most civilized political system in the world. It was superior in area and population to the Roman Empire at its zenith. It was possible then for these two vast systems to flourish in the same world at the same time in almost complete ignorance of each other. The means of communication both by sea and land was not yet sufficiently developed and organized for them to come to a direct clash. Yet they reacted upon each other in a very remarkable way, and their influence upon the fate of the regions that lay between them, upon central Asia and India, was profound. A certain amount of trade trickled through, by camel caravans across Persia, for example, and by coasting ships by way of India and the Red Sea. In 66 B.C. Roman troops under Pompey followed in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, and marched up the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. In 102 A.D. a Chinese expeditionary force under Pan Chau reached the Caspian, and sent emissaries to report upon the power of Rome. But many centuries were still to pass before definite knowledge and direct intercourse were to link the great parallel worlds of Europe and Eastern Asia. To the north of both these great empires were barbaric wildernesses. What is now Germany was largely forest lands; the forests extended far into Russia and made a home for the gigantic aurochs, a bull of almost elephantine size. Then to the north of the great mountain masses of Asia stretched a band of deserts, steppes and then forests and frozen lands. In the eastward lap of the elevated part of Asia was the great triangle of Manchuria. Large parts of these regions, stretching between South Russia and Turkestan into Manchuria, were and are regions of exceptional climatic insecurity. Their rainfall has varied greatly in the course of a few centuries They are lands treacherous to man. For years they will carry pasture and sustain cultivation, and then will come an age of decline in humidity and a cycle of killing droughts. A CHINESE COVERED JAR OF GREEN-GLAZED EARTHENWARE Han Dynasty (contemporary with the late Roman republic and early Empire) (In the Victoria and Albert Museum) The western part of this barbaric north from the German forests to South Russia and Turkestan and from Gothland to the Alps was the region of origin of the Nordic peoples and of the Aryan speech. The eastern steppes and deserts of Mongolia was the region of origin of the Hunnish or Mongolian or Tartar or Turkish peoples—for all these several peoples were akin in language, race, and way of life. And as the Nordic peoples seem to have been continually overflowing their own borders and pressing south upon the developing civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean coast, so the Hunnish tribes sent their surplus as wanderers, raiders and conquerors into the settled regions of China. Periods of plenty in the north would mean an increase in population there; a shortage of grass, a spell of cattle disease, would drive the hungry warlike tribesmen south. For a time there were simultaneously two fairly effective Empires in the world capable of holding back the barbarians and even forcing forward the frontiers of the imperial peace. The thrust of the Han empire from north China into Mongolia was strong and continuous. The Chinese population welled up over the barrier of the Great Wall. Behind the imperial frontier guards came the Chinese farmer with horse and plough, ploughing up the grass lands and enclosing the winter pasture. The Hunnish peoples raided and murdered the settlers, but the Chinese punitive expeditions were too much for them. The nomads were faced with the choice of settling down to the plough and becoming Chinese tax-payers or shifting in search of fresh summer pastures. Some took the former course and were absorbed. Some drifted north-eastward and eastward over the mountain passes down into western Turkestan. VASE OF BRONZE FORM, UNGLAZED STONEWARE Han Dynasty (B.C. 206 - A.D. 220) (In the Victoria and Albert Museum) This westward drive of the Mongolian horsemen was going on from 200 B.C. onward. It was producing a westward pressure upon the Aryan tribes, and these again were pressing upon the Roman frontiers ready to break through directly there was any weakness apparent. The Parthians, who were apparently a Scythian people with some Mongolian admixture, came down to the Euphrates by the first century B.C. They fought against Pompey the Great in his eastern raid. They defeated and killed Crassus. They replaced the Seleucid monarchy in Persia by a dynasty of Parthian kings, the Arsacid dynasty. CHINESE VESSEL IN BRONZE, IN FORM OF A GOOSE Dating from before the time of Shi-Hwang-ti. Such a piece of work indicates a high level of comfort and humour (In the Victoria and Albert Museum) But for a time the line of least resistance for hungry nomads lay neither to the west nor the east but through central Asia and then south-eastward through the Khyber Pass into India. It was India which received the Mongolian drive in these centuries of Roman and Chinese strength. A series of raiding conquerors poured down through the Punjab into the great plains to loot and destroy. The empire of Asoka was broken up, and for a time the history of India passes into darkness. A certain Kushan dynasty founded by the “Indo- Scythians”—one of the raiding peoples—ruled for a time over North India and maintained a certain order. These invasions went on for several centuries. For a large part of the fifth century A.D. India was afflicted by the Ephthalites or White Huns, who levied tribute on the small Indian princes and held India in terror. Every summer these Ephthalites pastured in western Turkestan, every autumn they came down through the passes to terrorize India. In the second century A.D. a great misfortune came upon the Roman and Chinese empires that probably weakened the resistance of both to barbarian pressure. This was a pestilence of unexampled virulence. It raged for eleven years in China and disorganized the social framework profoundly. The Han dynasty fell, and a new age of division and confusion began from which China did not fairly recover until the seventh century A.D. with the coming of the great Tang dynasty. The infection spread through Asia to Europe. It raged throughout the Roman Empire from 164 to 180 A.D. It evidently weakened the Roman imperial fabric very seriously. We begin to hear of depopulation in the Roman provinces after this, and there was a marked deterioration in the vigour and efficiency of government. At any rate we presently find the frontier no longer invulnerable, but giving way first in this place and then in that. A new Nordic people, the Goths, coming originally from Gothland in Sweden, had migrated across Russia to the Volga region and the shores of the Black Sea and taken to the sea and piracy. By the end of the second century they may have begun to feel the westward thrust of the Huns. In 247 they crossed the Danube in a great land raid, and defeated and killed the Emperor Decius in a battle in what is now Serbia. In 236 another Germanic people, the Franks, had broken bounds upon the lower Rhine, and the Alemanni had poured into Alsace. The legions in Gaul beat back their invaders, but the Goths in the Balkan peninsula raided again and again. The province of Dacia vanished from Roman history. A chill had come to the pride and confidence of Rome. In 270-275 Rome, which had been an open and secure city for three centuries, was fortified by the Emperor Aurelian. 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. H. G. Wells (2011). A Short History of the World. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022, from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11870/11870-h/11870-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 www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

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