Download the full version of the textbook now at textbookfull.

com

Connectivity Frameworks for Smart Devices The

Internet of Things from a Distributed
Computing Perspective 1st Edition Zaigham
Mahmood (Eds.)
https://textbookfull.com/product/connectivity-
frameworks-for-smart-devices-the-internet-of-
things-from-a-distributed-computing-
perspective-1st-edition-zaigham-mahmood-eds/

Explore and download more textbook at https://textbookfull.com

 Recommended digital products (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that
you can download immediately if you are interested.

Connected Environments for the Internet of Things

Challenges and Solutions 1st Edition Zaigham Mahmood
(Eds.)
https://textbookfull.com/product/connected-environments-for-the-
internet-of-things-challenges-and-solutions-1st-edition-zaigham-
mahmood-eds/
textbookfull.com

Smart Cities Zaigham Mahmood

https://textbookfull.com/product/smart-cities-zaigham-mahmood/

textbookfull.com

Software Project Management for Distributed Computing Life

Cycle Methods for Developing Scalable and Reliable Tools
1st Edition Zaigham Mahmood (Eds.)
https://textbookfull.com/product/software-project-management-for-
distributed-computing-life-cycle-methods-for-developing-scalable-and-
reliable-tools-1st-edition-zaigham-mahmood-eds/
textbookfull.com

Hard as Stone: A BBW & Quarterback Sports Romance (Hard

for Her Book 4) 1st Edition Lana Love [Love

https://textbookfull.com/product/hard-as-stone-a-bbw-quarterback-
sports-romance-hard-for-her-book-4-1st-edition-lana-love-love/

textbookfull.com
Jungian Analysis Depth Psychology and Soul The Selected
Works of Thomas B Kirsch 1st Edition Thomas B. Kirsch

https://textbookfull.com/product/jungian-analysis-depth-psychology-
and-soul-the-selected-works-of-thomas-b-kirsch-1st-edition-thomas-b-
kirsch/
textbookfull.com

Doing Business in America: A Jewish History Hasia R. Diner

https://textbookfull.com/product/doing-business-in-america-a-jewish-
history-hasia-r-diner/

textbookfull.com

Heinemann Biology 2 Philip Batterham Et Al.

https://textbookfull.com/product/heinemann-biology-2-philip-batterham-
et-al/

textbookfull.com

The Tea Party and the remaking of Republican conservatism

Theda Skocpol

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-tea-party-and-the-remaking-of-
republican-conservatism-theda-skocpol/

textbookfull.com

In Hoffa s shadow a stepfather a disappearance in Detroit

and my search for the truth First Edition International
Brotherhood Of Teamsters
https://textbookfull.com/product/in-hoffa-s-shadow-a-stepfather-a-
disappearance-in-detroit-and-my-search-for-the-truth-first-edition-
international-brotherhood-of-teamsters/
textbookfull.com
Computational Methods and Data Engineering: Proceedings of
ICMDE 2020, Volume 1 Vijendra Singh

https://textbookfull.com/product/computational-methods-and-data-
engineering-proceedings-of-icmde-2020-volume-1-vijendra-singh/

textbookfull.com
Computer Communications and Networks

Zaigham Mahmood Editor

Connectivity
Frameworks for
Smart Devices
The Internet of Things from a
Distributed Computing Perspective
Computer Communications and Networks

Series editor
A.J. Sammes
Centre for Forensic Computing
Cranfield University, Shrivenham Campus
Swindon, UK
The Computer Communications and Networks series is a range of textbooks,
monographs and handbooks. It sets out to provide students, researchers, and non-
specialists alike with a sure grounding in current knowledge, together with com-
prehensible access to the latest developments in computer communications and
networking.
Emphasis is placed on clear and explanatory styles that support a tutorial
approach, so that even the most complex of topics is presented in a lucid and
intelligible manner.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/4198

Zaigham Mahmood
Editor

Connectivity Frameworks
for Smart Devices
The Internet of Things from a Distributed
Computing Perspective
Editor
Zaigham Mahmood
Department of Computing and Mathematics
University of Derby
Derby, UK
Business Management and Informatics Unit
North-West University
Potchefstroom, South Africa

ISSN 1617-7975 ISSN 2197-8433 (electronic)

Computer Communications and Networks
ISBN 978-3-319-33122-5 ISBN 978-3-319-33124-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33124-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016943429

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
To
Arif Zafar and Hanya Zaigham:
Happy first wedding anniversary
and best wishes.
Preface

Overview

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a dynamic global network infrastructure of self-

configuring physical objects, embedded with connectivity protocols to enable col-
lection and exchange of data and communication with other smart objects. The
objects, or things in the network, react autonomously to events, without requiring
man-machine intervention in real time. The IoT vision revolves around increased
machine-to-machine communication, built on the cloud computing paradigm and
networks of data-gathering sensors. This is now the vision of the Internet of the
future that has the potential to revolutionize pervasive computing and its
applications.
The IoT is transforming our lives, e.g., through the use of intelligent wearables,
living in self-governing smart cities and driving autonomous cars in the Internet of
Vehicles on smart roads. It is also transforming the business sector where the
growth potential is explosive, as billions of smart interconnected units are already
generating more than $1 trillion in revenue. According to analysts, the market for
intelligent systems will reach nearly four billion connected devices by 2016,
representing more than $2 trillion in revenue. Experts predict that there will be
anywhere from 20 to 50 billion connected objects by 2020.
As perhaps the biggest of the latest technology trends, IoT is going to give us the
most disruption, driving profound changes in many dimensions of our lives, as well
as the most opportunity over the next few years. However, success of the IoT vision
is highly dependent on the system architectures, network capabilities, communica-
tion protocols, and ubiquitous computing technologies to support effective and
reliable physical and cyber interconnections. The IoT environment is heteroge-
neous where devices are supplied by a variety of vendors that follow different
communication protocols and utilize diverse technologies. In this case, achieving
interoperability can be highly complex, as data formats and encryptions also vary.
Since seamless connectivity and interoperability are prerequisites in a multi-

vii
viii Preface

network heterogeneous distributed environment such as the IoT, achieving reliable

and resilient connectivity has already become a challenge. Besides, as objects are
becoming more and more intelligent, device connectivity is also beginning to
impact on regulatory compliance.
With this background, there is an urgent need for properly integrated solutions
taking into account data and device security, signaling and device detection, device
and data management, communication protocols and platforms, network bandwidth
and topology, seamless connectivity and interoperability, and worldwide regula-
tions and legal compliance. A major challenge that the IoT ecosystem must also
overcome is the risks resulting from legal issues and performance problems caused
by the mass deployment of inefficient, insecure, and/or defective IoT devices which
may lead to further serious problems.
In this context, this book, Connectivity Frameworks for Smart Devices: The
Internet of Things from a Distributed Computing Perspective, aims to capture the
state of the art on the current advances in the connectivity of diverse devices.
Majority of the contributions focus on the communication, security, privacy, access
control, and authentication aspects of the device connectivity in distributed envi-
ronments. Twenty-seven researchers and practitioners of international repute have
presented latest research developments, frameworks and methodologies, current
trends, state-of-the-art reports, case studies, and suggestions for further understand-
ing, development, and enhancement of the IoT vision.

Objectives

The aim of this volume is to present and discuss the state of the art in terms of
frameworks and methodologies for connecting diverse things in relation to the IoT
vision. The objectives include:
• Capturing the state-of-the-art research and practice relating to the IoT and
distributed environments
• Discussing developments with respect to connectivity of heterogeneous smart
and sensory devices
• Analyzing the relevant theoretical frameworks, practical approaches, and meth-
odologies for machine-to-machine communication
• Discussing the latest advances, current trends, and future directions in the
subject areas relating to the IoT
• In general, advancing the understanding of the emerging new methodologies
relevant to the Internet of Things vision
Preface ix

Organization

There are 14 chapters in Connectivity Frameworks for Smart Devices: The Internet
of Things from a Distributed Computing Perspective. These are organized in three
parts, as follows:
• Part I: Device Connectivity in the Internet of Things. This section has a focus on
device connectivity within the IoT. There are four chapters. In the first two
chapters, the emphasis is on security aspects of interconnections. The third
contribution discusses machine-to-machine connectivity presenting an agent-
based framework relevant to the IoT environment. The fourth contribution
discusses vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, presenting evolution of VANET in
relation to the Internet of Vehicles.
• Part II: Architecture and Frameworks for the Internet of Things. This part of the
book comprises six chapters that focus on frameworks and methodologies. The
first chapter presents a resource-based architecture for IoT, whereas the second
contribution presents integration approaches for the IoT environment. The next
chapter proposes a resource management framework for corporate device
clouds. The fourth contribution suggests a novel solution for interoperable data
management in multi-clouds. The next contribution has a focus on the perfor-
mance optimization of intelligent home networks, and the final contribution in
this section presents a fuzzy cognitive map extend technology roadmap with
respect to network neutrality in the IoT environment.
• Part III: Security Mechanisms for the Internet of Things. There are four chapters
in this section that focus on security of connectivity mechanisms. The first two
chapters present data security, privacy, access control, and authentication mech-
anisms with respect to the interconnection of varied devices in the distributed
IoT environment. The third contribution presents a security perspective in
relation to developing smart sustainable cities. The final chapter addresses
generic security challenges within the IoT environment.

Target Audiences

This volume is a reference text aimed at supporting a number of potential audi-

ences, including the following:
• Communication engineers and network security specialists who wish to adopt
the newer approaches to ensure the security of data and devices for seamless
connectivity
• Students and lecturers who have an interest in further enhancing the knowledge
of technologies, mechanisms, and frameworks relevant to the IoT environment
from a distributed computing perspective
Visit https://textbookfull.com
now to explore a rich
collection of eBooks, textbook
and enjoy exciting offers!
x Preface

• Researchers in this field who require up-to-date knowledge of the current

practices, mechanisms, and frameworks relevant to the IoT vision, to further
enhance the connectivity between heterogeneous devices

Derby, UK Zaigham Mahmood

Potchefstroom, South Africa
Acknowledgments

The editor acknowledges the help and support of the following colleagues during
the review, development, and editing phases of this text:
• Dr Alfredo Cuzzocrea, CAR-CNR and Univ. of Calabria, Rende (CS), Italy
• Dr Emre Erturk, Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand
• Prof Jing He, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
• Josip Lorincz, FESB-Split, University of Split, Croatia
• Dr N Maheswari, School of CS and Eng, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Aleksandar Milić, University of Belgrade, Serbia
• Prof Sulata Mitra, Indian Institute of Eng Science and Tech, Shibpur, India
• Prof Saswati Mukherjee, Anna University, Chennai, India
• Dr S Parthasarathy, Thiagarajar College of Eng, Tamil Nadu, India
• Daniel Pop, Institute e-Austria Timisoara, West Univ. of Timisoara, Romania
• Dr Pethuru Raj, IBM Cloud Center of Excellence, Bangalore, India
• Dr Muthu Ramachandran, Leeds Becket University, Leeds, UK
• Dr Lucio Agostinho Rocha, State University of Campinas, Brazil
• Dr Saqib Saeed, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia
• Prof Claudio Sartori, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
• Dr Mahmood Shah, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
• Dr Fareeha Zafar, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan
I would also like to thank the contributors of this book: 27 authors and coauthors,
from academia as well as industry from around the world, who collectively sub-
mitted 14 chapters. Without their efforts in developing quality contributions,
conforming to the guidelines, and meeting often the strict deadlines, this text
would not have been possible.

xi
xii Acknowledgments

Grateful thanks are also due to the members of my family—Rehana, Zoya,

Imran, Hanya, Arif, and Ozair—for their continued support and encouragement.
Every good wish, also, for the youngest in our family: Eyaad Imran Rashid Khan.

Department of Computing and Mathematics Zaigham Mahmood

University of Derby
Derby, UK
Business Management and Informatics Unit
North-West University
Potchefstroom, South Africa
29 Feb 2016
Other Springer Books by Zaigham Mahmood

Cloud Computing: Challenges, Limitations and R&D

Solutions

This reference text reviews the challenging issues that present barriers to greater
implementation of the cloud computing paradigm, together with the latest research
into developing potential solutions. This book presents case studies, and analysis of
the implications of the cloud paradigm, from a diverse selection of researchers and
practitioners of international repute. ISBN: 978-3-319-10529-1.

Continued Rise of the Cloud: Advances and Trends in Cloud

Computing

This reference volume presents latest research and trends in cloud-related technol-
ogies, infrastructure, and architecture. Contributed by expert researchers and prac-
titioners in the field, this book presents discussions on current advances and
practical approaches including guidance and case studies on the provision of
cloud-based services and frameworks. ISBN: 978-1-4471-6451-7.

Cloud Computing: Methods and Practical Approaches

The benefits associated with cloud computing are enormous; yet the dynamic,
virtualized, and multi-tenant nature of the cloud environment presents many chal-
lenges. To help tackle these, this volume provides illuminating viewpoints and case
studies to present current research and best practices on approaches and technolo-
gies for the emerging cloud paradigm. ISBN: 978-1-4471-5106-7.

xiii
xiv Other Springer Books by Zaigham Mahmood

Software Engineering Frameworks for the Cloud

Computing Paradigm

This is an authoritative reference that presents the latest research on software

development approaches suitable for distributed computing environments. Contrib-
uted by researchers and practitioners of international repute, the book offers
practical guidance on enterprise-wide software deployment in the cloud environ-
ment. Case studies are also presented. ISBN: 978-1-4471-5030-5.

Cloud Computing for Enterprise Architectures

This reference text, aimed at system architects and business managers, examines
the cloud paradigm from the perspective of enterprise architectures. It introduces
fundamental concepts, discusses principles, and explores frameworks for the adop-
tion of cloud computing. The book explores the inherent challenges and presents
future directions for further research. ISBN: 978-1-4471-2235-7.

Data Science and Big Data Computing: Frameworks

and Methodologies

This reference text has a focus on data science and provides practical guidance on
big data analytics. Expert perspectives are provided by an authoritative collection
of 36 researchers and practitioners, discussing latest developments and emerging
trends, presenting frameworks and innovative methodologies, and suggesting best
practices for efficient and effective data analytics. ISBN: 978-3-319-31859-2.
Contents

Part I Device Connectivity in the Internet of Things

1 Securing Device Connectivity in the Industrial Internet
of Things (IoT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Amir Manzoor
2 Security Mechanisms for Connectivity of Smart Devices
in the Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Somayya Madakam and Hema Date
3 Agent-Based Machine-to-Machine Connectivity Analysis
for the Internet of Things Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Bo Xing
4 Secure Inter-Vehicle Communication: A Need for Evolution
of VANET Towards the Internet of Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Sulata Mitra and Atanu Mondal

Part II Architecture and Frameworks for the Internet of Things

5 A Resource-Oriented Architecture for the Internet
of Things (IoT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Ricardo Souza and Eleri Cardozo
6 Integration Approaches for the Internet of Things (IoT) Era . . . . . 117
S. Rajaraajeswari, R. Selvarani, and Pethuru Raj
7 Cooperative Device Cloud: A Resource Management
Framework for the Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Andreas Kliem and Odej Kao
8 Towards Enabling Clouds for IoT: Interoperable
Data Management Approaches by Multi-clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Tamas Pflanzner, Roland Tornyai, and Attila Kertesz

xv
xvi Contents

9 Performance Optimization of Intelligent Home Networks . . . . . . . 209

K’Obwanga M. Kevin, Okuthe P. Kogeda, and Manoj Lall
10 Network Neutrality in the IoT: A Fuzzy Cognitive
Map Extend Technology Roadmap Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Bo Xing

Part III Security Mechanisms for the Internet of Things

11 Data Security and Privacy in the Internet of Things (IoT)
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Vijayaraghavan Varadharajan and Shruti Bansal
12 Access Control and Authentication in the Internet
of Things Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Aditya Kaushal Ranjan and Gaurav Somani
13 Internet of Things for Developing Smart Sustainable
Cities (SSC): A Security Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
S. Sivagurunathan, A. Sebastian, and K. Prathapchandran
14 Connectivity of Smart Devices: Addressing the Security
Challenges of the Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Stephen Kwamena Aikins

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Contributors

Stephen Kwamena Aikins School of Public Affairs, University of South Florida,

Tampa, FL, USA
Shruti Bansal Infosys Limited, Pune, India
Eleri Cardozo Department of Computer Engineering and Industrial Automation,
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas,
SP, Brazil
Hema Date IT Applications Group, National Institute of Industrial Engineering
(NITIE), Mumbai, India
Odej Kao Complex and Distributed IT Systems, Faculty of Engineering and
Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Attila Kertesz Software Engineering Department, University of Szeged, Szeged,
Hungary
Andreas Kliem Complex and Distributed IT Systems, Faculty of Engineering and
Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
K’Obwanga M. Kevin Department of Computer Science, Faculty of ICT,
Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
Okuthe P. Kogeda Department of Computer Science, Faculty of ICT, Tshwane
University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
Manoj Lall Department of Computer Science, Faculty of ICT, Tshwane
University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
Somayya Madakam IT Applications Group, National Institute of Industrial
Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, India
Amir Manzoor Bahria University, Karachi, Pakistan

xvii
xviii Contributors

Sulata Mitra Department of Computer Science and Technology, Indian Institute

of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India
Atanu Mondal Department of Computer Science and Technology, Indian Institute
of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India
Tamas Pflanzner Software Engineering Department, University of Szeged,
Szeged, Hungary
K. Prathapchandran Department of Computer Science and Applications,
Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, India
Pethuru Raj Infrastructure Architect, IBM Global Cloud Center of Excellence,
IBM India, Bangalore, India
S. Rajaraajeswari Department of Computer Applications, Raja Rajeswari College
of Engineering, Bangalore, India
Aditya Kaushal Ranjan Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
A. Sebastian Department of Computer Science and Applications, Gandhigram
Rural Institute, Deemed University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, India
R. Selvarani Computer Science and Engineering Department, Alliance University,
Bangalore, India
S. Sivagurunathan Department of Computer Science and Applications,
Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, India
Gaurav Somani Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Central
University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
Ricardo Souza Department of Computer Engineering and Industrial Automation,
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas,
SP, Brazil
Roland Tornyai Software Engineering Department, University of Szeged,
Szeged, Hungary
Vijayaraghavan Varadharajan Infosys Limited, Bangalore, India
Bo Xing Computational Intelligence, Robotics, and Cybernetics for Leveraging
E-future (CIRCLE), School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Faculty of
Science and Agriculture, University of Limpopo, Limpopo, South Africa
About the Editor

Professor Dr Zaigham Mahmood is a published author of 16 books, 5 of which

are dedicated to electronic government and the other 11 focus on the subjects of
cloud computing, data science, and the Internet of Things, including Cloud Com-
puting: Concepts, Technology & Architecture which is also published in Korean
and Chinese languages; Cloud Computing: Methods and Practical Approaches;
Software Engineering Frameworks for the Cloud Computing Paradigm; Cloud
Computing for Enterprise Architectures; Cloud Computing Technologies for
Connected Government; Continued Rise of the Cloud: Advances and Trends in
Cloud Computing; Cloud Computing: Challenges, Limitations and R&D Solutions;
and Data Science and Big Data Computing: Frameworks and Methodologies.
Additionally, he is developing two new books to appear later in 2017. He has
also published more than 100 articles and book chapters and organized numerous
conference tracks and workshops.
Professor Mahmood is the editor in chief of Journal of E-Government Studies
and Best Practices as well as the series editor in chief of the IGI book series on E-
Government and Digital Divide. He is a senior technology consultant at Debesis
Education, UK, and associate lecturer (research) at the University of Derby, UK. He
further holds positions as foreign professor at NUST and IIU in Islamabad,
Pakistan, and professor extraordinaire at the North-West University, Potchef-
stroom, South Africa. Professor Mahmood is also a certified cloud computing
instructor and a regular speaker at international conferences devoted to cloud
computing and e-government. His specialized areas of research include distributed
computing, project management, and e-government.
Professor Mahmood can be reached at [email protected]

xix
Visit https://textbookfull.com
now to explore a rich
collection of eBooks, textbook
and enjoy exciting offers!
 Part I
Device Connectivity in the Internet
of Things
Chapter 1
Securing Device Connectivity
in the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT)

Amir Manzoor

1.1 Introduction

Internet linked computers, originally, but now billions of devices (smartphones,

sensors, actuators, energy meters, etc.) connect to each other through the Web. In
the coming decade, the quantity and types of devices linked to the Web and the
software apps that will run on this expanding IoT will explode, driving a new
Internet revolution. According to [1], 99 % of physical objects, which may one day
join the network, still remain unconnected.
The current form of the Internet has evolved through many phases. In the first
phase (1960–1980), we see mainframe computers dominating the Internet sphere
and this use of the Internet was restricted to academics and researchers. In the
second phase (1981–2012), the Internet became available for use by individuals and
businesses. In the third phase, in the last decade, IoT emerged with the aim to
connect everything. Figure 1.1 shows the projected increase in the number of
connected devices in the years to come. Figure 1.2 suggests the projected number
of connected device per person [2].
In an IoT environment, objects (such as people and devices) are assigned unique
identifiers and are able to exchange data over a network without any human-to-
human or human-to-computer interaction. Furthermore, the huge increase in the
address space due to IPV6 has fueled the growth of IoT. According to an estimate,
address space provided by IPV6 is so huge that every atom on earth can have an IP
address assigned and enough IP addresses will still remain available to cater for
another 100þ earths [3]. There exist big opportunities for businesses to help
governments and other businesses in navigating the convergence of the digital

A. Manzoor (*)
Bahria University, Karachi, Pakistan
e-mail: [email protected]

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 3

Z. Mahmood (ed.), Connectivity Frameworks for Smart Devices,
Computer Communications and Networks, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33124-9_1
4 A. Manzoor

Fig. 1.1 Projected number

60
of connected devices
50
40
30
20
10
0
2003 2010 2015 2020

World population Connected Devices

Fig. 1.2 Projected number

8
of connected devices per
person 6

0
2003 2010 2015 2020

Table 1.1 IoT initiatives Initiative Company

Central nervous system for earth HP
Industrial Internet General electric
Planetary skin Cisco
Powerful answers Verizon
Smart community Toshiba

and broader physical worlds. Table 1.1 shows many initiatives in progress, in this
context.

1.2 Securing Device Connectivity in the IoT

In the context of Internet of Things, it is important to understand why securing the

device connectivity is important. In the IoT domain, everything is connected
whether it is a smartphone, washing machine, or energy meter. However, such
connectivity can expose large amounts of sensitive data such as location of a
person. While sharing information among devices can provide many benefits,
unauthorized access to this information can pose serious risks to data security and
privacy. For sensitive data, we also need to protect it to maintain the confidentiality,
1 Securing Device Connectivity in the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) 5

integrity, and availability of the data. By compromising machines or things, a

hacker can harm real people. Imagine someone disabling a car breaks while driving
the car on a highway. Even if no real persons are involved, exposure of sensitive
data can seriously damage reputation of companies. With increasing number of
device being connected with each other and increasing amount of data being
collected, it is very important that connectivity among these devices is secured [4].
However, securing device connectivity in IoT exposes many challenges. The
first challenge is that IoT devices are generally constrained by way of computing
power and memory capacity, and therefore using resource-intensive cryptographic
algorithms with these devices can be challenging. Another challenge refers to the
IoT devices that are often connected with each other using an unreliable connection.
For security of these devices, it is important that any updates are rolled out to all the
relevant connected devices. However, with unreliable connection between devices,
this task becomes difficult to accomplish. An additional challenge is to make
security intuitive for the users. This is because device installation and maintenance
have to be easy in order to gain user acceptance of the device [5, 6].
After providing the introduction and a discussion on the importance and chal-
lenges of securing device connectivity in the industrial IoT, the following section
provides a discussion of various connectivity protocols in relation to industrial IoT.
Section 1.4 discusses various important security issues related to industrial IoT such
as authentication, authorization, encryption, digital signing, and infrastructure
security. This section also provides some strategies to strengthen security of device
connectivity in industrial IoT. Concluding remarks are provided in Sect. 1.5.

1.3 Connectivity Protocols for Industrial IoT

Devices in the IoT connect with each other using a variety of protocols. This section
aims to discuss some of the most commonly used protocols in industrial IoT. In
industrial settings, there still exist a large number of legacy equipment that use
older protocols but have diverse real-time needs. In this context, it is difficult to
imagine a single data-connectivity standard despite several documented benefits
that industrial IoT can provide. These benefits include increased revenue, reduced
costs, and energy efficiency. A serious problem with constrained devices is the
realization of secure communication. The devices only have limited system
resources such as memory, stable storage (such as disk space), and transmission
capacity and often lack input/output devices such as keyboards or displays. There-
fore, they are not readily capable of using common protocols. In the near future, we
can say that industrial IoT will be an environment in which many protocols will
coexist, and to gain the benefits of industrial IoT, we need to ensure that data must
be secure. This security is needed both to secure data transfer and data storage in
order to ensure data accessibility.
In an industrial IoT environment, a range of different protocols are used for data
transfer/sharing among devices [7, 8]. Some important protocols are listed in
Table 1.2; some of these are discussed in the following subsections.
6 A. Manzoor

Table 1.2 Important connectivity protocols for industrial IoT

Protocol Provider Connectivity Purpose
Data distribution service for The Object Manage- Device to Provides sharing of
real-time systems (DDS) ment Group (OMG) device device data
Advanced message queuing OASIS Server to Provides messaging
protocol (AMQP) server between servers
MQ telemetry transport OASIS Device to Collects device data
(MQTT) server for server use
Constrained application proto- Internet Engineering Device to Collects device data
col (CoAP) Task Force (IETF) server for server use
Extensible messaging and Internet Engineering Device to Provides access to
presence protocol (XMPP) Task Force (IETF) people device data

1.3.1 Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT)

MQTT is a many-to-many communication protocol for passing messages between

multiple clients through a central broker. It is suited to messaging for live data and
MQTT clients make a long-lived outgoing TCP connection to the broker. MQTT
provides no support for labeling messages with types or other metadata to help
clients understand it. MQTT messages are used for many purposes. However, all
clients need to know message format beforehand in order communicate. IBM and
Eurotech created MQTT. It is a TCP-based lightweight publish/subscribe protocol
with smallest packet size of 2 bytes and reduced client footprint. It is reliable and
provides bidirectional message delivery with protection against packet loss on
client disconnection. With MQTT, it is easy to add new message producers or
consumers. MQTT is a small protocol with small clients (kilobytes) and
implementable on low-power devices. MQTT uses small headers and avoids
polling to provide network efficiency. MQTT provides near real-time notification
of events and provides exactly once delivered (where required). Because of its
compact wire format, MQTT involves lower network costs than an HTTP equiva-
lent. MQTT is event driven and a single MQTT server can support a million
connected devices or users. It is possible to add additional functionality to MQTT
application without changing existing application code. MQTT supports easy set of
verbs that developers can easily learn [9].
MQTT protocol itself specifies few security mechanisms. This is because MQTT
protocol, by design, is a lightweight and easy-to-use communication protocol for
IoT. To provide security, this protocol uses other generally accepted state-of-the art
security standards such as SSL/TLS for transport security. MQTT protocol provides
security at multiple layers and each layer handles different kinds of security risks.
To secure communication between clients and broker, network layer can provide
protection in terms of a physically secure network or VPN. To ensure data confi-
dentiality, TLS/SSL encryption is a generally used protection provided by the
transport layer. On the application layer, MQTT protocol uses a client identifier
and username/password credentials for authentication of devices. However, the
device authorization is dependent on broker implementation. MQTT protocol can
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
that absent son had depicted on his canvas, and had sent across the
sea to convince his father that the absence was not unfruitful of
good result. An artist’s career had been the last the professor would
have chosen for his boy; but he was wise enough to let each nature
work out its own salvation in its own way. “A good artist would have
been a spoiled scientist,” he had philosophically reasoned with
himself; though his disappointed hopes were sometimes still hard to
bear. So, when Octave’s ignorant tongue had told him that the boy
had been right, he had been better pleased than if she had brought
him a costly offering.
Seeing it pleased him, if not wholly understanding why, the girl had
gone on to describe in detail all the familiar scenes in which her
previous summers had been passed; and the description brought the
absent son’s present environment in clearest view to the father’s
mental sight.
“Down the little path there by the gate, Hans always went of a
morning with his tin dinner-pail, and his spade or shovel over his
shoulder, the little best room,—I know that is the one they have
given your boy,—the great bed stands so and so; and there is an old
black chest of drawers. In those, I shouldn’t wonder but he keeps all
his pictures, and wet sketches, to get them out of the dust. Gretchen
is eternally stirring up a dust, you must know, and then laying it
down again with a wet rag. Paula used to sketch in oils, and she and
Gretchen were always in a riot on account of the ‘fuzz’ sticking so to
the paint. She used to threaten putting her horrid daubs in the chest
then, but I wouldn’t let her. I wasn’t going to have my Sunday frock
spoiled and smutched by green and yellow spots, would you?”
“No, I would not,” responded the professor, heartily, if absently. He
was seeing, at that very moment, the little Dutch bed-chamber and
his happy, careless lad, putting away with the forethought he
exercised only upon his “work” the half-finished sketch he had just
been over the hill to make. Octave laughed, and her laugh recalled
the old man to the actual, and to the knowledge that their stage had
drawn up before the white palings of an old-fashioned house, in
whose wide doorway a group of curious young faces were pictured.
“We’re here!” said Octave, springing down and standing with a great
show of dignity, while the professor clambered after her.
Then they walked up the gravel path together, and just before the
group of watchers Octave paused.
“You see, I did come back; and this is—He!”
 CHAPTER XVII.
Aunt Ruth was in great perplexity. She did not intend to let her
mother see that she was but when had her tell-tale countenance
ever hidden anything from the eyes which watched it so closely and
fondly?
So it was of no avail that she sat quietly down with her sewing, by
the open window of their pleasant apartment at the sea-side hotel
where they were staying, and tried to look indifferent. Mother Amy’s
gentle voice broke the stillness at once.
“What is it, Ruth?”
“How does thee know that there is anything? I mean—what does
thee mean?”
“What is troubling thee, my child?” asked the old lady, smiling at
Ruth’s confusion.
“The old subject, Mother Amy.”
“Surely, not my health. The Lord has been very good to me. I have
promise of living yet awhile, to do His work; if so pleases Him.”
“No, not thy health. If no one troubled me more than thee does,
sweet mother, I should find life all too comfortable. It is the children
—the ‘pickles.’”
“Thee promised to leave care behind thee when we left The
Snuggery, and thee has bravely tried to keep thy word, though it has
been hard at times. What is new about them, now?”
“I have a letter from Rosetta which puzzles me. I don’t know if thee
is well enough to hear it, but I should like advice.”
“Ruth, I am well; and thee shall have the advice for what it may be
worth to thee.”
Ruth drew a yellow envelope from her pocket. The letter which it
contained was much messed and rumpled, and the blotches of ink
were visible even across the room; so that to look upon it was
painful to Grandmother Kinsolving’s fastidious eyes. Evidently the
writer had concocted the epistle with great labor and at broken
intervals, and her unaccustomed fingers had found the task an
almost impossible one.
The letter began,—
Dear Mam, that is Ruth:
I ain’t a writin’ this to the old laidy, becos I no that You
don’t want her to be Trobbled about the House and
what’s in it whilst she’s away. Well thar hain’t enny use
of Worryin’ I don’t suppose; but I thort I’d better jest
rite an’ tell ye, I mean thee, so as ye wouldn’t hev no
call ter blame me fir what i couldn’t noways pervent. i
done the best i could an’ that’s the livin’ truth an’ i
didn’t no nothin’ about it afore she went. but shecum
back all rite an’ fetched Him with her, an’ i don’t no no
more what it means, an’ the dead an’ not so much as
they sometimes sees into things we canst. i did think i
wouldn’t say nothing about it, an’ then thinks i to
myself thinks i if i Don’t tell em nothin’ an’ they cum
home an’ finds it out, mebbe they’ll blame me an’ no
wonder. an’ So i thort i’d rite a few lines to let yu no
that i am well an’ hope these few lines finds yu an’
yours the same. He was shet up with him considable
of a Spel, but they wan’t no more eggsploshuns ner
chloroforms so fur forth as i no. So no more at present
from yours in respect of humbly,
Rosetta Perkins.
“Ruth! Ruth! give me the letter. Thee cannot have read it aright,”
said Mother Amy, laughing merrily; for her daughter had read the
epistle through exactly as it had been written, without punctuation
and with all the imperfect spelling accented as far as was possible to
do so.
The daughter passed the paper over into her mother’s hands and
curiously watched her face while she endeavored to make its
meaning intelligible.
“Well, and what does thee think of it? Can thee guess what mischief
those young ones have been after now?”
“No; I cannot,” said Mrs. Kinsolving, after a second and slower
perusal. “It does not appear to be anything serious, however. I
would not worry about it, if I were in thy place.”
“How can I help it, mother?”
“How, indeed, my Ruth, till thee is made over new! Thee began to
worry in thy cradle, and thee will keep it up until the end, I fear. I
wish thee would not.”
“There has been something going on that Rosetta has been troubled
about.”
“Rosetta is troubled about many things, from ‘pie-crust to religion,’
as thee has so often remarked. It is, likely, something about
Abraham and the stock; and we have known Abraham’s
trustworthiness these many years, although Rosetta still feels a care
over him as if he were a child.”
No surer symptom of Grandmother Kinsolving’s physical
improvement could have been found than in her mirthfulness of
mood; and those who heard her light jests could easily see where
Ruth had acquired her odd ways of looking at life. Mother Amy was
religious to her heart’s core, and the sweetness and gladness of her
religion shone through her words and lovely features as the light
within shines through an uncurtained window on a winter’s night.
“Mother, if thee thinks thee is well enough to be left, I would like to
take a run up to the farm and see with my own eyes if anything is
amiss.”
“Go, if thee likes, my child. I am certainly well enough; besides, in
this kind family are many willing hands to do for me the slightest
service I may require. The young serving-woman that has charge of
our rooms appears to be fond of me. If her mistress is willing, thee
might engage her to look after me in thy absence, and then both
thee and I would feel safe and independent. As much as one human
being can ever be independent of the souls around him,” concluded
the dear old lady, gravely.
So it was settled; and, hoping to be away from her post of love and
duty but for a little while, Ruth Kinsolving tied on her gray bonnet,
and pinned her gray shawl about her shapely shoulders, and set off
for home.
Some days had passed since Octave’s disappearance in a “Mystery,”
and her no less strange reappearance with “Him”; but no
explanation had she vouchsafed of the affair, and the curiosity which
had succeeded anxiety remained in the breasts of the other young
householders, to torment them with ever-growing strength.
Paula had written several letters to Aunt Ruth on the subject, but
she was prudent and thoughtful by nature, and the recollection that
no harm seemed to have come of the adventure, and that Aunt Ruth
was easily disturbed, had restrained her from posting them. They
still reposed in the bottom of her pretty writing-desk, ready for
dispatching whenever it should seem advisable.
Even Content had been moved to interference, and had urged
Octave first, and afterward Melville, to disclose the “Mystery”; but to
all persuasions the “conspirators” turned a deaf ear.
“And won’t you tell me, if I promise never-no-never-s’long’s-I-live to
tell nobody else?” asked little Fritz, coaxingly. “Where’d you go to,
Octave, and who was the old man what came home with you?”
“Oh, I couldn’t tell, any how you fix it, dearie. I’ve promised Melville,
and he’s promised me; but by and by everybody will know. You must
all be patient. Grandmother says that ‘patience is a virtue.’”
“Does grandmother know?”
“No, indeed; that is, not about this.”
“Nor Aunty Ruth?”
“Least of all!”
“But she does, though.”
“She cannot, Fritz. How? The girls have all said that they wouldn’t
worry her about it, and Melville hasn’t—that I’m sure of.”
“She does, though.”
“How, Fritzy?”
“Ho! I guess I won’t. I’m a ‘Mystery,’ too!”
“You midget! You don’t even know what a ‘Mystery’ is!”
“Yes, but I do, Paula and Content, they hunted it out in the dic—
dictionary book, and they told me when I asted them. I do know,
so!”
“Tell me what it is, and I’ll believe you understood.”
“It’s a pro—some kind of a secret.”
“Humph! You’re precocious!” said Octave, half vexed.
“I ain’t no such a thing!”
“That doesn’t mean anything bad, Fritzy darling. It means that you
are an unusually smart boy. See?”
“Oh, yes; I knew that. Abry-ham and Rosetta and all of ’em says
that,” answered the little lad, complacently.
“Fritz, your vanity is great.”
“You tell me and I’ll tell you,” said the child, returning to the subject
dearer to him just then than his own perfections.
“Fritz, if I would tell anybody, it would be you. But I cannot; I’ve
promised, and I wouldn’t break my word. I’m sure you couldn’t ask
that, little brother.”
“No,” said Fritz, gravely, with sober memories of that dreadful time
when he broke his own word, and so nearly forfeited his right to be
a gentleman.
“But, if you haven’t promised there is no reason why you should not
tell me how Aunt Ruth heard what I did. I’m sorry, for I don’t want
to worry her, even if I am all right in what I have done, and she will
be proud of me when it is all over.”
“Will she?” This was a new view of the case.
“I think so. Anyway, she’ll be ‘as proud as proud’ of Melville. So it
won’t matter so much about me.”
“What’ll you give me?”
“A cent.”
“’Tain’t enough.”
“Five cents.”
“No, siree. I won’t tell for less than a quarter.”
“You mercenary little wretch! I haven’t but ten cents to my name.”
“Borry of Melville. He always has lots.”
“I don’t like to run in debt.”
“Pshaw! How much have you got, anyway?”
Octave took out a very flat little porte-monnaie and emptied its
contents into Fritzy’s dirty, waiting palms. The amount was eleven
cents and one bad German coin, which the little boy said he would
take “in case it should be good sometime.” Then, for value received,
he imparted the information that “Rosetta wrote a letter. She wrote
it with her tongue and her fingers, and making up faces the worsest
that ever was! An’ when it was done I drove to the post-office in my
pony-cart, and mailed it, an’ the postmaster he gave me a stamp,
an’ I licked it on.” After which circumstantial evidence Octave
concluded that there could be no doubt about the matter.
“Well, then all I have to say is, that first thing we know, Aunt Ruth
will come home.”
“Will she?” asked Fritz, eagerly. Then, as a shadow fell across the
path, he looked up. “Ginger!” he cried; “there she is now!”
 CHAPTER XVIII.
For an instant silence reigned; but it was not in the frank natures of
either Octave or Fritz to tremble long before the apparition which
had appeared so suddenly in their midst. Fritz flew to the arms
outstretched to receive him with a genuineness of joy that was very
sweet to Ruth’s heart, and Octave’s momentary hesitation vanished
at the first kindly smile from her relative’s lips.
“Dear Aunt Ruth, I am glad to see you, after all,” she said, coming
forward as Fritz was deposited upon the ground; and Ruth’s clear
gaze rested on the girl with fond surprise. She did not remember to
have left Octave so well grown and fair of face; and yet a second’s
thought showed that no very great change could have been
accomplished during the few weeks of her absence.
Fritz and Octave had been the aunt’s favorites. She had not even
attempted to deny that fact to herself; there was something akin to
her own outspoken nature in their characters, and it was with the
most implicit confidence she believed that, whoever might have
been misbehaving while she had been away, it could not be Octave.
Undoubtedly, Fritzy had been in scrapes innumerable; he could not
exist without them; but the scrapes of a child “going on nine” are
rarely very serious. Her mind naturally fell upon Paula, whom she
liked least of all her nieces; and it was with a prejudgment that
Paula had been trying something romantic and out of the common
that she had returned to The Snuggery to investigate.
Paula, poor Paula! The irreproachable and really lovely girl, whose
faults might be disagreeable because they touched so closely upon
the faults of others, but who fully intended to be just perfect, and
was all the time anxiously investigating her own motives, lest there
should be some flaw therein.
The one fault of which the elder “Miss Pickel” had been most
painfully self-conscience was her own selfishness and love of ease.
Wise Grandmother Kinsolving had seen this, and had put the girl at
the head of affairs, believing that a position of trust would best
counteract Paula’s tendency to indolence and fault-finding. Mother
Amy had found that congenial labor is a happy antidote to the
poison of sin, and believed implicitly in the old “word” that “Satan
still will find some task for idle hands to do.” Well, then, whoever fell
under the guidance of the far-seeing Friend was rarely left to be a
victim of the evil spirit’s wiles.
But, as soon as she heard that her aunt had arrived, Paula reflected
with no small degree of pride on her excellent management. She
considered that she had earned a right to be a bit self-complacent,
since, during her brief reign, accidents had been fewer than usual,
and “the children” had really acquitted themselves very well indeed.
So, delaying only long enough to complete the very pretty afternoon
toilet she was making, “Miss Pickel” descended to receive her aunt,
with what Uncle Fritz would have judged a very graceful greeting,
and of which his loving heart would have been most proud.
But prejudiced Aunt Ruth saw only a prim little maiden, dressed far
beyond the necessities of the occasion, and read in the momentary
delay that dressing had occasioned the tardy welcome of one who
was conscious of having something to hide.
Even the unobservant Christina noticed the coldness of the aunt’s
kiss, as compared with that she had bestowed on each of the others,
who had not tarried for any toilet making before they bade her
welcome home. As for Octave, she looked up in such visible surprise
that honest Ruth was convicted of unfairness, and tried to remedy
the mischief by scrupulous inquiries after Paula’s health.
“I am perfectly well,” answered Paula, thanking her relative sweetly,
and inquiring in her own turn after their grandmother and her home-
coming.
“She will not return for some time yet, if I can prevent it,” answered
Ruth, with considerable sternness. “She is used to quiet, and I
should not like to have her improvement all for nothing, as it would
be if she came back just yet.”
“Will you have lunch or dinner now?” asked the deputy house-
mistress, trying to be perfect in her behavior.
It was very odd, Ruth thought, to have anyone asking her in her
own house if she would have something to eat, as if she had been a
stranger; and somehow it did not strike her at all pleasantly. The
pretty young Quakeress was, in reality, a little out of temper. She
had been vexed at having to take this unexpected journey home,
and, with her propensity for worrying, was already fancying a
thousand evils which might have befallen her precious mother at the
hands of that ignorant serving-maid to whom she had been
entrusted.
“No, I am not hungry. It is not our habit to lunch at irregular hours;
or it was not our habit, when I was mistress here. Where is
Rosetta?”
“Gone to the village for an afternoon’s visit,” replied Paula, surprised
in her turn by her aunt’s tone, and more hurt by it than she would
have cared to show.
At this news Octave rejoiced, for she preferred telling her aunt as
much other “Mystery” affair as she was free to divulge, and not have
the account garbled by any other’s report. Oddly enough, her
proceeding had never looked such a bold and strange one as it had
during the few minutes since Aunt Ruth had returned.
“I wonder why I do feel so queer! I’m sure I did nothing wrong,
nothing I would not do again, if I was placed in just such a position.
And it is all coming out so beautifully, too. Oh, dear! How shall I get
a chance to talk with her first!” thought Octave, growing more and
more perplexed.
But presently Ruth’s eyes begun to wander afresh around the
apartment. There was one other who had failed in her welcome, and
that the sweet-faced Content. Octave interpreted the glance in her
quick way, and replied to it. “Oh, it’s lamb and caper sauce this
afternoon, Aunt Ruth. It’s the first tantrum Melville has had in some
time. He really is the most improved boy—”
“There was plenty of room for it,” interrupted Ruth, grimly. “What
was the ‘tantrum’ about?”
Octave colored. She could not answer without involving somebody
else in possible blame, and that one she who, strangely enough,
seemed already to have incurred it. Had the family been asked who
would have the best record to show the absent house-mistress upon
her return, the answer would have been unanimous, “Paula.” It was
incomprehensible, yet it seemed true, that now Paula was the only
one found wanting in favor.
“What was the ‘tantrum’ about, Octave? Thee must tell me.”
“It was a trifle, Aunt Ruth. If you please, I would rather not tell.”
“As thee likes. Christina, then.”
But Christina, the peace lover, was frightened. She tell tales of
anybody! Least of all, of Melville and Paula!
The affair was really, as Octave had said, one of the slightest import;
but because of their hesitation it grew to assume tremendous
consequence in Ruth’s mind. There was evidently something they all
wished to hide, and a very natural feeling of resentment filled her
heart. Here, in her own home, over which, under the gentle
supervision of her mother, she had reigned supreme during all her
maiden life, she was flouted by a parcel of young creatures who had
intruded upon her peace, uninvited, and unconscious, even, of that
intrusion. They seemed so to take it for granted that she was as
pleased to have them there as they had been to come! and she did
not like it at all; she had only received them because her mother had
said it was right.
“Well, if none will tell, then I will go and learn from Melville himself.
He has faults enough, but he is not afraid to give an answer when it
is demanded.”
With that, and with a motion which seemed to impart to the rustling
gray gown which clothed her tall figure an air of great austerity,
Ruth led the way to the cripple’s room. Scarcely knowing whether
they were wanted or not, but with the natural curiosity of their age,
the others followed in a body.
“Hello, Aunt Ruth! When did you come to town?” was Melville’s
rather disrespectful salutation.
“I came home this afternoon. I am pleased to see thee in such fine
spirits. I had heard that thee was in a ‘tantrum.’”
“Oh, I was, a little while ago; but Content has cured me. She’s a
great pacifier of family strife, Aunt Ruth.”
“I know that,” replied the aunt, kissing with fervency the niece who
had sprung to her side in glad surprise. “Our little Content is always
right.”
“Scuse me, Aunt Ruthy, but she isn’t. She told a story one day.”
“O Fritzy, I think that could not be!”
“Yep; she told me so her own self; didn’t you, Content?”
“Yes, I did tell him so, Aunt Ruth; but it was not here that I was
guilty of the sin. We were comparing notes, and finding out that
everybody does wrong, even though they do not mean to,” said
Content, in her low voice and with a painful flush on her fair cheek.
It was one thing to be confidentially sympathetic with Fritzy, in the
privacy of her own room and the sacredness of a Sunday afternoon
chat; it was quite another to have her fault published “on the
housetop” as it were, and as a sort of send-off to her aunt’s
unexpected return.
“Well, I declare!” said Octave, suddenly. Then stopped, as if she had
forgotten herself.
“Thee declares what, Octave?” asked Ruth, sharply, and sitting
suddenly down upon the foot of Melville’s lounge.
“I don’t know how to say it, but something appears to have come
over all of us and set us all by the ears, just the minute you came
in.”
It was an unfortunate speech, and Octave swiftly recognized the
fact; but she could see no way of setting it right, so perforce she left
it.
“I am not accustomed to setting people ‘by the ears,’ Octave; and if
thee and thy sisters are disturbed by my coming there must be some
reason for it. I may as well tell all that I had a very peculiar letter
from Rosetta Perkins, and it is that has sent me home on this flying
visit.”
Melville caught the word “flying,” and, in his relief that it was only
such an one, he winked at Octave. Aunt Ruth intercepted the wink
and the swift glance of sympathy which answered it. More than ever
was she convinced that there was mischief afoot, and that she was
none too soon upon the scene.
“Aunt Ruth, did you bring Rosetta’s letter with you?” asked Octave,
so suddenly that the other replied without thinking.
“Yes, I think it is in my hand-bag.”
“Will you let us see it?”
“For what reason?”
“Because it seems to have made mischief. There is something wrong
somewhere, and I, for one, don’t know where; but I should like to.
If I see what she has said, then I can tell just how to straighten it
out.”
Ruth was sorely puzzled; but she smiled at Octave’s ingenuous
confession that she desired to fix things up to suit the occasion; yet
some way she did not misconstrue it, nor in any degree include her
favorite in the general blame.
“Thee can read the letter if thee chooses; read it aloud. But thee is
not likely to make much sense out of it. I could not, therefore I
came home.”
Miss Kinsolving took the letter from her satchel and gave it to
Octave, who attempted to read it aloud, as she had been directed.
But the feat, for that fun-loving girl, was an impossibility. She would
enunciate a few word and then stop to laugh, which, in itself, would
have been confusing, had the epistle been most carefully worded;
but, composed as it was and ambiguous in the extreme, the others
found the suspense more than they could endure; so it was finally
handed over to Content, and she managed to get through it after a
fashion.
“But what does it all mean?” asked that girl, smilingly.
“It means, as far as I can translate it, that there has been some
strange occurrence here. Something that would not have happened
if mother and I had been at home. I have come here, as I told thee,
to find out what it is. Paula, thee is the eldest. What has happened
that should not?”
Paula did not answer. Her eye unconsciously flew to Octave, and
then dropped upon the carpet. Her new habit of self-denial would
not allow her to convict her sister.
Ruth frowned. “What is it, Content?”
But poor Content flushed and paled, yet neither would she reply;
that is, in such terms as her aunt desired. “I would rather not tell,
Aunt Ruth.”
“Then thee acknowledges there is something, and thee knows what
that something is?”
“Ye-es,” said Content.
“I shall get to it, then; Fritzy, what has happened?”
“I run Don into the side of the stable and barked his sides all off.”
It was a relief for all to laugh; the confession was made in such
honest trepidation, for Fritz knew that old Don was the “apple of his
Aunt Ruth’s eye.”
“Christina, will thee tell me?”
The gentle tone assumed when she was addressed sent soft-hearted
little Christina into a flood of tears.
“Melville?”
“Wild horses won’t drag it out of me, Aunt Ruth.”
“Then, Paula, I shall hold thee responsible. Thee was left in charge.
Come with me to my room. I will hear thy story there.”
“Wait, Aunt Ruth; there is no blame to be put upon anybody but me.
I, Octave, was what ‘happened’; I always am, you know.”
There was visible relief in all the faces of the group, save that of the
self-accused. Yes, and save in that of Aunt Ruth herself. At that
instant it was perfectly evident to all that the judgment which would
be meted out to Octave would be far more lenient than it would
have been in any other case.
An expression of keenest regret stole over the young Friend’s
features; and a look of astonishment that cut Octave to the heart.
But she did not gaze upon it long, for, with an impetuous rush, she
fell upon Ruth’s neck and hid her face on the gray-clad shoulder.
“Yes, Aunt Ruth; and I am sorry; but I should do it again, just the
same. No, I mean, not perhaps not the same—but, oh, dear! I—I
believe, upon my word, I’m crying; and I’m sure I don’t know why!”
 CHAPTER XIX.
One by one the cousins who could do so passed out of the room,
leaving Melville, who could not go had he wished, as sole witness of
the interview between Ruth and Octave.
The sight of the merry Octave in tears was one so unusual and so
depressing that little Fritz set up a dismal wail, which Christina
checked her own more silent grief to soothe.
“Never mind, little brother; Aunt Ruthy loves Octave ever so! She’ll
not scold her very hard for running away and being a heroine.”
“But she will! And Octave cried! I never, no never, all my life long,
saw my Octave a-cryin’. I—I wish the old thing had staid to home; so
there!”
“But this is her home, Fritz; and it is you and I who have put her out
of it. That’s what Luke said. He said we ‘kerried on so like possessed’
that we ‘jest clean druv’ grandmother and Aunt Ruth away.”
“It’s no sech a thing! An’ I’ll tell Luke Tewksbury so to his old face!”
retorted Fritz, indignantly, and forgetting to cry. “He’s a mean boy.
He hitched my mare up to the harvest-wagon and said she had got
to draw a—’bout twenty tons of stuff. He did, so.”
Christina did not dispute the assertion, and the picture of the tiny
pony hitched before a lumber wagon was one that elicited her
keenest sympathy.
“Well, never mind, dear; he didn’t really do it, and you can ask Aunt
Ruth to make Luke stop teasing you. I am glad she has come home,
though it did seem so sort of upsetting at first. She’ll straighten out
all the crooked things, I fancy, she’s a ‘powerful hand to manage,’
Rosetta says.”
Don’s bray coming to his ears at that moment diverted the thoughts
of Fritz from anything unpleasant, and he rushed out of doors to try
a bare-back ride. This was a feat he had never yet accomplished,
but which he daily attempted with an enthusiasm and courage
worthy of a better cause. “Fritzy, he never gins up licked,” was
Abraham’s as daily comment; and this was uttered in an
indescribable tone, which seemed to put the child to a greater
determination than ever.
“Take care, Fritzy,” called Christina; “don’t go and hurt yourself just
as Aunt Ruth has come home”; which suggested that it would not be
so much of a matter if he did so at other times.
Paula and Content slipped arms about each other’s waists and
wandered off between the box-bordered flower-beds in the old
garden. Of late, they had found many things in common, of likes and
dislikes; and it had grown to be “the girls,” whenever they were
spoken of in the household. Slowly ripening friendships are safest;
and that of the elder cousins had grown gradually enough; but now
it promised to equal that of names famous in history.
“What can I have done to vex Aunt Ruth!” cried Paula, wistfully. “I
never thought so much about doing just right in my life as I have
done since grandmother went away; but the harder I try the worse
things appear to go.”
“You have done right, dear Paula; and Aunt Ruth will be the first to
see she was mistaken in laying any blame to you. She is so honest
she will tell you so, or else I am very much mistaken. But what in
the world Octave ever went away like that for, and why she went, is
just as much a puzzle to me as ever. Aunt Ruth will get the truth out
of her, though, if it is possible.”
“What do you mean? Octave would not tell a lie to save herself any
amount of blame.”
“Of course, I know that; but what the ‘Mystery’ is, and why there
should be any ‘Mystery,’ is more than I see. Aunt Ruth will find out
what it is.”
“It’s between Melville and Octave. One is as deep in it as the other.
And I have a suspicion, but I don’t know what gave it to me, either.”
“A suspicion of what?”
“I think that he has thought of something, or invented something
that she went away to see about. And that old gentleman who came
home with her is in the plot, too. I wonder who he was! Not much of
anybody, though, I fancy; he was so very plain and quiet.”
Meanwhile, behind the closed door of Melville’s room, Octave was
undergoing a cross-examination which tried her ardent soul to the
uttermost. Time and time again she was on the point of giving out
and divulging the “Mystery”; but as often was she restrained by the
thought of the brilliant climax she hoped to achieve. She had
promptly dried her tears, and looked up bravely into the kind,
questioning face above her, and Aunt Ruth thought she had never
seen anything sweeter than the frank young countenance into which
she looked back.
“You see, Aunt Ruthy, it’s just this way. People can hold their
tongues even if they do want to tell things, if they think that some
good is to be gained by it. Some great good is to be gained by my
keeping still.”
“Good to whom, Octave?” The aunt had found a deeper perplexity,
even, than she had imagined.
“For Melville first, and afterward for all of us. Wouldn’t you be proud
of him, if you should suddenly find him the most famous boy of his
age, of this age, I mean?”
“Thee knows very well that I should be proud of him or of any one
who does a noble thing. Fame is not always nobility; nor is notoriety
fame. I should not want either thee or him to do anything for the
mere sake of making peoples’ tongues wag.”
“Aunt Ruth, we’re all in a ‘mix-up,’ as Fritzy says. In the first place, I
am going to tell tales for once, so as to clear up that about the
‘tantrum.’ Or, will you, Melville? It isn’t fair that you should think it
was Paula.”
“But it was Paula, to begin with,” answered Melville, angrily. “She
has such a terrible weight of care on her shoulders, that she must
needs come in here and go to upsetting my things ‘to straighten
them,’ she says. She hasn’t the least idea of what value they are;
and she turned out some of my papers that will cost me hours to do
over again; and they must be done, because I promised the
professor—”
“Melville, take care!” warned Octave.
Ruth’s ear had caught the word. As she knew but one professor with
whom Melville had any acquaintance, and as he was thousands of
miles away when last she had heard of him, her interest was freshly
aroused.
“The professor? Has thee heard from him?”
“Yes, I have had three letters from him,” proudly replied the invalid,
quite thrown off his guard. “I have put them away in the most
careful place, now; but it was one of those that I thought Paula had
destroyed, as well as my ‘calculations.’ Think of my having, really
having them written to me, too, three letters from a man so
famous!”
“Humph! I did not know that the professor was so great. He seemed
to me a dreamer and a rather insignificant person altogether. What
is he doing now?” asked Miss Kinsolving, with her mind quite upon
the wrong person.
“Why, Aunt Ruth! You cannot read the papers much! What is he not
doing for science and the world? Think of all the wonderful helps to
suffering people he has thought of in that one brain of his! Oh, it’s
grand, grand! And to think that Mel—”
“Octave, take care!” warned the boy in his turn, but with eyes
shining from the enthusiasm her words had aroused.
Ruth looked from one to the other, and with an expression so
dismayed that Octave could not refrain from laughing.
“Excuse me, Aunt Ruthy; but you do look so bothered, and it is all so
splendid, if you only knew! Won’t you just step out into the other
room, and let me talk the thing over with Melville for a minute? Then
I can know just how much to tell, and what I should not.”
This was certainly a novel proposition from a girl to her guardian;
but Octave’s earnestness disarmed it of offence. All that Ruth did
ejaculate was a characteristic “Humph!” but the tone in which it was
uttered said volumes.
“I know, Aunt Ruthy, it does seem dreadful saucy, and all that; but I
don’t see how I am to help it. I am so sorry you came home; no—I
mean I’m glad, of course, for I love you; but if you hadn’t come, it
—”
“It would have been more convenient for thee,” finished Miss
Kinsolving, smiling in spite of her determination to be stern; also, in
spite of her determination not to do anything of the kind, obediently
walking out into the hall and standing there like a child in a game,
while her companions behind the door deliberate as to her further
mystification.
Certainly, the truth that earnestness bears its own force was never
more fully exemplified. After a very brief consultation, the door was
opened and the lady invited to reënter.
“Well, Aunt Ruth, there is nothing we can tell you, except that which
Rosetta tried to write. I think that she meant this: Ten days ago I
went to New York.”
“Octave! Alone?”
“Why, yes, ma’am; who was there to go with me?”
“But why?”
“On the happiest errand of my life. I am the proudest girl you ever
saw; though I am, even in this case, ‘only Octave.’ Did you ever hear
of Professor Edric von Holsneck?”
“All the world has heard of him. What has he to do with thee and
me?”
“Everything. I went to New York to see him.”
“Octave Pickel!” cried Aunt Ruth, in her amazement; and could say
no more.
“Yes, and just as soon as he heard that my name was Octave Pickel
he welcomed me with both hands, literally and figuratively.”
Ruth sank back in her chair and fanned herself with a palm-leaf she
had picked up from the carpet. Her astonishment certainly made her
speechless, till she reflected that after all it was not so strange. She
had heard that the firm of “Pickel & Pickel” were Professor von
Holsneck’s German publishers.
“Ah! thee knew him, then; that was different; but I hope thee did
not go uninvited, and that thee will intrude thyself upon no one
without first consulting older persons.”
“No, aunt; I did not know him at all. I had only heard of him, as you
or anybody else has. But I had to see him on business. It was a sort
of case of ‘Mahomet and the mountain.’ The mountain—that’s
Melville—couldn’t go to Mahomet, so I went down and commanded
the prophet to come to the mountain, and he came.”
“Madcap! Does thee mean to tell me that that great man has been
beneath this roof,—been here in The Snuggery?”
“Beneath this very roof, here in this very Snuggery; sitting in that
very chair where you sit now.”
“Oh! Oh!” gasped Miss Kinsolving; and in such dismay as to send
them all off again into a fit of laughter, which on her part arose from
nervousness, but on the young folks’s from pure delight.
“But, Aunt Ruth, you are the only person privileged to know that. In
this benighted household my blessed professor is known only as—
He! He is a part of a splendid Mystery, which even you cannot be
told, till the time is ripe. We have told you already more than we
intended, and more than any one else is to know, perhaps for
several weeks. When it is all accomplished”—here Octave smiled
most encouragingly upon Melville, who suddenly appeared to turn
pale—“everybody will congratulate everybody, and everything will be
so beautiful! Please, Aunt Ruth, don’t tell Paula Pickel nor any of the
others what we have told you. Let them just live on and wonder who
He is, and what He is or was doing here. And won’t you just be real
nice to Paula? That girl has made a martyr of herself to ‘duty’ ever
since you have been away; and I should have been here to look
after my boy when she came in, then there wouldn’t have been any
‘tantrum.’ But ‘tantrums’ aren’t anything. They’re only a symptom of
—genius. That is what the great man—He—called your Melville. Oh, I
tell you, Ruth Kinsolving, this family is bound to be known to fame;
and all on account of this young snapping-turtle here, that is as
rightly named Capers as I am Pickel. Content we call the ‘lamb,’ and
when the capers are a little too spicy we send her in to get the
sauce spread over a mild surface. See?”
The day following, when Ruth entered her mother’s room again, that
observant person remarked that “the change has done thee a great
deal of good. I never saw thee looking brighter in thy life, my
daughter. That tells me without asking that thee found everything as
it should be at home.”
“I certainly have had a thorough ‘change,’ Mother Amy; and I have
been considerably ‘stirred up.’ But whether everything is as it should
be, that I am not prepared to say. I was never so puzzled in my life;
and I never heard of such children.”
“They are good children, only a bit more sprightly than common”;
returned the grandmother, fondly. “I shall be glad when thee thinks
it is best for me to go back to them.”
Ruth sighed profoundly. She was conscious already of a sort of
homesick feeling to be living again amidst all that overflowing life
which had taken possession of The Snuggery and practically driven
her out of it.
Mother Amy looked up from her knitting once more. “Thy brow is
frowning, and thee looks even more perplexed than when thee went
away, Ruth; but brighter and gayer.”
“Yes, mother, it did do me good, I think; but—”
“I hope the children have not been doing anything rash.”
“Doing! Rash! Mother Amy, think of the most unlikely thing in the
world, and then make up thy mind that those children have done it.
Even then thee will be far short of the mark.”
 CHAPTER XX.
A “Mystery” is not healthful for any one; even when the secret
originates in brains as youthful as Octave’s; and though it did not
solve the problem for the household, yet the visit of Miss Kinsolving
had somewhat the effect of a thunder-storm upon a murky
atmosphere. Certainly, after her few words of apology and
approbation to Paula, that painstaking girl felt too happy to pay any
further attention to the vagaries of the “conspirators,” Melville and
Octave; Content had her thoughts drawn from it by the arrival of
fresh letters and parcels from Japan; Christina was deep in some
new volumes of old-time fairy tales, which her aunt had substituted
for Luke’s story papers; and little Fritz lived mostly out of doors.
So if the “Mystery” did not die, the interest of those not immediately
connected with it did die; and The Snuggery, for several consecutive
days, appeared as the abode of perfect peacefulness.
“There is somethin’ boun’ ter happen!” said Rosetta to Abraham.
“Whenever them young ones is still a minute it’s ’cause they’re a-
hatchin’ out fresh monkey-shines. They hain’t any on ’em done
nothin’ out o’ the beaten track this week er more. Not since Miss
Ruth was to home.”
“Wall, I shouldn’t think ye’d hanker to hev ’em step off the ‘beaten
track,’ as ye tell about. I’ve noticed that when they does step off
they mostly steps a good pace. There was Octavy, now, who’d ever
thort of a gal a-turnin’ a hull hay-riggin’ over on top of her; but she
done it an’ come out purty near as good as ever. Reckon she is—jest
as well as she was afore, an’ ’pears ter be gettin’ as plump as a
pa’tridge. But Pauly, she don’t never seem to get inter no scrapes,
like the rest on ’em.”
“Humph!” retorted Rosetta, drawing off the yellow buttermilk for
Abraham to carry away to the pigs. “She got inter one the very fust
night she arriv’. She scairt the life clean out o’ poor Mis’ Capers, but
you seem ter fergit thet.”
“I hain’t bed no chance ter fergit it, bein’s ye keep talkin’ ’bout it.
But don’t ye worry; this here Sunday-meetin’ sort of doin’s ain’t a-
goin’ ter last long enough ter hurt us. My! but that buttermilk is
rich!” And, wiping his lips on his shirt-sleeve, the farmer walked
away stywards.
It is rarely safe to prophesy evil. It seemed as if the very mention of
“scrapes” was enough, in that household, to induce one.
All summer long the pigs, which were the pride of Abraham’s heart,
had been allowed to run about in some fields, and get their living
pretty much as they would have done in a native state. But haying
was over, and the good man had more time to devote to his “stawk”
than he had had during that busy season just past. It appeared to
him time to begin “fattenin’,” and that very day he had driven the
pigs into a nearby enclosure, intending to shut them into their pens
at night and feed them there.
For that purpose he had collected all the buttermilk Rosetta had to
spare, and, walking noiselessly along over the grass-grown path, he
raised the pail to the top of the high, board fence above the trough
and emptied the contents in one mighty swish.
Though his eyes had been diverted by the gambols of some kittens
in a tree, his feet had “almost gone theirselves” over the familiar
way which led to the “fattening” quarters of many pigs departed
long since, and it was an almost mechanical motion which had
emptied the pail.
There was nothing mechanical, however, about the yells and shrieks
which followed, nor in the tremendous jump which Abraham’s long
limbs made backwards. The startled man stumbled over a milking-
stool which he had also brought along, and landed beneath the
kittens’ tree with a thud which sent them shying still farther
upwards.
Then two heads appeared over the sty-wall, and two very red and
angry faces gleamed from amid a flood of thick and clinging
buttermilk.
“By the jingo!” cried Luke, in the accents of a story-paper hero. But
his feelings were not at all story-paper-like, nor his further language
that which would have been most approved.
“What in the name of apple-sass be ye a-doin’ thar?” demanded
Abraham, as soon as he had picked himself up, and recognized the
drenched persons as Luke and little Fritz.
“Why can’t ye mind yer own business?” retorted the angry Luke.
“I was. I was a-feedin’ the pigs—an’ if so be that ye belongs
amongst ’em, all right. Ye’ve had yer supper.” And chuckling quietly
to himself, the busy man stalked off, leaving his victims to recover
their tempers and their cleanliness at their leisure.
“Jest as I was a tellin’ ye, Rosetty, ye needn’t ha’ worrited. Some
kinks was a-boun’ ter happen. Thar was that lazy houn’, Luke, a
settin’ in the pig-sty, an’ Fritzy alongside on him. I doused ’em both
with buttermilk, an’ on your ’count I’m sorry, ’cause I s’pose ye’ll hev
the youngun ter clean. But I ain’t sorry noways elst. I s’picioned that
boy of mine was a readin’ them air yarns ter Fritzy, ’cause the little
chap he’s full of the oddest kind o’ sayin’s ye ever heerd; an’ now
I’ve kotched him. You lay it down, Luke Tewkskury won’t git no great
chanst in the futur’ ter waste Mis’ Kinsolving’s time a readin’ trash,
not whilst I’m his daddy! If he wants ter be sentimental, I’ll gin him
a chanst ter be, a-plowin’ that ten-acre lot.”
This was all quite true, as Abraham had surmised. The disused pig-
sty, shady and grass-grown, had formed a capital and unsuspected
hiding-place for the fiction-loving Luke to while away an hour of
time, nor did he know that it was so soon to be occupied by its
natural tenants; and after Christina’s refusal to read any more of his
exciting tales, he had turned to Fritz for sympathy, filling that
youngster’s mind with the strangest muddle of stuff which ever
floated through a little brain.
Fortunately, but a fraction of all he heard was comprehended, and a
smaller fraction yet it was which remained to puzzle and excite the
always excitable and, till now, carefully reared child.
A tiny seed of evil stayed,—so small that no one would have
dreamed it could ever have worked him ill. It was the idea of
“ghosts.” Not ghosts as they are usually considered, nor at all as
they appeared to the impressible soul of Luke. A “ghost,” young
Tewksbury would no sooner have tackled than a regiment of
soldiers, and his own predilection was for “burglars.” Had he known
it, “ghosts” and “burglars” meant, to Fritz, one and the same thing;
and both he and his instructor longed for a chance to show their
prowess and “have a fight with one.” Luke felt himself a hero of the
deepest dye, and what Fritz thought of his own capacity to meet any
and every emergency can be imagined.
Both were to have an opportunity of proving their own merits, and it
came speedily on the heels of that buttermilk episode.
Luke slept in the house, though his father lodged at their own
cottage, some little distance away. Sometimes Fritz was allowed to
share Luke’s pleasant apartment, especially when there was a
hunting trip in contemplation; for, young as he was, it had been one
of Uncle Fritz’s requests that the little boy should be allowed the use
of fire-arms, believing, it may be wisely, that if one is early trained to
them, there is less danger of accident than when left to find out
their use by lonely experiment. Luke was a “crack shot,” and game
on the mountain was abundant. Fritz had already won a fair record,
—for “going on nine,”—and he was ambitious of further
achievements.
The lads, big and little, went to bed, and soon to sleep; Fritz’s small
rifle and Luke’s pistol lying ready at hand against an early waking.
But visions of white, drenching floods, burglars, and ghosts mingled
with little Fritz’s dreams; induced in great measure by an unusually
bountiful supper which Rosetta had given him as a consolation for
his accident, and partly by their having sat up quite late to finish a
most thrilling tale and to taste of a lunch which had been put up for
their out-of-door breakfast.
“If we eat it over-night, we’ll make sure of it,” said Luke, facetiously.
He was always hungry, and Fritz was not to be outdone in that or
any other matter by any big boy living. So he ate as long as he
could, and then he dreamed as fast as he could; and in the midst of
both, it always afterwards seemed to him, he had sat up in bed and
seen Luke at the window, looking out with a very mysterious air.
“What is it, Lukey?”
“Whis-st! Bu-ur-gla-rs!”
Fritz could almost hear Luke’s teeth chatter.
“Cracky! I bet he’s afraid! Abry-ham said he would be, if a real one
came to town. I ain’t, though. I’m a gentleman. Gentlemen ain’t
never afraid of nothin’. Pooh! I’ll show him!”
Creeping so softly out of bed in his bare feet that his companion did
not hear him, he seized his little rifle and cautiously crept to the
other open window.
On the grass below, a white figure was moving slowly about, in a
vague sort of fashion, which, had either protector of the defenceless
been wiser, he would have known belonged neither to any burglar
nor ghost which ever troubled the repose of the peaceful.
Luke’s own weapon was poised, but he was so nervous and intensely
excited that he delayed to fire; else would the tragedy have been
great. But while he paused to steady himself, crack went the other
rifle, and down dropped the “ghost.”
Then and there arose such shrieks and screams as no burglar or
disembodied spirit ever uttered, and which drove Luke in despair to
hide his head beneath the bed-clothes, and Fritz to stand and gaze
with rueful, half-dazed wonder upon one—two—three—a whole yard
full of ghosts!