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 Cryptography
and
Network Security
Third Edition
 About the Author

Atul Kahate has over 17 years of experience in Information Technology in

India and abroad in various capacities. He currently works as Adjunct
Professor in Computer Science in Pune University and Symbiosis Internation-
al University. His last IT employment was as Consulting Practice Director at
Oracle Financial Services Software Limited (earlier known as i-flex solutions
limited). He has conducted several training programs/seminars in institutions
such as IIT, Symbiosis, Pune University, and many other colleges.
A prolific writer, Kahate is also the author of 38 books on Computer Science,
Science, Technology, Medicine, Economics, Cricket, Management, and History.
Books such as Web Technologies, Cryptography and Network Security, Operating Systems, Data Com-
munications and Networks, An Introduction to Database Management Systems are used as texts in
several universities in India and many other countries. Some of these have been translated into Chinese.
Atul Kahate has won prestigious awards such as Computer Society of India’s award for contribution to
IT literacy, Indradhanu’s Yuvonmesh Puraskar, Indira Group’s Excellence Award, Maharashtra Sahitya
Parishad’s “Granthakar Puraskar”, and several others.
He has appeared on quite a few programmes on TV channels such as Doordarshan’s Sahyadri channel,
IBN Lokmat, Star Maaza, and Saam TV related to IT, education, and careers. He has also worked as
official cricket scorer and statistician in several international cricket matches.
Besides these achievements, he has written over 4000 articles and various columns on IT, cricket,
science, technology, history, medicine, economics, management, careers in popular newspapers/
magazines such as Loksatta, Sakal, Maharashtra Times, Lokmat, Lokprabha, Saptahik Sakal, Divya
Marathi, and others.
 Cryptography
and
Network Security
Third Edition

Atul Kahate
Adjunct Professor
Pune University and Symbiosis International University
Author in Computer Science

McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited

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 McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited

Published by McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited

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Cryptography and Network Security, 3/e
Copyright © 2013, 2008, 2003, by McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
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Information contained in this work has been obtained by McGraw Hill Education (India), from sources believed
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RYZCRRLORQLLD
 CONTENTS

Preface ix
Important Terms and Abbreviations xiii
1. Introduction to the Concepts of Security 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The Need for Security 2
1.3 Security Approaches 6
1.4 Principles of Security 8
1.5 Types of Attacks 12
Summary 27
Key Terms and Concepts 28
Practice Set 29
2. Cryptography Techniques 32
2.1 Introduction 32
2.2 Plain Text and Cipher Text 33
2.3 Substitution Techniques 36
2.4 Transposition Techniques 47
2.5 Encryption and Decryption 51
2.6 Symmetric and Asymmetric Key Cryptography 53
2.7 Steganography 64
2.8 Key Range and Key Size 65
2.9 Possible Types of Attacks 68
Case Study: Denial of Service (DOS) Attacks 72
Summary 74
Key Terms and Concepts 75
Practice Set 76
3. Computer-based Symmetric Key Cryptographic Algorithms 80
3.1 Introduction 80
3.2 Algorithm Types and Modes 80
3.3 An Overview of Symmetric-Key Cryptography 92
3.4 Data Encryption Standard (DES) 94
 vi Contents

3.5 International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) 108

3.6 RC4 116
3.7 RC5 118
3.8 Blowfish 127
3.9 Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 130
Case Study: Secure Multiparty Calculation 141
Summary 142
Key Terms and Concepts 144
Practice Set 145
4. Computer-based Asymmetric-Key Cryptography Algorithms 148
4.1 Introduction 148
4.2 Brief History of Asymmetric-Key Cryptography 148
4.3 An Overview of Asymmetric-Key Cryptography 149
4.4 The RSA Algorithm 151
4.5 ElGamal Cryptography 157
4.6 Symmetric- and Asymmetric-Key Cryptography 158
4.7 Digital Signatures 162
4.8 Knapsack Algorithm 193
4.9 ElGamal Digital Signature 194
4.10 Attacks on Digital Signatures 194
4.11 Problems with the Public-Key Exchange 195
Case Study 1: Virtual Elections 197
Case Study 2: Contract Signing 198
Summary 199
Key Terms and Concepts 200
Practice Set 200
5. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) 204
5.1 Introduction 204
5.2 Digital Certificates 205
5.3 Private-Key Management 234
5.4 The PKIX Model 236
5.5 Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS) 238
5.6 XML, PKI and Security 244
Case Study: Cross Site Scripting Vulnerability (CSSV) 256
Summary 258
Key Terms and Concepts 259
Practice Set 260
6. Internet-Security Protocols 263
6.1 Introduction 263
6.2 Basic Concepts 263
6.3 Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 271
6.4 Transport Layer Security (TLS) 282
6.5 Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (SHTTP) 282
6.6 Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) 283
 Contents vii

6.7 SSL Versus SET 295

6.8 3-D Secure Protocol 296
6.9 Email Security 299
6.10 Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Security 319
6.11 Security in GSM 322
6.12 Security in 3G 324
6.13 IEEE 802.11 Security 327
6.14 Link Security Versus Network Security 331
Case Study 1: Secure Inter-branch Payment Transactions 331
Case Study 2: Cookies and Privacy 335
Summary 336
Key Terms and Concepts 338
Practice Set 339
7. User-Authentication Mechanisms 342
7.1 Introduction 342
7.2 Authentication Basics 342
7.3 Passwords 343
7.4 Authentication Tokens 356
7.5 Certificate-based Authentication 366
7.6 Biometric Authentication 372
7.7 Kerberos 374
7.8 Key Distribution Center (KDC) 380
7.9 Security Handshake Pitfalls 381
7.10 Single Sign On (SSO) Approaches 390
7.11 Attacks on Authentication Schemes 391
Case Study: Single Sign On (SSO) 392
Summary 395
Key Terms and Concepts 396
Practice Set 397
8. Practical Implementations of Cryptography/Security 400
8.1 Introduction 400
8.2 Cryptographic Solutions using Java 401
8.3 Cryptographic Solutions Using Microsoft .NET Framework 408
8.4 Cryptographic Toolkits 410
8.5 Web Services Security 411
8.6 Cloud Security 413
Summary 414
Key Terms and Concepts 415
Practice Set 416
9. Network Security, Firewalls, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN) 418
9.1 Introduction 418
9.2 Brief Introduction to TCP/IP 418
9.3 Firewalls 423
9.4 IP Security 440
 viii Contents

9.5 Virtual Private Networks (VPN) 458

9.6 Intrusion 461
Case Study 1: IP Spoofing Attacks 464
Case Study 2: Creating a VPN 466
Summary 467
Key Terms and Concepts 468
Practice Set 469
Appendices 472
A. Mathematical Background 472
B. Number Systems 481
C. Information Theory 486
D. Real-life Tools 488
E. Web Resources 489
F. A Brief Introduction to ASN, BER, DER 492
References 497

Index 499
 PREFACE

This book has already been used by thousands of students, teachers, and IT professionals in its past
edition. There is no change in the intended audience for this book. It is aimed at the same audience
in the given order. The book can be used for any graduate/postgraduate course involving computer
security/cryptography as a subject. It aims to explain the key concepts in cryptography to anyone
who has basic understanding in computer science and networking concepts. No other assumptions are
made. The new edition is updated to cover certain topics in the syllabi which were found to be covered
inadequately in the earlier editions.
Computer and network security is one of the most crucial areas today. With so many attacks happening
on all kinds of computer systems and networks, it is imperative that the subject be understood by stu-
dents who are going to be the IT professionals of the future. Consequently, topics such as Cloud secu-
rity, and Web services security have been added to this edition. The main focus of the book is to explain
every topic in a very lucid fashion with plenty of diagrams. All technical terms are explained in detail.

SALIENT FEATURES
● Uses a bottom-up approach: Cryptography Æ Network Security Æ Case Studies
● Inclusion of new topics: IEEE 802.11Security, Elgamal Cryptography, Cloud Security and Web
Services Security
● Improved treatment of Ciphers, Digital Signatures, SHA-3 Algorithm
● Practical orientation of the subject to help students for real-life implementation of the subject
through integrated case studies
● Refreshed pedagogy includes
■ 150 Design/Programming Exercises

■ 160 Exercises

■ 170 Multiple-Choice Questions

■ 530 Illustrations

■ 10 Case Studies
 x Preface

CHAPTER ORGANIZATION
The organization of the book is as follows:
Chapter 1 introduces the basic concepts of security. It discusses the need for security, the principles
of security and the various types of attacks on computer systems and networks. We discuss both the
theoretical concepts behind all these aspects, as well as the practical issues and examples of each one of
them. This will cement our understanding of security. Without understanding why security is required,
and what is under threat, there is no point in trying to understand how to make computer systems and
networks secure. A new section on wireless network attacks has been included. Some obsolete material
on cookies and ActiveX controls has been deleted.
Chapter 2 introduces the concept of cryptography, the fundamental building block of computer
security. Cryptography is achieved by using various algorithms. All these algorithms are based on
either substitution of plain text with some cipher text, or by using certain transposition techniques, or
a combination of both. The chapter then introduces the important terms of encryption and decryption.
Playfair cipher and Hill cipher are covered in detail. The Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange coverage is
expanded, and types of attacks are covered in detail.
Chapter 3 discusses the various issues involved in computer-based symmetric-key cryptography. We
discuss stream and block cipher and the various chaining modes. We also discuss the chief symmetric-
key cryptographic algorithms in great detail, such as DES, IDEA, RC5 and Blowfish. The Feistel
cipher is covered in detail. Discussions related to the security of DES and attacks on the algorithm are
expanded. Similarly, the security issues pertaining to AES are also covered.
Chapter 4 examines the concepts, issues and trends in asymmetric-key cryptography. We go through
the history of asymmetric-key cryptography. Later, we discuss the major asymmetric-key cryptograph-
ic algorithms, such as RSA, MD5, SHA, and HMAC. We introduce several key terms, such as message
digests and digital signatures in this chapter. We also study how best we can combine symmetric-
key cryptography with asymmetric-key cryptography. Security issues pertaining to RSA algorithm are
included. The ElGamal Cryptography and ElGamal Digital Signature schemes are covered. SHA-3
algorithm is introduced. Issues pertaining to RSA digital signature are covered.
Chapter 5 talks about the upcoming popular technology of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Here, we
discuss what we mean by digital certificates, how they can be created, distributed, maintained and used.
We discuss the role of Certification Authorities (CA) and Registration Authorities (RA). We also intro-
duce the Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS). Some obsolete topics such as roaming digital
certificates and attribute certificates are removed.
Chapter 6 deals with the important security protocols for the Internet. These protocols include
SSL, SHTTP, TSP, SET and 3D-Secure. We also discuss how electronic money works, what are the
dangers involved therein and how best we can make use of it. An extensive coverage of email security is
provided with a detailed discussion of the key email security protocols, such as PGP, PEM and
S/MIME. We also discuss wireless security here. The obsolete SET protocol is reduced. Discussion
on 3-D Secure is expanded. Electronic money is completely removed. DomainKeys Identified Mail
(DKIM) is covered. Security in IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) is discussed in detail.
Chapter 7 tells us how to authenticate a user. There are various ways to do this. The chapter examines
each one of them in significantly great detail and addresses their pros and cons. We discuss password-
 Preface xi

based authentication, authentication based on something derived from the password, authentication
tokens, certificate-based authentication, and biometrics. We also study the popular Kerberos protocol.
Discussion of biometric techniques is expanded. Attacks on authentication schemes are covered.
Chapter 8 deals with the practical issues involved in cryptography. Currently, the three main ways to
achieve this is to use the cryptographic mechanisms provided by Sun (in the Java programming lan-
guage), Microsoft, and third-party toolkits. We discuss each of these approaches. Operating systems
security and database security are removed. Web services security and cloud security are added.
Chapter 9 is concerned with network-layer security. Here, we examine firewalls, their types and
configurations. Then we go on to IP security, and conclude our discussion with Virtual Private
Networks (VPN).
Each chapter has an introduction that explains the scope of coverage and a chapter summary at the
end. There are multiple-choice and detailed questions to verify the student’s understanding. Several
case studies are included at appropriate places to give a practical flavor to the subject. Every difficult
concept is explained using a diagram. Unnecessary mathematics is avoided wherever possible.

ONLINE LEARNING CENTER

The OLC for this book can be accessed at https://www.mhhe.com/kahate/cns3 and contains the
following material:
● For the Student
■ Additional programming exercises of varying levels of difficulty

■ Cryptography Demos with DES and AES Demo Applets

■ Web References (Updated with latest links)
■ Real-Life Case Studies
● For the Instructor
■ Solutions to exercises (Updated with the new programming exercises solutions)
■ Sample Question Papers
■ List of Additional Material added to the text
■ Web References (Interesting Links)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank all my family members, colleagues, and friends for their help. Hundreds of stu-
dents and professors have appreciated the previous editions of the book, which makes the efforts of
coming up with a new edition very enjoyable. More specifically, I would like to thank my ex-students
Swapnil Panditrao and Pranav Sorte, who have helped me with the third edition. Mr Nikhil Bhalla
pointed out a few errors in the earlier edition, which now stand corrected.
A sincere note of appreciation is due to all TMH members—Shalini Jha, Smruti Snigdha, Sourabh
Maheshwari, Satinder Singh, Sohini Mukherjee and P L Pandita who helped me during various stages
of the publication process.
 xii Preface

I would also like to thank all those reviewers who took out time to review the book and gave useful
comments. Their names are given as follows:
Vrutika Shah LEADS Institute of Technology and Engineering, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Metul Patel Shree Swami Atmanandan College of Engineering, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Amitab Nag Academy of Technology, Kolkata
Subhajit Chatterjee Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata
Garimella Rama Murthy International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad

Feedback
Readers are welcome to send any feedback/comments on my Website www.atulkahate.com (in the
Testimonials section) or via email at [email protected].
Atul Kahate

Publisher’s Note
Do you have any further request or a suggestion? We are always open to new ideas (the best ones come
from you!). You may send your comments to [email protected]
Piracy-related issues may also be reported!
 IMPORTANT TERMS AND
ABBREVIATIONS

1-factor authentication Authentication mechanism, which involves the party to be

authenticated concerned with only one factor (e.g. know
something).
2-factor authentication Authentication mechanism, which involves the party to
be authenticated concerned with two factors (e.g. know
something and have something).
3-D Secure Payment mechanism developed by Visa for Web-based
transactions.
Active attack Form of attack on security where the attacker makes
attempts to change the contents of the message.
Algorithm mode Defines the details of a cryptographic algorithm.
Algorithm type Defines how much plain text should be encrypted/
decrypted at a time.
Application gateway Type of firewall that filters packets at the application layer
of TCP/IP stack. Same as Bastion host or Proxy server.
Asymmetric Key Cryptography Cryptographic technique where a key pair is used for
encryption and decryption operations.
Authentication Principle of security, which identifies a user or a compuetr
system, so that it can be trusted.
Authentication token Small piece of hardware used in 2-factor authentication
mechanisms.
Authority Revocation List (ARL) List of revoked Certification Authorities (CA).
Avalanche effect The principle that determines minor changes to plaintext
result into what sort of changes to the resulting ciphertext
in an encryption algorithm.
Availability Principle of security, which ensures that a resource/
computer system is available to the authorized users.
 xiv Important Terms and Abbreviations

Bastion host Type of firewall that filters packets at the application layer
of TCP/IP stack. Same as Application gateway or Proxy
server.
Behaviour-blocking software Software that integrates with the operating system of the
computer and keeps a watch on virus-like behavior in real
time.
Behavioural techniques Biometric authentication techniques that depend on the
behavioural characteristics of a human being.
Bell-LaPadula model A highly trustworthy computer system is designed as a
collection of objects and subjects. Objects are passive
repositories or destinations for data, such as files, disks,
printers, etc. Subjects are active entities, such as users,
processes, or threads operating on behalf of those users.
Biometric authentication Authentication mechanism that depends on the biological
characteristics of a user.
Block cipher Encrypts/decrypts a group of characters at a time.
Bucket brigade attack A form of attack in which the attacker intercepts the
communication between two parties, and fools them to
believe that they are communicating with each other,
whereas they actually communicate with the attacker.
Same as man-in-the-middle attack.
Book Cipher Cryptographic technique involving the key selected
randomly from a page in a book.
Brute-force attack Form of attack wherein the attacker tries all possible
combinations of the key one after the other in quick
succession.
Caesar Cipher Cryptographic technique wherein each plain text character
is replaced with an alphabet three places down the line.
Cardholder Customer, who shops online on the Web, and makes
payments for the same using a credit/debit card.
Certificate directory Pre-specified area containing the list of digital certificates.
Certificate Management Protocol (CMP) Protocol used in the requesting of a digital certificate.
Certificate Revocation List (CRL) List of revoked digital certificates. It is an offline certifi-
cate checking mechanism.
Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Format used by a user to request for a digital certificate
from a CA/RA.
Certificate-based authentication Authentication mechanism wherein the user needs to
produce her digital certificate, and also has to provide a
proof of possessing that certificate.
Certification Authority (CA) Authority that can issue digital certificates to users after
proper authentication checks.
 Important Terms and Abbreviations xv

Certification Authority hierarchy Hierarchy that allows multiple CAs to operate, theyeby
taking load off a single CA.
Chain of trust Mechanism whereby a trust is established from the current
CA up to the root CA.
Chaining mode Technique of adding complexity to the cipher text, making
it harder to crack.
Challenge/response token Type of authentication token.
Chosen cipher text attack Type of attack where the attacker knows the cipher text
to be decrypted, the encryption algorithm that was used
to produce this cipher text, and the corresponding plain
text block. The attacker’s job is to discover the key used
for encryption.
Chosen-message attack A trick where the attacker makes the user believe that she
signed a message using RSA, which she did not.
Chosen plain text attack Here, the attacker selects a plain text block, and tries to
look for the encryption of the same in the cipher text.
Here, the attacker is able to choose the messages to
encrypt. Based on this, the attacker intentionally picks
patterns of cipher text that result in obtaining more
information about the key.
Chosen text attack This is essentially a combination of chosen plain text
attack and chosen cipher text attack.
Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) Mechanism of chaining.
Cipher Feedback (CFB) Mechanism of chaining.
Cipher text Result of encryption on a plain text message.
Cipher text only attack In this type of attack, the attacker does not have any clue
about the plain text. She/he has some or all of the cipher text.
Circuit gateway Form of application gateway, which creates a connection
between itself and the remote host/server.
Clear text Message in an understandable/readable form, same as
Plain text.
Collision If two messages yield the same message digest, there is a
collision.
Completeness effect A principle that demands that every ciphertext bit should
depend on more than one plaintext bits.
Confidentiality Principle of security, which ensures that only the sender
and the recipient of a message come to know about the
contents of that message.
Confusion Performing substitution during encryption.
Counter (mode) In this algorithm mode, a counter and plain text block are
encrypted together, after which the counter is incremented.
 xvi Important Terms and Abbreviations

Cross-certification Technology wherein CAs from different domains/loca-

tions sign each other’s certificates, for ease of operation.
Cryptanalysis Process of analyzing cipher text.
Cryptanalyst Person who performs cryptanalysis.
Cryptographic toolkit Software that provides cryptographic algorithms/opera-
tions for use in applications.
Cryptography Art of codifying messages, so that they become unread-
able.
Cryptology Combination of cryptography and cryptanalysis.
Cycling attack An attack where the attacker believes that plain text was
converted into cipher text using some permutation, which
the attacker tries on the cipher text to obtain the original
plain text.
Data Encryption Standard (DES) IBM’s popular algorithm for symmetric key encryption,
uses 56-bit keys, not used widely of late.
Decryption Process of transforming cipher text back into plain text-
opposite of Encryption.
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Firewall configuration that allows an organization to
securely host its public servers and also protect its internal
network at the same time.
Denial Of Service (DOS) attack An attempt by an attacker to disallow authorized users
from accessing a resource/computer system.
Dictionary attack Attack wherein the attacker tries all the possible words
from the dictionary (e.g. as a password).
Differential cryptanalysis Method of cryptanalysis that looks at pairs of cipher text
whose plain texts have particular differences.
Diffusion Performing transposition during encryption.
Digital cash Computer file representing the equivalent of real cash.
Bank debits the user’s real bank account and issues digital
cash, instead. Same as electronic cash.
Digital certificate Computer file similar to a paper-based passport, links a
user to a particular public key, and also provides other
information about the user.
Digital envelope Technique wherein the original message is encrypted with
a one-time session key, which itself is encrypted with the
intended recipient’s public key.
Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) Asymmetric key algorithm for performing digital signa-
tures.
Digital Signature Standard (DSS) Standard specifing how digital signature should be done.
DNS spoofing See Pharming.
 Important Terms and Abbreviations xvii

DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) An Internet email scheme where the user’s email system
digitally signs an email message to confirm that it origi-
nated from there.
Double DES Modified version of DES, involves 128-bit keys.
Dual signature Mechanism used in the Secure Electronic Transaction
(SET) protocol whereby the payment details are hidden
from the merchant, and the purchase details are hidden
from the payment gateway.
Dynamic packet filter Type of packet filter, which keeps learning from the
current status of the network.
ElGamal A set of schemes for encryption and digital signature.
Electronic Code Book (ECB) Mechanism of chaining.
Electronic money See Electronic cash.
Encryption Process of transforming plain text into cipher text-
opposite of Decryption.
Fabrication False message created by an attacker to distort the atten-
tion of the authorized users.
Factorization attack Factorizing a number into its two prime factors is very
difficult if the number is large. An attacker would still
attempt it to break the security of the RSA algorithm,
which is based on this principle.
Feistel Cipher A cryptographic technique that uses substitution and
transposition alternatively to produce cipher text.
Firewall Special type of router, which can perform security checks
and allows rule-based filtering.
Hash Finger print of a message, same as Message digest.
Identifies a message uniquely.
Hill Cipher Hill cipher works on multiple letters at the same time.
Hence, it is a type of polygraphic substitution cipher.
HMAC Similar to a message digest, HMAC also involves
encryption.
Homophonic Substitution Cipher Technique of encryption in which one plain text character
is replaced with one cipher text character, at a time. The
cipher text character is not fixed.
Integrity Principle of security, which specifies that the contents of a
message must not be altered during its transmission from
the sender to the receiver.
Interception Process of an attacker getting hold of a message in transit,
before it reaches the intended recipient.
International Data Encryption A symmetric key encryption algorithm, developed in
Algorithm (IDEA) 1990’s.
xviii Important Terms and Abbreviations

Internet Security Association and Key Protocol used in IPSec for key management. Also called
Management Protocol (ISAKMP) as Oakley.
Interruption Attacker creating a situation where the availability of a
system is in danger. Same as Masquerade.
IP Security (IPSec) Protocol to encrypt messages at the network layer.
Issuer Bank/financial institution that facilitates a cardholder to
make credit card payments on the Internet.
Jamming attack A Denial-of-Service attack on wireless networks that
introduces unnecessary wireless frames.
Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) Java’s cryptography mechanism, in the form of APIs.
Java Cryptography Extensions (JCE) Java’s cryptography mechanism, in the form of APIs.
Kerberos Single Sign On (SSO) mechanism, that allows a user to
have a single user id and password to access multiple
resources/systems.
Key The secret information in a cryptographic operation.
Key Distribution Center (KDC) A central authority dealing with keys for individual
computers (nodes) in a computer network.
Key-only attack Only using a genuine user’s public key, the attacker
attempts an attack.
Key wrapping See Digital envelope.
Known plaintext attack In this case, the attacker knows about some pairs of plain
text and corresponding cipher text for those pairs. Using
this information, the attacker tries to find other pairs, and
therefore, know more and more of the plain text.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Protocol that allows easy storage and retrieval of informa-
(LDAP) tion at/from a central place.
Linear cryptanalysis An attack based on linear approximations.
Low decryption exponent attack If the decryption key value used in RSA is very small, the
attacker can guess it better.
Lucifer One symmetric key encryption algorithm.
Man-in-the-middle attack A form of attack in which the attacker intercepts the com-
munication between two parties, and fools them to believe
that they are communicating with each other, whereas
they actually communicate with the attacker. Same as
bucket brigade attack.
Masquerade Attacker creating a situation where the availability of a
system is in danger. Same as Interruption.
MD5 Message digest algorithm, now seems vulnerable to
attacks.
Message Authentication Code (MAC) See HMAC.
 Important Terms and Abbreviations xix

Message digest Finger print of a message, same as Hash. Identifies a

message uniquely.
Microsoft Cryptography Application Microsoft’s cryptography mechanism, in the form of APIs.
Programming Interface (MS-CAPI)
Modification Attack on a message where its contents are changed.
Mono-alphabetic Cipher Technique of encryption in which one plain text character
is replaced with one cipher text character, at a time.
Multi-factor authentication Authentication mechanism, which involves the party to be
authenticated concerned with multiple factors (e.g. know
something, be something and have something).
Mutual authentication In mutual authentication, A and B both authenticate each
other.
Network level attack Security attacks attempted at the network/hardware level.
Non-repudiation Provision whereby the sender of a message cannot refuse
having sent it, later on, in the case of a dispute.
One-Time Pad Considered very secure, this method involves the usage of
a key, which is used only once and then discarded forever.
One-time password Technology that authenticates user based on passwords
that are generated dynamically, used once, and then
destroyed.
One-way authentication In this scheme, if there are two users A and B, B authenti-
cates A, but A does not authenticate B.
Online Certificate Status Protocol Online protocol to check the status of a digital certificate.
(OCSP)
Output Feedback (OFB) Mode of chaining.
Packet filter Firewall that filters individual packets based on rules.
Works at the network layer.
Passive attack Form of attack on security where the attacker does not
make an attempt to change the contents of the message.
Password Authentication mechanism that requires a user to enter
a secret piece of information (i.e. the password) when
challenged.
Password policy Statement outlining the structure, rules and mechanisms
of passwords, in an organization.
Person-in-the-middle attack A form of wireless attack, where the attacker plays a role
that is quite different from the real identity of the attacker.
Pharming Modifying the Domain Name System (DNS) so as to
direct genuine URLs to false IP addresses of attackers.
Phishing Technique used by attackers to fool innocent users into
providing confidential/personal information.
 xx Important Terms and Abbreviations

Physiological techniques Biometric authentication techniques that depends on the

physical characteristics of a human being.
Plain text Message in an understandable/readable form, same as
Clear text.
Playfair Cipher A cryptographic technique that is used for manual encryp-
tion of data. This scheme was invented by Charles Wheat-
stone in 1854.
Polygram Substitution Cipher Technique of encryption where one block of plain text is
replaced with another, at a time.
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) Protocol for secure email communications, developed by
Phil Zimmerman.
Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) Protocol for secure email communications, developed by
Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
Proof Of Possession (POP) Establishing the proof that a user possesses the private key
corresponding to the public key, as specified in the user’s
digital certificate.
Proxy server Type of firewall that filters packets at the application layer
of TCP/IP stack. Same as Application gateway or Bastion
host.
Pseudocollision Specific case of collision in the MD5 algorithm.
Psuedo-random number Random number generated using computers.
Public Key Cryptography Standards Standards developed by RSA Security Inc for the Public
(PKCS) Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology.
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Technology for implementing ansymmetric key cryptog-
raphy, with the help of message digests, digital signatures,
encryption and digital certificates.
Public Key Infrastructure X.509 (PKIX) Model to implement PKI.
Rail Fence Technique Example of transposition technique.
RC5 Symmetric key block encryption algorithm, involving
variable length keys.
Reference monitor Central entity, which is responsible for all the decisions
related to access control of computer systems.
Registration Authority (RA) Agency that takes some of the jobs of a Certification
Authority (CA) on itself, and helps the CA in many ways.
Replay attack Attack on a system wherein the attacker gets hold of a
message, and attempts to re-send it, hoping that the
receiver does not detect this as a message sent twice.
Revealed decryption exponent attack If the attacker can guess the decryption key in RSA, it is
called with this name.
Roaming certificate Digital certificate, which can be carried along as users
move from one computer/location to another.
 Important Terms and Abbreviations xxi

RSA algorithm Asymmetric key algorithm, widely used for encryption

and digital signatures.
Running Key Cipher Technique where some portion of text from a book is used
as the key.
Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) Protocol developed jointly by MasterCard, Visa and many
other companies for secure credit card payments on the
Internet.
Secure MIME (S/MIME) Protocol that adds security to the basic Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) protocol.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Protocol developed by Netscape Communications for
secure exchange of information between a Web browser
and a Web server over the Internet.
Self-signed certificate Digital certificate, wherein the subject name and the issuer
name are the same, and is signed by the issuer (which is also
the subject). Usually the case only with CA certificates.
SHA Message digest algorithm, now preferred as the standard
algorithm of choice.
Short message attack With the assumption that the attacker knows some small
part of the plain text, the attack involves comparing this
plain text with small blocks of cipher text to find relation-
ship between the two.
Simple Certificate Validation protocol Enhancement of the basic Online Certificate Status
(SCVP) Protocol (OCSP). Allows checks other than only the status
of the certificate, unlike OCSP.
Simple Columnar Transposition Variation of the basic transposition technique such as Rail
Technique Fence Technique.
Simple Columnar Transposition Variation of Simple Columnar Transposition Technique.
Technique with multiple rounds
Single Sign On (SSO) Technology providing the users a single user id and
password to access multiple systems/applications.
Stream cipher Technique of encrypting one bit at a time.
Substitution Cipher Cryptographic technique involving the replacement of
plain text characters with other characters.
Symmetric Key Cryptography Cryptographic technique where the same key is used for
encryption and decryption operations.
Time Stamping Authority (TSA) Notary-like authority, which can vouch for the availabil-
ity/creation of a digital document at a particular point of
time.
Time Stamping Protocol (TSP) Protocol using which a Time Stamping Authority (TSP)
vouces for the availability/creation of a digital document
at a particular point of time.
xxii Important Terms and Abbreviations

Time-based token Type of authentication token.

Traffic analysis Mechanism whereby an attacker examines the packets
moving across a network, and uses this information to
launch an attack.
Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol similar to SSL.
Transposition Cipher Cryptographic technique involving the re-arrangement of
plain text characters in some other form.
Triple DES Modified version of DES, involves 128-bit or 168-bit
keys.
Trojan horse Small program that does not attempt to delete anything
on the user’s disk, but instead, replicates itself on the
computer/networks.
Trusted system Computer system that can be trusted to a certain extent
in terms of implementing the designated security policy.
Unconcealed message attack In some very rare cases, encrypting plain text gives
cipher text that is the same as the original plain text. Since
the plain text can thus not be hidden, it is called with this
name.
Vernam Cipher See One-time pad.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) Technology that makes use of the existing Internet as a
private network, using cryptographic techniques.
Virus Small program that causes harm to a user’s computer and
performs destructive activities.
Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) A weak algorithm that attempts to provide encryption-
based security in a wireless network.
WiFi Protected Access (WPA) A wireless security scheme that overcomes the drawbacks
of WEP and provides for authentication, encryption, and
message interity.
Wireless Transport Layer Security Layer in WAP for facilitating secure communications
(WTLS) between a client and a server.
Worm Small program, which does not damage a computer/
network, but consumes resources, slowing it down
considerably.
WS-Security Set of standards for protecting Web Services.
X.500 Standard name for the LDAP technology.
X.509 Format for digital certificate contents and structure.
XML digital signatures Technology that allows signing of specific portions of a
message.
 INTRODUCTION TO THE
1
CONCEPTS OF SECURITY

1.1 INTRODUCTION
This is a book on network and Internet security. As such, before we embark on our journey of under-
standing the various concepts and technical issues related to security (i.e. trying to understand how to
protect), it is essential to know what we are trying to protect. What are the various dangers when we use
computers, computer networks, and the biggest network of them all, the Internet? What are the likely
pitfalls? What can happen if we do not set up the right security policies, framework and technology
implementations? This chapter attempts to provide answers to these basic questions.
We start with a discussion of the basic question: Why is security required in the first place? People
sometimes say that security is like statistics: what it reveals is trivial, what it conceals is vital! In other
words, the right security infrastructure opens up just enough doors that are mandatory. It protects
everything else. We discuss a few real-life incidents that should prove beyond doubt that security
cannot simply be compromised. Especially these days, when serious business and other types of
transactions are being conducted over the Internet to such a large extent, that inadequate or improper
security mechanisms can bring the whole business down, or play havoc with people’s lives!
We then discuss the key principles of security. These principles help us identify the various areas,
which are crucial while determining the security threats and possible solutions to tackle them. Since
electronic documents and messages are now becoming equivalent to the paper documents in terms of
their legal validity and binding, we examine the various implications in this regard.
This is followed by a discussion on the types of attacks. There are certain theoretical concepts associ-
ated with attacks, and there is a practical side to it as well. We shall discuss all these aspects.
Finally, we discuss the outline and scope of the rest of the book. This will pave the way for further
discussions of network and Internet security concepts.
 2 Cryptography and Network Security

1.2 THE NEED FOR SECURITY

1.2.1 Basic Concepts

Most previous computer applications had no, or at best, very little security. This continued for a number
of years until the importance of data was truly realized. Until then, computer data was considered to
be useful, but not something to be protected. When computer applications were developed to handle
financial and personal data, the real need for security was felt like never before. People realized that
data on computers is an extremely important aspect of modern life. Therefore, various areas in security
began to gain prominence. Two typical examples of such security mechanisms were as follows:
● Provide a user identification and password to every user, and use that information to authenticate
a user.
● Encode information stored in the databases in some fashion, so that it is not visible to users who
do not have the right permission.
Organizations employed their own mechanisms in order to provide for these kinds of basic security
mechanisms. As technology improved, the communication infrastructure became extremely mature,
and newer applications began to be developed for various user demands and needs. Soon, people real-
ized the basic security measures were not quite enough.
Furthermore, the Internet took the world by storm. There were many examples of what could happen
if there was insufficient security built in applications developed for the Internet. Figure 1.1 shows such
an example of what can happen when you use your credit card for making purchases over the Internet.
From the user’s computer, the user details such as user id, order details such as order id and item id,

Fig. 1.1 Example of information traveling from a client to a server over the Internet
 Introduction to the Concepts of Security 3

and payment details such as credit-card information travel across the Internet to the server (i.e. to the
merchant’s computer). The merchant’s server stores these details in its database.
There are various security holes here. First of all, an intruder can capture the credit-card details as they
travel from the client to the server. If we somehow protect this transit from an intruder’s attack, it still
does not solve our problem. Once the merchant computer receives the credit-card details and validates
them so as to process the order and later obtain payments, the merchant computer stores the credit-card
details into its database. Now, an attacker can simply succeed in accessing this database, and therefore
gain access to all the credit-card numbers stored therein! One Russian attacker (called ‘Maxim’) actu-
ally managed to intrude into a merchant Internet site and obtained 300,000 credit-card numbers from its
database. He then attempted extortion by demanding protection money ($100,000) from the merchant.
The merchant refused to oblige. Following this, the attacker published about 25,000 of the credit-card
numbers on the Internet! Some banks reissued all the credit cards at a cost of $20 per card, and others
forewarned their customers about unusual entries in their statements.
Such attacks could obviously lead to great losses—both in terms of finance and goodwill. Generally, it
takes $20 to replace a credit card. Therefore, if a bank has to replace 3,00,000 such cards, the total cost
of such an attack is about $6 million! How helpful would it have been, if the merchant in the example
just discussed had employed proper security measures!
Of course, this was just one example. Several such cases have been reported in the last few months,
and the need for proper security is being felt increasingly with every such attack. In another example
of security attack, in 1999, a Swedish hacker broke into Microsoft’s Hotmail Web site, and created a
mirror site. This site allowed anyone to enter any Hotmail user’s email id, and read his/her emails!
In 1999, two independent surveys were conducted to invite people’s opinions about the losses that
occur due to successful attacks on security. One survey pegged the losses figuring at an average of
$256,296 per incident, and the other one’s average was $759,380 per incident. Next year, this figure
rose to $972,857!

1.2.2 Modern Nature of Attacks

If we attempt to demystify technology, we would realize that computer-based systems are not all that
different from what happens in the real world. Changes in computer-based systems are mainly due to
the speed at which things happen and the accuracy that we get, as compared to the traditional world.
We can highlight a few salient features of the modern nature of attacks, as follows:

1. Automating Attacks
The speed of computers make several attacks worthwhile for miscreants. For example, in the real
world, let’s suppose someone manages to create a machine that can produce counterfeit coins. Would
that bother authorities? It certainly would. However, producing so many coins on a mass scale may
not be that much economical compared to the return on that investment! How many such coins would
the attacker be able to get into the market so rapidly? But, the scenario is quite different with comput-
ers. They are quite efficient and happy in doing routine, mundane, repetitive tasks. For example, they
would excel in somehow stealing a very low amount (say half a dollar or 20 rupees) from a million
bank accounts in a matter of a few minutes. This would give the attacker a half million dollars possibly
without any major complaints! This is shown in Fig. 1.2.
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leading, gave a cry which startled several people walking on the
sidewalk. The rest hurried up. Peanut had come to the top of the
road, and was looking off eastward excitedly. There were the
mountains! Near at hand, hardly a stone’s throw, it seemed, across
the valley below, lay a long, forest-clad bulwark, rising into domes.
Beyond that shot up a larger rampart, sharply peaked, of naked
rock. Off to the left, beyond that, growing bluer and bluer into the
distance, was a billowing sea of mountains, and very far off, to the
northwest, almost like a mist on the horizon, lay the biggest pyramid
of all, which Mr. Rogers told them was Mount Washington.
“Some mountains, those!” Peanut exclaimed. “Gee, I guess we won’t
climb ’em all in two weeks!”
“I guess not,” Rob laughed.
They turned to the right now, passing a big hotel on the very crest
of the hill, and as they passed, the setting sun behind them turned
all the mountains a bright amethyst, so that they looked, as Lou put
it, “like great big jewels.”
“It’s beautiful!” he added, enthusiastically.
“Make a poem about it,” said Peanut. “Say, Mr. Rogers, Lou writes
poetry. You oughter read it! He wrote a poem to Lucy Parker one
day, didn’t you, Lou?”
“Shut up,” said Lou, turning red.
“Well, if I could write poetry, this view would make me do it, all
right,” Rob put in. “Now where to, Mr. Rogers?”
“Getting hungry?” said the Scout Master.
“I sure am.”
“Well, in an hour we’ll be at camp. All down-hill, too.”
“Hooray!” cried Art. “This pack is getting heavy.”
The party now turned sharply down the hill toward the east, and the
great double range of the Franconia Mountains, which Mr. Rogers
named for them. The highest peak on the north of the farther range
was Lafayette, 5,200 feet high. The northern peak of the first range
was Cannon Mountain, the Old Man’s face being on the farther side
of it. To the south the twin summits, like a saddleback, were the two
peaks of Kinsman, which they would climb in the morning. As they
dropped rapidly down the hill, they suddenly saw to the south, in the
fading light, a huge bulk of a mountain filling up the vista. “That’s
Moosilauke,” Mr. Rogers said. “We tackle him day after to-morrow.”
It was almost dark when they reached the valley, and turned south
along a sandy road with the big black wall of Cannon seeming to
tower over them. It grew quite dark while they were still tramping.
“Hope you know your way, Mr. Scout Master,” said Peanut, who had
ceased to run on ahead.
“Half a mile more,” Mr. Rogers laughed.
Presently they heard a brook, and a moment later stood on a bridge.
The brook was evidently coming down from that great black bulk of
Cannon to the left, which lifted its dome up to the stars.
“Halt!” Mr. Rogers cried. “Here’s Copper Mine Brook.”
He led the way through the fence side of the brook, and two
minutes later the party stood in a pine grove, carpeted with soft
needles.
“Camp!” said the Scout Master. “Art, you and the rest get a fire
going. Take Lou’s lantern and find some stones. There are plenty
right in the bed of the brook—nothing but. Peanut, come with me.”
The Scout Master led Peanut out of the grove to the south, and up
over a pasture knoll a few hundred feet. At the top of the knoll they
saw a white house below them, a big barn, and a cottage.
Descending quickly, Mr. Rogers led Peanut through the wood-shed,
as if it were his own house, and knocked at the kitchen door.
As the Scout Master and Peanut entered, a man and a little boy
arose, the man’s face expressing first astonishment and then joyous
welcome.
“Well, of all things!” he cried. “Did you drop out of the sky?”
“Mr. Sheldon, this is Bobbie Morrison, otherwise known as Peanut,”
said Mr. Rogers. “And how is your Bobbie?”
The little fellow came forward from behind his father’s leg, and
shook hands. But what interested him most was Peanut’s sheath
hatchet. In two minutes he had it out, and was trying to demolish
the wood-box with it—not trying, succeeding! His father had to take
it away.
The Sheldon family all came to welcome Mr. Rogers, and when he
and Peanut returned to camp they carried milk and eggs and
doughnuts.
“That farm,” Mr. Rogers said, “is about the best place I know of to
come to stay, if you want to tramp around for a week or a month.”
“They kind of like you, I guess,” said Peanut.
“That’s the kind of folks they are,” answered the Scout Master.
Back at camp, the Scouts had a fire going briskly, and soon supper
was sizzling, and the smell of coffee, made from the pure water of
Copper Mine Brook, was mingling with the fragrance of the pines,
and with another smell the boys at first did not recognize till Art
examined a small tree close to the fire, and discovered that it was
balsam. They were in the midst of their feast, when Mr. Sheldon
appeared, and sat down with them.
“You oughtn’t to take ’em away from here without showing ’em the
falls,” he said to the Scout Master. “They are full now—lots of water
coming over—and I cut out the trail fresh this last winter. You can do
it in the morning and still make Kinsman, easily. At least, you can if
they are strong boys,” he added with a wink.
“Humph!” said Peanut, “I guess we’re as strong as the next.”
Then he realized that Mr. Sheldon had got a rise out of him, and
grinned.
“What’s the weather going to be to-morrow?” asked the Scout
Master.
“Clear,” the other man replied. “I didn’t hear the mountain talking as
I came across the knoll.”
“The mountain what?” said Rob.
“Talking, we say. You get it real still down here sometimes in the
valley, and way up on top there, if you listen sharp, you can hear the
wind rushing through the trees. Then we look out for bad weather.”
“That’s a funny way to put it,” Lou mused. “It makes the mountains
seem sort of human.”
“Well, you get to know ’em pretty well, living under ’em all the time,
that’s a fact,” the man answered. “A good sleep to you.”
“Good-night,” called the Scouts, as he disappeared.
As soon as the supper things were washed, they were ready for bed,
curling up in their blankets around the fire, for it was chilly here,
even though it was the night before the Fourth—a fact Peanut quite
forgot till he had rolled himself all up for the night. He crawled out
again, set off a couple of firecrackers, and came back to bed.
“Gee, this is the stillest night before I ever saw!” he exclaimed.
“It would be, if you’d shut up,” grunted Art, sleepily.
The next morning Art, as always, was the first up. He rose from his
blanket, aware that it was dawn, and rubbed his eyes. Where was
the dim black wall of the mountain which had gone up against the
stars the night before? He ran out of the grove into a clear space
and gazed up Copper Mine Brook into a white wall of cloud. Back the
other way, he saw that the narrow valley in which they were was
hung along the surface with white mist, as the water of the Lake of
the Dismal Swamp used to be; and the western hills beyond it were
in cloud. Yet overhead the dawn sky appeared to be blue.
“Guess we’re in for a bad day,” he muttered, peeling off his clothes
and tumbling into the shallow, swift waters of the brook. He emitted
a loud “Wow!” as he fell into the deepest pool he could find. Was
this ice water? He got out again as quickly as possible, and began
hopping up and down to dry himself, his body pink with the reaction.
His “Wow!” had wakened the camp, and the rest were soon beside
him.
“How’s the water?” asked Peanut.
“Fine!” said Art, winking at Mr. Rogers.
Peanut, without a word, rolled over the bank. His “Wow!” sounded
like a wildcat in distress.
“Cold?” asked Rob.
“Oh, n-n-no,” said Peanut emerging with chattering teeth. “W-w-
warm as t-t-t-toast.”
The rest decided to cut out the morning bath, in spite of Art’s jeers.
Even Mr. Rogers balked at ice water. They were all looking, with
much disappointment, at the cloud-covered mountain above them.
“Wait a bit,” said the Scout Master. “This is going to be a fine day—
you’ll see.”
Even as they were going back to camp for breakfast, the hills to the
west, touched now with the sun, began to emerge from the mist, or
rather the mist seemed to roll up their sides like the curtain at a
play. By the time breakfast was over, the sun had appeared over
Cannon, and the clouds had mysteriously vanished into a few thin
shreds of vapor, like veils far up in the tree tops. It was a splendid
day.
“Well, I’ll be switched!” said Art.
“The mountains almost always gather clouds, like a dew, at night in
summer,” the Scout Master said. “Well, boys, do you feel up to
tackling Bridal Veil Falls before we tackle Kinsman?”
There came a “Yes!” in unison. All packs and equipment were left in
camp, and shortly after six the party set out in light marching trim
up a logging road which followed the brook bed. It led over a high
pasture, and finally plunged into a thick second growth forest, where
the dew on the branches soaked everybody, but particularly Peanut,
who was leading and got the first of it. The path crossed the brook
several times on old corduroy log bridges, now nearly rotted away,
and grew constantly steeper. The boys were panting a bit. They
hadn’t got their mountain wind yet. After two miles, during which,
but for the steepness, they might have been leagues from any
mountain for all they could see, they began to hear a roaring in the
woods above them. They hastened on, and suddenly, right ahead,
they saw a smooth, inclined plane of rock, thirty or forty feet long,
with the water slipping down over it like running glass, and above it
they saw a sheer precipice sixty feet high, with a V-shaped cut in the
centre. Through the bottom of this V the brook came pouring, and
tumbled headlong to the ledge below.
“Up we go!” cried Peanut, tackling the smooth sloping ledge at a dry
strip on the side. He got a few feet, and began to slip back.
The rest laughed, and tackled the slide at various spots. Only the
Scout Master, with a grin, went way to the right and climbed easily
up by a hidden path on the side ledge. He got to the base of the
falls before the boys did.
“A picture, a picture!” cried Frank, as the rest finally arrived. All the
party but Frank scrambled up on a slippery boulder, drenched with
spray, beside the falls, and Frank mounted his tripod and took them,
having to use a time exposure, as there was no sun down under the
precipice.
“Now, let’s get to the top of the falls!” cried Peanut. “Is there a
path?”
“Yes, there’s a path, but it’s roundabout, and we haven’t time,” the
Scout Master answered.
“Ho, we don’t need a path, I guess,” Peanut added. “Just go right up
those rocks over there, clinging to the little hemlocks.”
He jumped across the brook from boulder to boulder, and started to
scramble up the precipice, on what looked like rocks covered with
mossy soil and young trees. He got about six feet, when all the soil
came off under his feet, the little tree he was hanging to came off
on top of him, and he descended in a shower of mould, moss, mud
and evergreen.
“Guess again, Peanut,” the Scout Master laughed, when he saw the
boy rise, unhurt. “You can’t climb safely over wet moss, you know—
or you didn’t know.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Peanut, ruefully regarding the precipice.
“But I did want to get up there.”
“Forward march for Kinsman, I say,” Art put in. “That’s the business
of the day.”
They started down. At the inclined plane Peanut decided to slide. He
crouched on his heels upon the smooth rock, and began to descend.
But the rock sloped inward almost imperceptibly. Half-way down he
was on the edge of the water, two feet more and he was in the
water. His feet went out from under him, and sitting in the stream
(which was only about three inches deep over the slide) he went
down like lightning, into the brook below!
The rest set up a shout. Peanut got up upon the farther bank, and
stood dripping in the path. He was soaked from the waist down.
“Ho, what do I care? It’s a warm day,” said he. But he pulled off his
boots and emptied the water out of them, and then wrung out his
stockings and trousers. The rest didn’t wait. They went laughing
down the path, and Peanut had to follow on the run.
When he caught up, everybody was looking very stern. “Now,
Peanut, no more nonsense,” Mr. Rogers said. “You’ll keep to the path
hereafter. We want no broken bones, nor colds, nor sore feet from
spoiled shoes. Remember, this is the last time!”
He spoke soberly, sternly. “Yes, sir!” said Peanut, not seeing the wink
the Scout Master gave the rest.
At camp they shouldered their equipment, stopped at the little store
Mr. Sheldon kept in a wing of his house, to buy some provisions and
to say goodbye, and at ten o’clock were tramping up the road of the
narrow valley, with the blue bulk of Moosilauke directly south of
them, Cannon Mountain just behind to the left, up which they had
gone half-way to the falls, and directly on their left the northern
ridges of Kinsman, covered with dense forest.
Half a mile down the road Mr. Rogers led the way through a pair of
bars, and they crossed a pasture, went panting up a tremendously
steep path between dense young spruces, passed through another
pasture, and began to climb a steep logging road. It was hard,
steady plodding.
“I’m gettin’ dry,” said Peanut, “but my pants still stick!”
After a while, the path left the logging road, and swung up still
steeper through the trees. Suddenly they heard water, and a
moment later were standing on a shelf of rock over a waterfall,
which came forth from one of the most curious formations they had
ever seen.
“Another chance for you to get wet, Peanut!” laughed Frank. “What
is this place, Mr. Rogers?”
“It’s called Kinsman Flume,” the Scout Master answered.
The flume was a cleft not more than eight feet wide, between two
great ledges of moss-grown rock. It ran back into the hill two
hundred feet, and was at least thirty feet deep. The brook came into
the upper end over a series of waterfalls, and ran out of the lower
end, where the boys were, down another fall. Frank took a picture of
it, and then they crossed the brook at the lower end, and followed
the path up along the top. The path brought them into another
logging road, which presently came out into a level clearing. As they
had not seen the top of the mountain since they entered the woods,
everybody gave a gasp now. There, ahead of them, was the summit
—but looking just as high, just as far off, as ever! Art pulled out his
watch.
“We’ve been going an hour and a quarter—whew!” he said. “I
thought we were ’most there.”
“A little bigger than it looks, eh?” Mr. Rogers laughed. “Most
mountains fool you that way.”
The party plodded on a way across the level plateau, and then the
ascent began again—up, up, up, by a path which had evidently once
been a logging road, but had now been eroded by the water, till it
was little better than the dry bed of a brook—and not always dry at
that. The boys began to pant, and mop their foreheads. Then they
began to shift their blanket rolls from one shoulder to the other. The
pace had slowed down.
“How about that mile an hour being ridiculously slow, Art?” Mr.
Rogers inquired.
“We’re not doing much better, that’s a fact,” Art admitted.
Just as he spoke, a partridge suddenly went up from the path, not
twenty-five feet ahead, with a great whir-r-r. When they reached the
spot where he rose, they found a tiny, clear spring. Art flung down
his burden, and dropped on his knees with his cup.
“Good place for lunch, I say,” remarked Peanut.
“Me, too, on that,” said Frank.
Rob looked ahead. The path was growing still steeper. He looked
back, and through the trees he could see far below to the valley.
“One more vote,” he said.
“Carried,” said Art, running for fuel.
After a lunch of bacon and powdered eggs, the party lolled an hour
in the shade, half asleep, and then resumed the climb. The path
very soon entered a forest of a different sort. It was still chiefly hard
wood, but very much darker and denser than that below. The trail,
too, was not a logging road. It was marked only by blazes on the
trees, and the forest floor was black and damp with untold ages of
leaf-mould.
“I guess we’ve got above the line of lumbering,” said Rob.
“We have,” said the Scout Master.
Art looked about. “Then this is really primeval forest!” he exclaimed
—“just what it was when there were only Indians in this country!”
He investigated the trees more carefully. “Why, most of them are
birches,” he cried, “but they are so old and green with moss that
they don’t look white at all. And look how short they are, for such
big trunks.”
“You are nearly 4,000 feet up now, remember,” Mr. Rogers reminded
him, “and they are dwarfed by the storms.”
They came presently out of this dim bit of primeval forest into a
growth composed almost exclusively of spruce. It was thirty feet
high at first, but the path was very steep, and growing rocky, and in
five minutes the spruces had shrunk in height to ten feet. The boys
scented the summit and began to hurry. They struck a level place,
and from it, in gaps between the stunted spruces, they began to get
hints of the view. A quick final scramble, and they found themselves
on the north peak. Peanut was leading. His clothes were dry now,
except for a new soaking of perspiration, and his spirits high. Rob
was right on his heels. The rest heard their shouts, and a second
later stood beside them on a big flat rock, above the spruces which
were only three or four feet tall here, and looked out upon the most
wonderful view they had ever beheld. It made them all silent for a
moment.
Right at their feet, on the opposite side from which they had come
up, the mountain dropped away in an almost sheer precipice for a
thousand feet. At the bottom of that precipice was a perfectly level
plateau, covered with forest, and apparently two miles long by half a
mile wide, with a tiny lake, Lonesome Lake, at one end. Beyond it
the mountain again fell away precipitously into an unseen gorge.
From out of that gorge, on the farther side, rose the massive wall of
Lafayette, Lincoln, Haystack and Liberty, four peaks which are almost
like one long mountain with Lafayette, at the northern end, the
highest point, a thousand feet higher than the boys. The whole side
of this long rampart is so steep that great landslides have scarred it,
and the last thousand feet of it is bare rock. It looked to the boys
tremendously big, and the one blue mountain beyond it, to the east,
which was high enough to peep over seemed very high indeed—
Mount Carrigain.
Peanut drew in his breath with a whistle. Lou sighed. “That’s the
biggest thing I ever saw,” he said. Then he added, “And the most
beautiful!”
To the southeast, below Mount Liberty at the end of the big rock
rampart, the boys could see off to the far horizon, over a billow of
blue mountains like the wave crest of a gigantic sea—the Sandwich
range, with the sharp cone of Chocorua as its most prominent peak.
Facing due south, they could see, close to them, the south peak of
Kinsman, perhaps half a mile away, across a saddle which was much
deeper than it had looked from the base. Beyond the south peak
was Moosilauke, seeming very close, and on top of it they could now
see the Summit House. To the west, they looked down the slope up
which they had climbed, to the valley, where the houses looked like
specks, and then far off to the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Peanut grew impatient. “Come on, fellers,” he cried. “This ain’t the
top. What are we waiting here for?”
“Oh, let us see the view, Peanut,” said Rob. “What’s your rush?”
“Well, stay and see your old view; I’m going to get to the top first,”
Peanut answered. “Where are we going to camp, Mr. Rogers?”
“Back here, I guess. There’s a good spring just over the edge below.
We’ll go to the south peak, and then come back.”
Peanut dumped off his pack into the bushes, kneeled down and took
out the flag and his firecrackers, and then slipped over the brow and
disappeared rapidly along the path which led across the saddle to
the south peak.
The rest waited till Art had put some dehydrated spinach to soak in a
kettle, and then followed more slowly, seeing nothing of Peanut, for
the path wound amid the stunted spruces which were just tall
enough to out-top a man. They went down a considerable incline,
and found two or three hundred feet of fresh climbing ahead of
them when they reached the base of the south cone. They were
scrambling up through the spruces when suddenly from the summit
they heard a report—then a second—a third—a fourth—then the
rapid musketry of a whole bunch of cannon crackers. It sounded odd
far up here in the silence, and not very loud. The great spaces of air
seemed to absorb the sound.
When they reached the top, Peanut had stripped a spruce of all
branches, and tied the flag to the top. It was whipping out in the
breeze. As the first boy’s head appeared in sight, he touched off his
last bunch of crackers, and, taking off his hat, cried, “Ladies and
gentlemen, salute your flag in honor of the Independence of these
United States of America, and the Boy Scouts of Southmead,
Massachusetts!”
“Peanut’s making a Fourth of July oration,” Frank called down to the
rest.
Rob laughed. “From the granite hills of New Hampshire to the sun-
kissed shores of the golden Pacific,” he declaimed, “from the Arctic
circle to the Rio Grande, the dear old stars and stripes shall wave—”
“Shut up,” said Lou. “This place ain’t the spot to make fun of the flag
in. I say we all just take off our hats and salute it, here on top of this
mountain!”
Lou spoke seriously. Peanut, who was always quick to take a
suggestion, instantly acquiesced. “Sure,” he said. “Lou’s right. Hats
off to the flag on the Fourth of July!”
The five Scouts and Mr. Rogers stood on the rock by the improvised
flagstaff, and saluted in silence. Then the Scout Master said quietly,
“We can see from here a good deal of the United States, can’t we?
We can see the granite hills of New Hampshire, all right. We can
realize the job it was for our ancestors to conquer this country from
the wilderness and the Indians, to put roads and railways through
these hills. I guess we ought to be pretty proud of the old flag.”
The boys put on their hats again, and Frank took a picture of them,
gathered around the flag. Then Peanut let out a pent-up whoop.
“Never celebrated the Fourth like this before!” he cried. “Golly, but
Moosilauke looks big from here!”
It certainly did look big. It seemed to tower over them. The western
sun was throwing the shadows of its own summit down the eastern
slopes, and the whole great mountain was hazy, mysterious.
“Are we going to climb that?” asked Frank.
“Sure,” said Art.
“Whew!” said Frank. “Makes my legs ache already!”
“It’s easier than this one,” Mr. Rogers laughed. “Now let’s go back
and make camp.”
The party retraced their steps to the north peak where, just below
the summit and overlooking the precipitous drop to the Lonesome
Lake plateau, was a small but cold and delicious spring.
“How does the water get way up here, is what stumps me,” said
Frank.
“I suppose it is rain and snow water, held in the rocks,” the Scout
Master replied. “Perhaps some of it comes along the rock fissures
from the south peak, but that wouldn’t be necessary. There is a little
spring almost at the top of Lafayette over there. We’ll see it in a few
days.”
“How do we get up Lafayette?” asked Art.
“We’ll come down from Moosilauke, and tramp up the Notch down
there below our feet now, till we reach Liberty, climb Liberty, and go
right along the ridge to Lafayette, and then down to the Profile
House,” was the answer.
The boys looked across the valley to the great rock wall on the
further side. The sun was sinking low now, and the shadow of
Kinsman was cast across. Even as they watched, this shadow
mounted slowly up the steep, scarred sides of Liberty and Lincoln,
till only their summits were in sunlight, rosy at first and then
amethyst. The far hills to the southwest began to fade from sight.
“Gee, it’s time to make camp!” cried Peanut. “Here’s a good, soft
place, on this moss.”
He pointed to a level spot on the summit. Mr. Rogers shook his head.
“Nix!” he said. “We’d be chilled through before morning. Which way
is the wind?”
Art picked up a piece of dry grass and tossed it into the air. It drifted
toward the southeast.
“Northwest,” he said.
“All right. We’ll go down into the spruces to leeward, and keep out of
it.”
The boys soon found a sheltered level space some fifty feet below
the peak, and began to clear out a sort of nest in the tough spruce.
“Gosh, I never saw anything so tough as these young spruces,” said
Frank.
Lou had been examining one he had cut down. “They’re not young,”
he answered. “That’s the funny part of it. This one I’ve cut is only
four inches through, but it’s years old. I’ve counted at least forty-five
rings. Guess they are dwarfed by the storms up here, like Japanese
trees, aren’t they, Mr. Rogers?”
The Scout Master nodded. “I’ve seen ’em only three or four feet
high, when they were so thick together, and so tough, that you could
literally walk on top of ’em without going through to the ground.”
Peanut dropped his hatchet and slipped down over the rocks to a
spot where the trees were as Mr. Rogers had described. He tried to
press through, and failed. Then he just scrambled out on top of
them, and tried to walk. With every step he half disappeared from
sight, while the rest looked on, laughing.
After a few steps, he came back. His hands and face were scratched,
and there was a tear in his trousers.
“Excuse me!” he cried. “Gee, the Dismal Swamp has nothing on
those mountain spruces! Golly, I begin to admire the man who made
this path up here!”
The spruce boughs were so tough, in fact, that only the tips could be
used for bedding, and the boys had to trim the branches with their
knives to make their bunks on the ground. The camp-fire was built
of dead spruce, with some live stumps added, and a kettle of water
kept beside it lest a spark ignite the trees close by. Night had come
on before supper was ready, and with the coming of night it grew
cold, colder than the boys had guessed it could be in July. They put
on their sweaters, which, all day, they had been complaining about
as extra weight, and they kept close to the fire while Art, with the
skill of a juggler, tossed the flapjacks from one side to the other in
his fry pan, catching them neatly as they came down. The wind rose
higher, and began to moan through the spruces. Far below them was
the great black hole of the Notch—just a yawning pit with no
bottom. Beyond it the shadowy bulk of Lafayette, Lincoln, Haystack
and Liberty loomed up against the starry sky. From this side, not a
single light was visible anywhere in the universe. The boys ate their
supper almost in silence.
“Gee, this is lonely!” Peanut suddenly blurted out. “I’m going where I
can see a light.” He got up and climbed to the summit again,
followed by all the others except Lou. They could look westward
from the peak, and see the lamps in the houses down in the valley,
and the blazing lights of the big hotel on Sugar Hill, and even the
street lights in Franconia village.
“There is somebody else in the world!” cried Peanut. “Glad of that. I
was beginning to think there wasn’t.”
Just as he spoke, a rocket suddenly went up from Sugar Hill, and
burst in the air. It was followed by another, and another. The boys
yelled at Lou to come and see the fireworks.
“Oh, dear,” sighed Peanut, “why didn’t I bring a rocket—just one
would be better’n none. Wouldn’t it be some sight for the folks down
there to see it going up from the top of this old mountain, eh?”
“That would be some celebration, O. K.,” Art cried. “My, let’s come
again next year and do it!”
Lou slipped back to camp presently, and Mr. Rogers, returning before
the rest, found him sitting on a rock overlooking the black pit of the
Notch, gazing out into space.
“What is it, Lou?” he said. “A penny for your thoughts.”
“I was thinking,” Lou answered, “that I was never so near the stars
before. I suppose four thousand feet isn’t much in a billion miles, but
somehow they look bigger, and I can almost feel the earth rolling
over under ’em. It’s the funniest sensation I ever had.”
“You’re a poet, Lou,” said the Scout Master kindly, as he turned to
call the rest to bed.
“All hands to bunk!” he shouted. “We’ve had a hard day, with a
harder one ahead.”
The Scouts got off their boots and rolled up in their blankets, all of
them glad of the chance. Lou blew out the lantern, and turned in,
also. The wind which rushed steadily overhead, with a moaning
sound, did not reach them down here to leeward of the peak, amid
the thick spruces. But it was cold, nonetheless. They lay close
together, and drew their blankets tight.
“A funny Fourth,” said Peanut sleepily. “Hope we don’t roll off in our
sleep. Good-night, everybody.”
But there was no reply. Every one else was asleep.
 CHAPTER IV
Moosilauke
Everybody was awake early the next morning. “Gosh, I didn’t sleep
very well!” said Peanut, shivering as he built up the fire. “Here it is
the fifth of July, and me wrapped up in an army blanket, with a
sweater on—and cold. Kept waking up, and getting closer to Art.
He’s kind o’ fat and makes a good stove.”
“Should think you did!” said Art. “You woke me up about forty-’leven
times bumping your back into mine. I wasn’t very cold. Been
warmer, though.”
“If it’s cold here,” put in Rob, “at four thousand feet, what’ll it be on
Washington at six thousand?”
“I guess we’ll sleep inside on Washington,” said Mr. Rogers.
“Oh, no!” cried Art.
“Well, you can bunk outside, and the rest of us’ll go in,” laughed
Frank. “Look, there’s the sun!”
Sure enough, in the east, across the white cloud which hung below
them in the Notch, and beyond the wall of the Lafayette range, a
great red ball was rising. It seemed to heave up above the mists as
though somebody was pushing it from underneath, and as it got up
and cast its rays across the Notch to their feet, Lafayette looked like
a huge island of rock above a white sea of vapor. This vapor rolled
up and blew away as they were eating breakfast. The morning was
fine and clear. Mr. Rogers pointed toward Moosilauke. “That’s where
we’ll be at night,” he said.
“It doesn’t look possible!” said Lou.
“It won’t be, if we don’t start,” said Art. “Got your flag, Peanut, or
did you leave it on the south peak?”
“I got it, all right,” Peanut replied. “Are we ready? How far is it, Mr.
Rogers?”
“Hm—four miles down this mountain,—ten to the base of Moosilauke
—five miles up—nineteen miles.”
“A pickle,” said Peanut, and pack on back he plunged over the
summit, and down the path into the spruces, the rest trailing behind.
“Go after him, Rob,” said the Scout Master, “and hold him back. He’ll
tire his front leg muscles all out, if he doesn’t break his neck.”
Rob went, and held Peanut by main force till the rest came up.
“You couldn’t have held me,” cried Peanut, “if I hadn’t wanted to say
that we could go down easier with poles. We ought to have brought
our poles. What can we cut for ’em?”
“Moose wood,” said Art. “I saw moose wood a bit further down, as
we came up.”
So the party plunged on, finding the steep descent quick work, the
chief difficulty being not to go too fast. At the first sign of moose
wood, Art gave a cry, and soon the whole party had cut staves six
feet long.
“I’m going to leave this pretty green and white bark on mine, and
cut my initials in it to-night,” Lou announced.
“A good idea,” the rest agreed.
Shouldering their packs again, they put out the staves ahead of
them, threw their weight forward, and with this assistance
descended with even greater rapidity and much more safety. They
stopped in the Flume only long enough for a drink, and again
plunged down. As they came out into the level pasture near the
base, Peanut slowed down.
“Wow,” he said, wiping his forehead, “that looks easy, but you really
work awful hard holding in!”
“You’ll know you’ve worked about to-morrow,” Mr. Rogers laughed.
They made the four miles to the road in a little over half an hour,
which, as Art said, is “going some.”
It was less than eight o’clock when they faced the ten miles of road
to Moosilauke.
The first thing to attract particular attention was the village of
Easton, through which they passed half an hour later. Of the half
dozen houses in the village, two were quite abandoned. There was a
tiny store, and a small sawmill, and that was all. Beyond the village
they passed an abandoned church. Then followed two or three small
houses, also abandoned, and then nothing but the narrow, sandy
road, winding through woods and fields, with Kinsman growing
farther behind them on the left, and Moosilauke nearer straight
ahead. They went for more than an hour without meeting a single
wagon or motor, and after they left Easton they did not see a human
being.
“Pretty lively little road, this,” said Peanut.
“Makes you think of Broadway, New York,” laughed Rob.
“Look!” said Lou. “Moosilauke isn’t blue any longer. You can see the
green of the forest.”
“You can see what was a forest,” said Mr. Rogers. “The paper
company have stripped it.”
“Why paper?” asked Peanut.
“Why paper!” Art sniffed. “You poor boob, don’t you know that paper
is made out of wood pulp?”
“I thought it was made out of old rags,” Peanut answered.
“It is,” said Rob.
“Well—what——”
Everybody laughed. “Newspaper is made of wood pulp—spruce and
balsam almost entirely,” said the Scout Master, taking pity on Peanut.
“Linen paper, such as the kind you write letters on, is made out of
linen rags. The newspapers use up so much paper for their great
Sunday editions, especially, that they are really doing almost more to
strip the forests than the lumbermen, because they don’t even have
to wait till the trees get good sized.”
“Why can’t they use anything except spruce and balsam?” asked
Lou. “Won’t other kinds of wood make paper?”
“They’ll make paper,” said Mr. Rogers, “but the fibre isn’t tough
enough to stand the strain of the presses. You know, a newspaper
press has to print many thousands of copies an hour; it runs at high
speed. The paper is on a huge roll, and it unwinds like a ribbon into
the press. It has to be tough enough so that it won’t break as it is
being unwound. There’s a fortune waiting for the man who can
invent a tough paper which can be made out of cornstalks, or
something which can be grown every year, like a crop. Think how it
would save our forests! I’m told that every Sunday edition of a big
New York newspaper uses up about eleven acres of spruce.”
“Gee, Sunday papers ain’t worth it!” Art exclaimed.
“They are not, that’s a fact,” Mr. Rogers agreed.
“I don’t see,” Lou put in, “why a paper mill couldn’t buy up a great
tract of woodland, and then forest it scientifically, taking out the big
trees every year, and planting little ones. I shouldn’t think it would
cost any more than it would to haul lumber to the mills from all over
creation.”
“It wouldn’t, Lou,” said Mr. Rogers, “but we in America haven’t
learned yet to do things that way. Our big mills and business
concerns are all too careless and selfish and wasteful. And the public
is paying the penalty. Look at that——”
They had come around a bend in the road, close to the north
shoulder of the mountain now, and could see how all the upper
slopes had been stripped down to bare soil by the lumbermen.
“That soil will probably dry out, landslides or fires will come, and it
may be a thousand years before the mountain is forested again,” Mr.
Rogers exclaimed. “It’s a perfect outrage!”
The party presently came into a crossroad, running east and west. It
was a bit more traveled than the one they were on. They turned
down it to the left, and reached a curious settlement, or rather the
remains of a settlement. There were several rough, unpainted board
houses, a timber dam across a small river, and everywhere on the
ground lay old sawdust, beginning to rot down, with bushes growing
up through it.
“This is Wildwood. It’s all that remains of a lumber town,” said Mr.
Rogers. “The mill stood by that dam. They cleared all this end of the
valley many years ago, and sent their lumber on teams down the
Wild Ammonoosuc valley to the railroad.”
The party now turned south again, crossed the Wild Ammonoosuc at
the dam, and began ascending gradually along a road which seemed
to be making for the notch on the west side of Moosilauke.
“Only two miles more to the base,” said the Scout Master.
Art looked at his watch. “It’s only eleven o’clock,” he said. “Couldn’t
we have a swim in that brook down there? I’m awful hot.”
“Me, too,” said Peanut. “And my bloomin’ old boot is hurting my
heel. I want to fix it.”
“That’s because you got it so wet yesterday,” said Rob. “For heaven’s
sake, take your clothes off before you go in to-day!”
Everybody turned from the road to the brook, which was almost a
small river. It came down from the sides of Moosilauke, and
evidently joined the Wild Ammonoosuc near the dam. In a moment
five boys and a man were sticking their toes into it gingerly, and
withdrawing them with various “Ouches!” and “Wows!”
“Cowards!” cried Art. “Here goes. What’s cold water?”
He selected a pool between two big stones, and went all under. The
rest followed suit. There was no place deep enough to swim in,
however, and they all very soon came out, and dried themselves on
the bank.
“My, that makes you feel better, though!” Frank exclaimed. “Nothing
like a bath on a hike to set you up!”
“I got a blister,” said Peanut, who was examining his heel. “Oh, dear,
who’s got the first aid kit?”
Rob had it, of course, as he was always the doctor. He put some
antiseptic on the blister, which had burst, dressed it, and bound it
firmly across with surgeon’s plaster, so the shoe could not rub it.
“You wouldn’t have had it if you hadn’t got your feet so wet
yesterday,” he said. “The leather dried stiff. Perhaps you’ll behave
now.”
“Yes, doctor, what is your fee?” Peanut grinned.
The other five pairs of feet were all right, and the march was
resumed. At noon they emerged out of the woods into a small
clearing on the west side of Moosilauke. There was a tiny hotel in
this clearing, and nothing else. On the right, a second, but much
lower mountain, Mount Clough, went sharply up. Due south was a
deep gap, like a V, between Clough and Moosilauke—the notch
which led to the towns south.
“Here’s where the path begins,” said the Scout Master. “We’ve done
fourteen miles, at least, this morning. I guess we’ll have lunch.”
“Let’s get up into the woods first, by a spring,” the boys urged, so
they entered on the path, which immediately began to go up at a
steepish angle through a forest of hard wood—a very ancient forest.
“Looks as if it had never been lumbered,” said Art. “Wow! look at the
size of those maples and beeches!”
“The paper men don’t want hard wood, thank goodness,” Mr. Rogers
answered. “We’ll get about a mile of this.”
They soon found a spring beside the path, and under the shadows
of the great trees they made a fire and cooked lunch. Then, for an
hour, everybody rested, lying on his back and listening to the
beautiful songs of the hermit thrushes. Peanut and Art and Frank
went to sleep, while Lou and Rob and Mr. Rogers talked softly. It was
a lazy, peaceful hour, up there in the great forest. At two o’clock Rob
beat a tattoo on his frying-pan, to wake up the sleepers, and
ordered the march to begin.
For the next two hours it was steady plodding. The Benton Path, by
which they were climbing, was clear and good. They came out of the
hard timber forest in a little over half an hour, into slash land, now
growing up into scraggly woods, full of vines and brambles, and
presently the path wound to the edge of a steep ravine, where they
could look down at the tumbling waterfalls of the brook they had
swum in that morning, and across the ravine to the stripped
northern shoulders. The second hour of climbing was merely
monotonous ascent, toilsome and slow, with no view at all. They had
now put four miles below them, and the signs of lumbering ceased.
They were getting close to timber line, where the stunted spruces
were not worth cutting. For a little way the path grew less steep,
and they quickened their pace. The trees were now no higher than
bushes. They saw the summit ahead, though the house seemed to
have disappeared; and the view opened out. Westward they could
see to the Green Mountains, and beyond the Green Mountains, like a
blue haze, the Adirondacks. At their feet they began to notice tiny
mountain cranberry vines. Peanut tasted one of the half ripe
cranberries, puckered up his face, and spit it hastily out. The path
grew steep again. The trees vanished. The way grew rocky, with
cranberries between the rocks everywhere. At last only the final
heave to the summit seemed to confront them. Peanut, forgetting
his lame heel, panted up ahead, and emitted a cry of
disappointment.
“Gee whiz,” he shouted back, “there’s the Summit House a quarter of
a mile away!”
“You’ll learn yet that you’re never on the top of a mountain till you
get there,” Mr. Rogers laughed.
But this final quarter mile was nearly level—or seemed so after the
steep climb—and they were soon at the Summit House, with the
view spread out to all four parts of the compass.
What a view it was! But all the boys concentrated their gaze in one
direction—northeast. There, thirty miles or more away, over the top
of the Lafayette range, they saw Mount Washington again, for the
first time since the first Sugar Hill view, saw even the Summit House
on its cone. That was the final goal of their hike—the high spot—and
beside it all the billowing sea of blue mountain tops between paled
to insignificance.
“She looks a long way off!” said Art.
“And me with a blister,” sighed Peanut. “But it’s Pike’s Peak—I mean
Washington—or bust!”
The party now turned their attention to the Summit House, which
was a two-story structure of fair size, built partly of stone, with great
chains going over it to lash it down.
“I suppose if it wasn’t chained down it would blow away in winter,”
said Art. “Strikes me we’re going to get some blow, even to-night.”
The west did, indeed, look windy, with great clouds suddenly piling
up. But the Scout Master said you could never tell much about
mountain weather—at least he couldn’t. They entered the little hotel
to see the inside. Several people were there already. At the back of
the room was a big stove, with a fire in it, too. To the boys, who had
but just arrived after their hot climb, the room seemed
uncomfortably warm.
“Going to spend the night here? Don’t know whether I’ve got room
for you all,” said the proprietor.
“No, we’re going to sleep out,” Rob answered him. “We never sleep
inside on a hike.”
“Well, I reckon you’ll need your blankets,” the man said. “The water
froze here last night, in the rain barrel.”
“What’s that?” put in Peanut, who was examining picture post-cards.
“Say, I move we go back down a way to camp.”
“I do too, if you’re going to try again to warm yourself between my
shoulder blades,” said Art.
Everybody laughed, and a man came forward from behind the stove
—a funny looking man, with big, hobnail shoes and big, shell-
rimmed spectacles.
“Which way are you going down the mountain in the morning?” he
asked.
“By the Beaver Brook Trail,” Mr. Rogers answered.
“Oh, that’s all right, then,” said their new acquaintance. “You stay up
here long enough to see the sunset, and then I’ll take you down the
trail into the woods beyond the head of Jobildunk Ravine. You’ll keep
warm in there, all right.”
“Can you find your way back, sir?” asked Lou.
The man’s eyes twinkled. “If I can’t, I deserve to be lost,” he
answered. “I’ve lived a month on top of this mountain every summer
for more years than I care to confess.”
“Gee, it must be slow up here all that time!” said Peanut.
“What do you mean, slow, young man?” the other asked.
Peanut fumbled a moment for words. “Why, nothing doing—no
excitement,” he finally replied.
“Ah, youth, youth! Happy, happy youth!” the stranger exclaimed.
“You love excitement, eh? Well, you’ll get some going down the
Beaver Brook Trail to-morrow. By George, I’ve a great mind to give
you some now! How far have you walked to-day?”
“Nineteen miles,” said Peanut, shifting uneasily on his sore heel, and
beginning to repent what he had said. Somehow, as Art whispered
to Frank, the man looked as if he could “deliver the goods.”
“No, that’s far enough,” the stranger replied, after a long pause, as if
for reflection. “I won’t dare a man who’s hiked nineteen miles—or a
boy either.”
“Oh, if it’s a dare——” Peanut began.
“No, sir, won’t do it; you can’t bluff me into it!” the man laughed.
“But if you think there’s no excitement on Moosilauke, you stay here
a few days, and let me take you botanizing a bit, say into Jobildunk.”
“What’s that name again, sir?” asked Rob.
“Jobildunk,” the man answered. “It is a big ravine discovered by
three men, named Joe, Bill and Duncan. So they made a
portmanteau word, and named it Jo-bil-dunc after all three. The ‘k’
got put on later, I suppose. Come on out of this hot room, you
chaps, and see my playground.”
“I like him,” whispered Rob as they followed him through the door.
He was a small man, but they soon found he was tremendously
active. In front of the hotel was a road. The summit of Moosilauke is
about a mile long, nearly level, but highest on the north end, where
the hotel is. This road ran all the way along the summit, to the
southern end, where it vanished around the little south peak. It was
a crushed stone road, all right, for there was nothing but stones to
make it of. It was just a white ribbon, winding amid the gray
boulders and mountain cranberry plants. The man led the way
rapidly down it, and the tired boys had all they could do to keep up.
Half a mile from the Summit House he stopped, leaped on a boulder
beside the road, and pointed back.
“Here’s my favorite view,” he said. “The little gray Summit House
away up there at the end of the white road, against the sky, the
white road running the other way down toward the valley world, and
all off there to the west, just space and sunset!”
It was pretty fine. The sun was now descending into the western
cloud bank, and turning the clouds to rose and gold. It looked
hundreds of miles away.
“Do those clouds mean rain?” asked Art.
“Nary a drop,” said the man. “Hello!—here’s an Argynnis atlantis!”
He made a mad dive with his hat, put it quickly over a low plant, and
drew from under a beautiful butterfly, all gold and silver, with a black
border around the wings.
“The small mountain fritillary,” he said. “Often comes up here, but
shouldn’t be here with the wind so strong. What I’m looking for
really is an Oeneis semidea, an arctic butterfly which they say is
found only on Mount Washington. He’s gray, like the rocks. Looks
like a two inch piece of lichen. Haven’t found one yet, though. You
watch this fritillary follow the road down the mountain, now.”
He let the butterfly go, and sure enough, it started down the road,
flying not more than three feet above the ground, and as long as the
boys could watch it, it was keeping to every turn and twist.
“He knows the way down!” laughed the man. “And he knows he has
no business up here when it’s so cold, with night coming on. He’ll
get down, though, at that rate.
“And now, boys,” continued this odd man, “you be as wise as the
butterfly! Back to the hotel, shoulder packs, and to your camp!”
He led the way again up the road. He walked so fast that the five
boys and Mr. Rogers were all panting. But he himself was not out of
breath in the least. He laughed at Peanut.
“Anyhow, I get my wind good in a month up here,” he said, “even if
it is ‘slow’ and I’m old enough to be your grandfather!”
“You’ve not walked nineteen miles to-day,” said Peanut.
“No, but I’ve walked sixteen,” the man replied. “I’ve been down
nearly to North Woodstock and back, by the Beaver Brook Trail.
You’ll know what I mean when you see that trail.”
Peanut was silent.
At the Summit House the boys bought some post-cards showing the
view from the top, Frank took a picture of the sunset, to label
“Moonlight from Moosilauke,” and they all picked up their packs and
followed their new leader. He took them back over the path they had
come up for a few hundred feet, and suddenly plunged sharp to the
east. They began at once to go down. Soon the path skirted the
edge of a great gorge, which was like a gigantic piece of pie cut out
of the mountainside, with the point toward them. The sides were
almost precipitous, and covered with dense spruce.
“That’s Jobildunk Ravine. Want to go down it with me, my young
friend?” the man asked Peanut.
“Thanks—not till after supper,” Peanut grinned.
As they were on the east side of the summit, it quickly grew dark.
The man led the way unerringly, however, along a level stretch of
path beside the ravine, and presently plunged into the woods. They
were now below timber line. In a few moments he halted.
“Got a lantern?” he said.
Lou lighted the camp lantern, and the man showed them a spring,
close to the path. “Plenty of dead wood on the trees—lower
branches of those spruce,” he added. “Good-night, all!”
“Oh, stay and have supper with us!” cried all the Scouts together.
“Well, since you urge, I will,” said he. “Don’t make me cook, though.
I’m a bad cook.”
“You sit down, and be company,” Peanut laughed.
The boys rather showed off in getting supper ready. Art made the
fire pit and the fire, Peanut and Frank gathered wood, Rob brought
water and fixed up the props and cross-bar to swing the kettle from,
and then cleared out a space for sleeping, cutting spruce boughs for
the bed. Lou, meanwhile, got out enough food for the meal, and
began to mix the flapjack dough. Mr. Rogers, like the stranger, was
not allowed to do any work.
“Well, you’ve got five of the Gold Dust twins here, for sure!” the man
laughed.
“They’re Boy Scouts, and used to making camp,” Mr. Rogers
answered.
“They surely are used to it,” the man said. “I tell you, it’s a great
movement that trains boys for the open like that!”
The Scouts, hearing this, redoubled their efforts, and bacon was
sizzling, coffee boiling, flapjacks turning, in a very few moments
more.
Supper was a merry meal. The fire was restocked with fresh wood
after the cooking had been done, and blazed up, throwing reflections
into the trees overhead and quite paling the light of Lou’s lantern,
which swung from a branch. Their new friend joked and laughed,
and enjoyed every mouthful. When supper was over, he pulled
several cakes of sweet chocolate out of his pocket, and divided them
for dessert. “Always carry it,” he said. “Raisins and sweet chocolate—
that makes a meal for me any time. Don’t have to cook it, either.”
He sat with his back against a tree after the meal, and told stories of
the mountain. “I used to tramp over all these hills every vacation,”
he said, “and many a good time I’ve had, and many a hard time,
too, on Washington, especially. I was caught in a snow-storm one
June on the Crawford Bridle Path and nearly froze before I got to the
Mt. Pleasant Path down. The wind was blowing a hundred miles an
hour, at least, and went right through me. I couldn’t see twenty feet
ahead, either. Luckily, I had a compass, and by keeping the top of
the ridge, I found the path without having to take a chance on
descending through the woods. But nowadays, I’m getting old, and
this fellow Moosilauke is more to my liking. A big, roomy,
comfortable mountain, Moosilauke, with a bed waiting for you at the
top, and plenty to see. Why, he’s just like a brother to me! I keep a
picture of him in my room in New York to look at winters, just as
you” (he turned to Rob) “keep a picture of your best girl on your
bureau.”
Rob turned red, while the rest laughed at him. To turn the subject,
Rob said hastily:
“Why is the mountain called Moosilauke?”
“It used to be spelled Moose-hillock on all the maps when I was a
boy,” the man replied. “People thought it meant just that—a hill
where the Indians used to shoot moose. But finally somebody with
some sense came along and reasoned that the Indians would hardly
name a mountain with English words, when they had known it for
generations before they ever heard any English. He began to
investigate, and discovered, I’m told, that the Pemigewassett Indians
—the tribe which lived in the valley just to the south—really called it
Moosilauke, which means, as far as I can make out, ‘The great bald
(or bare) mountain,’ because the top has no trees on it. The Indians
never climbed it. They never climbed mountains at all, because they
believed that the Great Spirit dwelt on the tops. I fancy they held
Moosilauke in particular veneration—and right they were; it’s the
finest old hill of ’em all!”
“You like the mountains, don’t you, sir?” said Lou.
“You bet,” the other answered. “They are about the biggest and
solidest things we have, and the only folks who get to the top of ’em
are folks with good legs, like you boys. I like people with good legs,
but I don’t like lazy people. So on the mountains I’m sure of good
company. It’s the only place I am sure of it—except, of course, in my
own room, with the door locked!”
Peanut led the laugh at this.
Before their new friend rose to go, he told them something of the
trail down the mountain. “It’s an Appalachian Club trail,” he said,
“but it’s not so well kept up as those on the Presidentials, and it’s
almighty steep in places. You’ll find it good fun. When you get to the
bottom, turn to the left and have a look at Beaver Meadow. It’s an
acre or more across, and was really cleared by beavers. You can still
see the ruins of their old dam. Then go through Lost River, and
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