at the land belonged to the Russian Czar, from whom a concession must be
secured.

He had, at last, sold his secret to the Big Five of Chicago, five of the
world's richest men. These men had secured the needed concession and had
shipped large quantities of mining machinery and coal to the mouth of the
river when the Czar's government suddenly went to smash. Everything was
dropped for the time being and there matters stood when Johnny had come
upon the mines. Some of them were well opened up for operation, but the
machinery lay rusting in the sheds.

When he had made his way back to Chicago, about six months previous to the
opening of our story, he had had serious matters to attend to, matters
which were vital to the very foundations of his Government. After these
had been settled and the Big Five, having learned that Hanada, Johnny's
Japanese friend and school mate, who had made the entire Siberian journey
with him and had previously worked in the Seven Mines, had been killed by
a mysterious shot, fired from the depths of Chicago River, they turned to
Johnny, as the one who could best aid them in solving the knotty problem
of working the Seven Mines.

Johnny, with his long experience as a soldier in eastern Russia, was able
to tell them frankly that there would be practically no chance of
obtaining a concession of any value from the uncertain government that
existed in that region.

They had called in their lawyers, who advised that they proceed to work
the mines on the old concession, given them by the Czar. "The concession,"
they explained, "does not expire until January, 1925. That being the case,
it still holds good, even though the government has changed hands, just as
a lease to bore for oil on a certain farm would hold good even though the
farm changed hands."

"Yes," the rich representatives of the Big Five had smiled, "but there is
a royalty of 25 per cent which was to have been paid to the Czar. Now it
should go to the people. But how? To whom should this now be paid?"

At this juncture, Johnny had one of his occasional inspirations.

"Leave that to me," he had exclaimed. "Make me foreman of the enterprise
and every ounce and penny's worth of that royalty will go to relieve the
sufferings of those freezing, starving, and naked refugees I saw pouring
into Vladivostok from the interior by tens of thousands. You appoint one
person and send that person over to assist the Red Cross in distributing
the benefi