the midst of a country densely wooded and very
desolate. There was an outcropping of the ore, and rather idly I put
some of it in my pockets. Then we wandered on, and finally after awful
suffering in terrific storms, were found by a searching party and
brought back to the barracks."

"Did they think you had escaped?" asked Tom.

"They did," replied the Russian, "and they punished us severely for it,
in spite of our denials. In time I managed secretly to smelt the
platinum ore, and I found I had some of the purest metal I had ever
seen. I was wishing I could find the mine, or tell some of my friends
about it, when one of the officers discovered the metal in my bed.

"He demanded to know where I had gotten it, and knowing that refusal
would only make it the worse for me I told him. There was considerable
excitement, for the value of the discovery was recognized, and a search
was at once made for the mine.

"But, even with the aid we were able to give, it could not be located.
Many expeditions went out to hunt for it but came back baffled. They
could not penetrate that wild country."

"They should have used an aeroplane," suggested Tom.

"They did," replied the Russian quickly, "but it was of no use."

"Why not?" the young inventor wanted to know.

"Because of the terrific winds that almost continually sweep over that
part of Siberia. They never seem to cease, and there are treacherous
air currents and 'pockets' that engulfed more than one luckless
aviator. Oh, you may be sure the Russian government spared no means of
finding the lost platinum mine, but they could not locate it, or even
get near the place where they supposed it to be.

"Then, perhaps thinking that my brother and I were concealing
something, they separated us. Where they sent him I do not know, but I
was doomed to the sulphur mines. I was heartbroken, and I scarcely
cared whether I lived or died. But an opportunity of escape came, and I
took it. I wanted to save my brother, but I did not know where he was,
and I thought if I could make my way to some civilized country, or to
free America, I might later be able to save my brother.

"I went to England, taking some of my precious platinum with me, and
stayed there for two years. I learned your language, but my efforts to
organize an expedition to search for the lost mine, and for my brother,
failed. Then I came here, and--well, I am still trying."

"My! That is certainly interesting!" exclaimed N