Victor Appleton

“ We must act quietly. The more trouble we make, the more important they will know us to be. If we hope to accomplish anything we must act cautiously."
"But my airship!" cried Tom.
"They won't do anything to that right away," declared the Russian in a whisper for he knew sometimes the police listened to the talk of prisoners. "I think, from what I overheard when they arrested us, that we either trespassed on the grounds of some one in authority, who had us taken in out of spite, or they fear we may be English or French spies, seeking to find out Russian secrets." ”

“ The wind, if anything, was stronger than ever. It was a terrific gale, and just what was needed. But how would the air glider act? That was what Tom wanted very much to know.
"Cast off!" he cried to the Russian and Eradicate, and they slipped the ropes.
The next moment, with a rush and whizzing roar, the air glider shot aloft on the wings of the wind. ”

“ Tom ran to the motor, and, at the same time the Falcon which was being used as an aeroplane and not as a dirigible, began to sink.
"We're going down!" cried Ned.
"Well, you know what to do." shouted his chum. "The gas bag! Turn on the generator!"
Ned ran to it, but, in spite of his quick action, the craft continued to slide downward.
"She won't work!" he cried.
"Then the intake pipe must be stopped!" answered the young inventor. "Never mind, I'll volplane to earth and we can make repairs. That magneto has gone out of business again." ”

“ Silently Tom crept to the motor room. He had to work in absolute darkness, for the gleam of a light would have drawn the fire of the guards. But the youth knew every inch of his invention. The only worriment was whether or not the motor would start up after the break-down, not having been run since it was so hastily repaired. Still he could only try.
He looked out, and saw the guards pacing back and forth. They did not know that the much-sought prisoners were within a few feet of them.
Ned was in the pilot house. He could see a clear field in front of him. ”

“ You do not call taking me away from that place—that sulphur mine—that horrible prison barrack with the cruel guards—you do not call that much? My, friend," spoke the Russian solemnly, "no one on earth has done so much for me as you have, and if it is the power of man to show you where that lost mine is, my brother and I will do so!"
"Agreed," spoke Ivan quietly.
"Then what plans shall we make?" asked Tom, after a little more talk. "Are we to go about indiscriminately, or is there any possible way of getting on the trail?" ”

“ Then he pulled the lever that sent a supply of gas into the big bag, and the ship began to rise.
"I guess we've given those spies the slip," remarked Ned, as they rose from the ground calling good-byes to the friends they left behind.
"I hope so," agreed Tom, but could he have seen two men, of sinister looks, peering at the slowly-moving airship from the shelter of a grove of trees, not far off, he might have changed his opinion, and so would Ned.
Then, as the airship gathered momentum, it fairly sprang into the air, and a moment later, the big propellers began revolving. ”

“ Meanwhile the Falcon continued to descend.
"Maybe I can make quick repairs, and get away before they realize who we are," said Tom, as he got ready for the landing.
They came down in a big field, and, almost before the bicycle wheels had ceased revolving, under the application of the brakes, several men came running toward them.
"Here they come!" cried Mr. Damon.
"They are only farmers," said the exile. He had donned his dark glasses again, and looked like anything but a Russian.
"Lively, Ned!" cried Tom. "Let's see if we can't make repairs and get off again." ”

“ Petrofsky, "for I am much interested in inventions, and I formerly did something in that line myself, and I have even made a small aeroplane, so you see I know the need of platinum in a high power magneto."
"But where did you get such pure metal?" asked Tom. "I have never seen it's equal."
"There is none like it in all the world," went on the Russian, "and perhaps there never can be any more. I have only a small supply. But in Siberia—in the lost mine—there is a large quantity of it, as pure as this, needing only a little refining. ”

“ The lights were now dimly visible, moving about in the forest clearing.
"It's just as if they were looking for something," said Tom. "Can it be that any of your Nihilist friends, Mr. Petrofsky are——"
"Friends—no friends—enemies!" cried the Russian. "I understand now! We got away just in time. Those are police agents who are looking for us! They must have received word about our being there. Androwsky and the others never carry lights when they go about. They know the country too well, and then, too, it leads to detection. ”

“ I'd give my life to save my brother from the awful, living death to which he is consigned!"
"And we're with you!" cried Tom, offering the Russian his hand. "We'll turn the trick yet. Now don't forget to come and see us. Come along, Ned. If I'm going to build an air glider I've got to get busy." ”

“ The propellers seemed to take hold of the air with a firmer grip. There was more power, and certainly the speed was terrific.
"We're going fast!" yelled Ned into Tom's ear.
"That's right," agreed the young inventor. "She'll beat anything but my Sky Racer, and she'd do that if she was the same size." Tom referred to a very small aeroplane he had made some time before. It was like some big bird, and very swift.
Up and onward went the remodeled airship, faster and faster, until, when several miles had been covered, Ned realized that the young inventor had achieved another triumph. ”

“ Petrofsky earnestly.
"You never can get to the platinum mine," said Ned. The winds will tear your airship to pieces."
"Not the kind I'm going to make," declared Tom. "It's going to be an air glider, that will fairly live on high winds. Ho! for Siberia and the platinum mines. Will you come?"
"I don't know what you mean by an air glider, Tom Swift, but I'll go to help rescue my brother," was the quick answer, and then, with the light of a daring resolve shining in his eyes, the young inventor proceeded to get his aeroplane in shape for the trip back to Shopton. ”

“ Toward the end of the excavation large pieces were scarce, and it was evident that the mine was what is called a "lode."
"Well, shall we go back now?" asked Tom one day, after the finish of their mining operations. The work was comparatively simple, as the platinum lumps had merely to be dug out of the sides of the cave. But the loneliness and dreariness of the place was telling on them all.
"Can't we carry any more?" asked Ned.
"We could, but it might not be safe. I don't want to take on too much weight, as my glider isn't as stable as the airship. But we have plenty of the metal. ”

“ I rather hoped we could spend some time in Paris."
"There is no particular danger, unless it becomes known that I am an escaped exile, and that we are on our way to Siberia to rescue another one, and try to find the platinum mine. Then we would be in danger."
"But how are they to know it?" asked Ned, who had come back from the gas machine.
"France, especially in Paris and the larger cities, is a hot-bed of political spies," answered Mr. Petrofsky. Russia has many there on the secret police, and while the objectors to the Czar's government are also there, they could do little to help us." ”

“ If the air glider is any good it ought to hold me. I will go up."
"Now, Ned, how about you?" asked the young inventor.
"Well, I guess it's up to me to come along. But I sure do wish it was over with," and Ned glanced out of the window to see if the gale was dying out. But the wind was as high as ever.
It was hard work getting the air glider out of the shed, and in position on top of a hill, about a quarter of a mile away, for Tom intended "taking off" from the mound, as he could not get a running start without a motor. The wind, however, he hoped, would raise him and the strange craft. ”

“ Borious in the pilot house, to point out the way, Tom steered through the fast-gathering darkness. The Russian had soon become used to the airship, and was not at all afraid.
"Can you go just where you want to, as a balloon?" asked the new guide.
"No, but almost," replied Tom. "At the last moment I've got to take a chance and start the motor to send us just where we want to go. That's why I think a silent airship would be a great thing. You could get up on the enemy before he knew it"
"There are the prison barracks," said the guide a little later, his talk being translated by Mr. Petrofsky. ”

“ Swift was surprised when his son told him the latest news, but he did not offer any serious objection to the young inventor going to Siberia.
"Only you must be careful," he said. "Those Russian officers are ugly when it comes to trying to take away any of their prisoners. And this air glider—I don't exactly know about that. It's a new machine, and you want to be sure it works before you trust yourself to it."
"I will," promised Tom. "Say, I've got plenty of work ahead of me,—to get my big airship in shape, and build the glider. You'll have to help me, dad." ”

“ We can hover over a certain spot in a gale of wind, and search about below with telescopes for a sign of the lost platinum mine."
"How high are you going up?" demanded Ned, for the air glider was still mounting upward on a slant. If you ever scaled a flat piece of tin, or a stone, you'll remember how it seems to slide up a hill of air, when it was thrown at the right angle. It was just this way with the air glider—it was mounting upward on a slant.
"I'm going up a couple of hundred feet at least," answered Tom, "and higher if the gale-strata is there. ”

“ Hold! If you please! "he cried. "The governor has come. He wants to see you."
"Too late!" answered Tom. "Give him our best regards and ask him to some to the United States if he wants to see us. Sorry we haven't cards handy. Ned, take the pilot house, and shoot her up sharp when you get the signal. I'm going to run the motor. I don't know just how she'll behave on the kerosene."
"You must remain!" angrily cried the officer.
"The United States doesn't take 'must' from anybody, from the Czar down!" cried Tom as he disappeared into the motor room. ”

“ Tom tested the speed of it one day with a special anemometer, and found that only a few hundred feet inside the zone the wind blew nearly one hundred miles an hour.
"What is it like inside, I wonder?" asked Ned.
"It must be terrific," was his chum's opinion.
"Dare you risk it, Tom?"
"Of course. The harder it blows the better the glider works. In fact I can't make much speed in a hundred-mile wind for with us all on board the craft will be heavy, and you must remember that I depend on the wind alone to give me motion." ”

“ Damon dropped back with Ned.
"Bless my gas meter!" gasped the odd man, as he stared at the queerly-printed documents in his hand. "I thought he was going to give me a bomb to throw!"
"I don't blame you," said Ned in a low voice. "They look like desperate men, but probably they have suffered many hardships, and they think their way of righting a wrong is the only way. ”

“ He was a Russian, and he knew the Russian police ways—to his sorrow.
"I'm not afraid, said Tom, when they had been locked in a large prison room, evidently set apart for the use of political, rather than criminal, offenders. "We're United States citizens, and once our counsel hears of this—as he will—there'll be some merry doings in Oskwaski, or whatever they call this place. But I am worried about what they may do to the Falcon."
"Have no fears on that score," said the Russian exile. "They know the value of a good airship, and they won't destroy her." ”

“ At noon it could be seen through the glass that they were over the outskirts of some large place, and after the Russian had taken an observation he exclaimed:
"The environs of Paris! We must not land there!"
"We won't, if the wind holds out," remarked Tom and this good fortune came to them. They succeeded in landing in a field not far from a small village, and though several farmers wondered much as the sight of the big airship, it was thought by the platinum-seekers that they would be comparatively safe.
"Now to get the first rain for Paris and get the things I need," exclaimed Tom. ”