"Find it?" asked Ned.
"Yes, it's in the magneto. All the platinum bearings and contact
surfaces have fused and crystallized. I never saw such poor platinum as
I've been getting lately, and I pay the highest prices for it, too. The
trouble is that the supply of platinum is giving out, and they'll have
to find a substitute I guess."
"Can't we go home in her?" asked Ned.
"I'm afraid not. I've got to put in new platinum bearings and contacts
before she'll spark. I only wish I could get hold of some of the better
kind of metal."
The magneto of an aeroplane performs a service similar to one in an
automobile. It provides the spark that explodes the charge of gas in the
cylinders, and platinum is a metal, more valuable now than gold, much
used in the delicate parts of the magneto.
"Well, I guess it's walk for ours," said Ned ruefully.
"I'm afraid so," went on Tom. "If I only had some platinum, I could--"
"Perhaps I could be of service to you," suddenly spoke a voice behind
them, and turning, the youths saw a tall, bearded man, who had evidently
come from the lonely house. "Did I hear you say you needed some
platinum?" he asked. He spoke with a foreign accent, and Tom at once put
him down for a Russian.
"Yes, I need some for my magneto," began the young inventor.
"If you will kindly step up to my house, perhaps I can give you what you
want," went on the man.
Pages:
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29