The
machine I made never flew well and I had several bad falls."
Tom and Ned worked rapidly on the magneto, and soon had replaced the
defective bits of platinum.
"If the Russians had such a machine as this maybe they could have gotten
to that mine," suggested Ned, who was very proud of Tom's craft.
"It would be useless in the terrific winds, I fear," answered Ivan
Petrofsky. "But now I care little for the mine. It is my brother whom I
want to save. He must be in some of the Siberian mines, and if I had
such a craft as this I might be able to rescue him."
Tom Swift dropped the file he was using. A bright light sparkled in his
eyes. He seemed strangely excited.
"Mr. Petrofsky!" he cried, "would you let me have a try at finding your
brother, and would you come with me?"
"Would I?" asked the Russian eagerly. "I would be your debtor for life,
and I would always pray for you, if you could help me to save my brother
Peter."
"Then we'll have a try at it!" cried Tom. "I've got a different airship
than this--one in which I can travel three thousand miles without coming
down. I haven't had any excitement since I got back from the city of
gold. I'm going to Russia to help you rescue your brother from exile,
and I'm also going to have a try for that lost platinum treasure!"
"Thank heaven, there is some hope for poor Peter at last," murmured Mr.
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