expedition, and here we are!"

"But what do you suppose--"

"Don't suppose a thing," said Blake, gazing astern at the last fading bit
of land. "There's a lot of things that might be; but like as not none of
my guesses is correct."

"Let's hear you guess."

"Well, first, you know, Uncle Sam has some valuable seal islands in the
Aleutian group. Maybe, during the war the Japs or Russians have got
careless about drifting around that way and carrying off a few hundred
skins. Might be, you know.

"But I'm not saying that's it. A sub would be a mighty fine craft for
watching that sort of game, though. And then, there's another thing I've
thought of. There's gold in Russia, on the Kamchatkan peninsula; you know
that, don't you?"

"No." Dave opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Heaps of it. Tons and tons! Just waiting for the digging. And before we
went into the war, when Russia was still with the Allies and needed
money, our Government, or independent capitalists, I don't know which,
furnished the Russians a lot of machinery for mining the gold; about a
million dollars' worth, I guess. Then came the revolution in Russia. I
doubt if a cent has been realized from the sale of machinery. Who's in
possession of that peninsula at the present time? God alone knows. Japan
would like to meddle there, I'm sure. Perhaps we're being sent up there