The second compound was somewhat smaller than the first. Here were to be seen barrows, trucks, and other implements; a line of rails led into a cave-like opening in the hillside, which, Mr. Appleton explained, was the entrance to a vein or lode sloping upwards into the heart of the mountain. "It was lucky I hadn’t to sink shafts," he said, "considering the difficulty of bringing mining appliances to this remote region." "What led you to pitch here?" asked Bob. "Well, you may call it accident, or you may put it down to my being possessed of a roving eye. I was hunting hereabout some years ago, and caught sight of what seemed to be an outcrop of copper ore. I poked about rather carefully, and collected a number of samples of this and other ores, which I had tested by a capital fellow in Peshawar. His assays confirmed my suspicions, and I thought I couldn’t do better than try my luck." "Who does the place belong to?" asked Lawrence. "Do you pay rent?" Mr. Appleton smiled. "I’m afraid I’m a squatter," he said, "not unlike the ancestors of some people I could name nearer home. The natives, I believe, used to pay tribute to the Amir, and also to the Chinese emperor--a little gold dust (where they got it I don’t know)--a dog or two, and a basket of apricots: some trivial thing like that; and as the people are nomads, their suzerains, I dare say, thought they were lucky to get anything. Then the Russians came along, and among other unconsidered trifles snapped up this little no-man’s land. They had a small military post a couple of marches across the hills to the north. This was raided by the Afghans when they got news of the Russian smash-up in Mongolia. The Mongols turned out the Afghans; then the post was destroyed by another Afghan raid; and since then nobody has troubled about it. It would puzzle even an international jurist in a Scotch university to decide who is the rightful sovereign of this tract of hill country; and meanwhile I’m on the spot, and I’ll stay here and get on with my work until I’m turned out. "This gallery here is worked by the Kalmucks: you saw some of them at the stamping presses as you came up. The slope makes it easy to dig the ore out, and also drains what little water there is: there’s only a trickle, as you see. Come into the next compound." He unlocked the door in the stout fence, and led the boys into a third enclosure, like the second, and having another line of rails leading into a gallery. "This is the Pathan section," said Mr. Appleton. "There are not quite half as many Pathans as Kalmucks." "I suppose you keep them apart for fear of ructions," said Bob. "Partly," said Mr. Appleton, smiling a little as he added: "But there’s another reason; I’ll tell you that later. We are not treating the ore from this gallery at present. Look here."