"It was given to me by a man who was trying to make money selling munitions to the Russians," replied the lad. "He was a villain if ever there was one. He stole a lot of money in the United States and came over on a ship to Riga. He kidnapped me and had me enlisted in a Russian regiment of Cossacks, where he also found himself enlisted against his will. When an attack was made on a German troop train before the assault on Peremysl he was badly wounded."
"Ah, then you both were there?" asked the Kaiser interestedly.
"Yes," went on the boy. "When he found he was so badly wounded he gave me this packet and asked me to go back to New York, where he had put papers and other things in a safe deposit vault. He wanted me to try to straighten out some of his wrongdoings."
"Then this does not refer in any way to information that might be of value to our enemy?" questioned the Kaiser, looking keenly at the lad.
"Not in the least!" declared Jimmie, returning the other's gaze frankly and fearlessly. "You are a good enough judge of human nature to determine whether I'm telling you the truth or not."
"I rather think you are telling the truth so far as you know it," was the answer, accompanied by a smile in recognition of the tribute the lad had paid. "But," he added, "is it not possible that the man himself may have been telling things that were not so in the hope that the information would fall into the hands of the Russians?"
"I don't believe it," returned Jimmie, positively. "He knew he was going to die, and tried, I believe, to right the wrongs he had done."
"No doubt you are correct. At any rate, I'm inclined to take a chance and return the packet to you if you agree to keep it as directed and do your best to follow the man's wishes."
"I'll readily do that!" cried Jimmie, stretching his hand for the extended packet. "I'll promise that as I promised him."
"Thank you," smiled Kaiser, in one of his, rare moods of unbending from the dignity that marked his demeanor. "I am trusting you."