(CNN) -- As a young freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela stepped out of a farmhouse hideout in South Africa, took 20 strides and dug a hole on the sprawling land. 

He leaned over, put in a semiautomatic pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition, and carefully put a khaki uniform over them. 

After covering them with heaps of soil, he sauntered back into his rural hideout in northern Johannesburg -- hoping to retrieve them soon. 

He never got a chance to fire a shot with the Makarov pistol. A few weeks after he buried it at the farm in Rivonia, he was hurled into prison for the next 27 years. 

That was in 1962, and the whereabouts of the gun -- now estimated at $3 million -- remain a mystery, said Nicholas Wolpe, the chief executive of Liliesleaf Farm, the former hideout now converted into a museum. 

A scramble to find the gun has sparked a frenzy among collectors, historians and Mandela fans. 

'It's interesting how we came to find out about the gun," Wolpe said. "Mandela visited Liliesleaf in 2003, and as we were walking around, he turned to me and asked, 'By the way, did you find my gun?" 

Wolpe said he was stunned. 

"I turned to him and said, 'Gun, what gun?' " 

Mandela then asked him to pinpoint where the main kitchen once stood. 

"He then made a 45-degree angle and said, '20 paces from here, I buried a gun,' " Wolpe said. 

During the visit, the two tried to retrace his steps using the paces as a guide, but the farm had undergone some changes, making it hard to determine the original location of the kitchen with certainty. 
Who buried a pistol?
Was he planning to come back for it?
When?
How much ammunition did he put in the ground?
Did he put anything else in the hole?
What?
What country was his hideout in?
What town?
What kind of fighter was he?
Did he make it back for his stuff?
Why?
What year was his arrest?
How long was he in prison?
Where is the pistol now?
How much might it be worth?
When did Mandela ask about his gun?
What was he doing when he asked?
What's that?
What was is before?
Could they figure out where he buried it?
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela stepped out of a farmhouse hideout in South Africa, took 20 strides and dug a hole on the sprawling land. 

He leaned over, put in a semiautomatic pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition, and carefully put a khaki uniform over them. 
yes
After covering them with heaps of soil, he sauntered back into his rural hideout in northern Johannesburg -- hoping to retrieve them soon. 
soon
hoping to retrieve them soon. 
200 rounds
He leaned over, put in a semiautomatic pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition, and carefully put a khaki uniform over them. 
yes
He leaned over, put in a semiautomatic pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition, and carefully put a khaki uniform over them. 

a uniform
He leaned over, put in a semiautomatic pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition, and carefully put a khaki uniform over them. 

South Africa
As a young freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela stepped out of a farmhouse hideout in South Africa
Johannesburg
 his rural hideout in northern Johannesburg 
freedom
(CNN) -- As a young freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela 
no
He never got a chance to fire a shot with the Makarov pistol. A
he was sent to prison
A few weeks after he buried it at the farm in Rivonia, he was hurled into prison for the next 27 years
1962
That was in 1962
27 years
 he was hurled into prison for the next 27 years
that's a mystery
That was in 1962, and the whereabouts of the gun -- now estimated at $3 million -- remain a mystery
$3 million
the gun -- now estimated at $3 million
2003
"Mandela visited Liliesleaf in 2003, and as we were walking around, he turned to me and asked, 'By the way, did you find my gun?"
visiting Liliesleaf
"Mandela visited Liliesleaf in 2003,
a museum
 Liliesleaf Farm, the former hideout now converted into a museum. 

the hideout
Liliesleaf Farm, the former hideout now converted into a museum. 
no
the farm had undergone some changes, making it hard to determine the original location of the kitchen with certainty. 