“A yellow jumping spider!” half groaned Ned. “I thought he had found some of the nuggets.” Still, as the professor had always helped them, they could do no less than to act as he requested. Bob brought an insect net from the scientist’s room on the airship, and Jerry got a specimen box. Ned and the two men followed to where Mr. Snodgrass stood.
“Where is it?” asked Mr. Brill, somewhat indifferently, as the scientist got ready to make his capture.
“Down there, between those two stones,” was the answer, and Mr. Snodgrass pointed. “See that yellow lump? That’s a fine yellow jumping spider. I——”
But Mr. Brill interrupted him with a yell.
“Yellow jumping spider!” shouted the miner. “Not in a thousand years! Great Peter, boys! The professor’s gone and done it!”
“Done what?” demanded Jerry.
“Found the sixty nuggets of gold! Hurray! That’s no yellow spider! It’s a yellow nugget—one of the big ones! Wow! We’re on the trail at last, for where there’s one there’ll be more! Yellow spider nothing! That’s yellow gold!” and plunging his hand and arm down in the hole between the loose stones, the miner brought up a lump of yellow gold as large as his fist.
[“The first of the sixty nuggets!” he shouted.] “Now to find the others!”
