CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
I[In Lost Canyon]1
II[The Frozen Trail]17
III[In Which Dick Drops Out]35
IV[Daddy Longbeard]52
V[Footloose and Free]71
VI[Short Rations]87
VII[Tomatoes and Peaches]104
VIII[The Ice Cavern]122
IX[The Spider’s Web]137
X[Notice to Quit]156
XI[Finders Keepers]173
XII[No Surrender!]192

ILLUSTRATIONS

[While they looked, one paused, appeared to dance for an instant, and then disappeared]Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
[“Did you ever think that this stuff might be ore of some kind?”]66
[“I wish there were some way of letting those scamps know that they are barking up the wrong tree”]116
[Then the leading man wavered for a second, and ended by tumbling backward upon his follower]200

THE GOLDEN SPIDER

CHAPTER I
IN LOST CANYON

There wasn’t much suggestion of a canyon, lost or found, in the handsomely furnished office in the Brewster National Bank building where three young fellows in flannel shirts, belted corduroys and hob-nailed lace boots were waiting for the owner of the office to make his appearance.

Of the three, only the middle-sized one, a good-looking chap whose rough outing clothes fitted him as if they were tailor-made, was showing signs of impatience. The biggest of the three, a square-shouldered young athlete with good gray eyes set wide apart, and a shock of dark-red, curly hair, was standing at a window which commanded a magnificent view of the high, forested mountain range lifting the skyline to the westward, while the other member of the trio, an undersized fellow with a thin, eager face and pale blue eyes, was examining the mineral specimens in a corner cabinet.

“Gee! I wish Uncle Billy would come!” said the impatient one, jumping up to make a restless circuit of the room. “We don’t want to miss that train.”