The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-07-10
b MARINER J. KENT
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(CopyriRht. by Shortstorv P,,h "a

00s oOouI SA0 Sp1uSF dU. T16 readily
found Miss Wharton, and was gra-
ciously received. She was charming
young woman, of perhaps %, and
without hesitation told very inter-
esting story:
A brother and herself were left or
phans when she was 20 and he 10
years old. Their Inheritance was
ample, and Alfred, the brother, be-
came an enthusiastic student of arch
aeology. When he was of age he de-
parted for Arizona to pursue his
studies there.
This was five years ago." con-
tinued Miss Wharton, land excepting
a single letter, have received no
tidings of him. After exhausting all
means to find him, was led to final
resort by peculiar account of golden
spiders my brother gave in his letter
the one letter received from Alfred
at our home in Boston a few months
after he left me. 1t was dated from
The Ruin, Arizona and briefly told
that he had discovered a Tusayan
cave, heaped with gold dust. He was
led to excavate for the cave because
of the great number of golden-mottled
spiders that came out of the ground
through an opening they had made.
This opening led to the mouth of the
cave, which had been covered with
rocky debris and sand. He inclosed
little of the gold dust in his letter,
and upon that slight clew I am work
ing"
YES" interrupted Mather, 81 know
that spiders marked with gold are
common to the southwest, but why
are you hunting them?"
II am naturalist enough" replied
Miss Wharton, Ito know that the col
oring and marking of insects are
largely Influenced by their environ
ment, and it is logical to infer that, as
the cave my brother found was the
home of golden-mottled spiders, their
markings would reflect the character
of the gold-dust in the cave. At any
rate have proceeded upon this the
Dry, and, with the aid Of powerful
microscope, compare the golden
markings Of the spiders obtain with
the gold dust from the cave. When
shall find lot of spiders whose mark
ings are of the same color, texture
and fineness as the gold dust, then
can locate the cave and, fear, find
the remains of my brother"
AS the weeks went on Mather's &C
quaintance with Miss Wharton ripened
and he grew enthusiastic over her
quest. One day he found her greatly
agitated, and she could only exclaim:
II have found the spiders!"
From what part did they Gomez"
eagerly questioned Mather.
From the Homolobi ruin"
"Why, that is only three miles from
Winslow!" exclaimed Mather. 1--WE
will go there tomorrow"
F It was so arranged, and for many
days the two hunted the ruin for the
golden spiders. At last they found
them, countless numbers of them,
pouring out from under a large fiat
stone Embedded in shattered rock and
powders and half buried by drifted
sands.
The following day they returned
and, with suitable tools, cleared the
fiat stone and raised it on its edge.
The lifting of the stone disclosed an
aperture only large enough to admit
single person. From it extended a
flight Of steps rudely cut in the solid
rock. There was nothing forbidding
or uncanny about the passageway and
Mather at once descended, followed
by Miss Wharton. At the depth of
perhaps dozen feet the steps ended
in an almost square cavern. ex-
ceeding but little in width or
height the stature of a tall man.
Evidently it was the treasure vault Of
some archaic tribe, followed, with in
finite labor, out of a mass of granite.
The rock had been covered for ages
with hot and arid sands, baking in an
almost rainless region. and the air in
the vault was therefore as dry and
parching as that of an oven. The
bright rays of the MONDAY sun pene-
trating through the narrow stairway
but dimly lighted the cave, yet the
u&QC was SuUlCl0ut lOT Iu0 LWO cA-
plores to see a somber mass, in the
semblance of a human form, stretched
out on a bed Of glittering gold-a
marvellous bed covering the entire
floor Of the vault, and ankle-deep with
precious nuggets Of gold, mingling
with aoat-gold or nesting in the su-
perabundant gold dust.
The roof Of the vault was hung with
lark festoons Of age-thickened webs,
and from walls and webs thousand
'golden-mottled spiders retreated be-
fore the unaccustomed light Of the
sun. With their bright markings,
scampering ever the web u canopies.
they seemed like minute moving stars.
AS Mather's eyes roved the weird
SURROUNDINGS they fell upon . knife
driven into Screyice IN the rocky
wall. Advancing to examine X, he
found that - blads ransaxed ! shsst
sgsy8 ss.sS