Transcriber's Note: Transcribed from page scans provided by the the Hathi Trust Org. (The Ohio State University) [Illustration: Front Cover] [Illustration: Frontispiece] THE SPIDER. BY FERGUS HUME, AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "THE SOLITARY FARM," ETC. WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED, LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO. 1910. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. A POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIP II. A CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION III. HOW THE TRAP WAS SET IV. WHO WAS CAUGHT IN THE TRAP V. AFTER THE TRAGEDY VI. TWO CONVERSATIONS VII. LADY CORSOON'S APPEAL VIII. THE GRIEF OF IDA IX. WITCHCRAFT X. MYSTERY XI. THE NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK XII. A TEMPTING OFFER XIII. THE BAZAAR XIV. RUN TO EARTH XV. FACE TO FACE XVI. THE SEARCH XVII. IN THE TRAIN XVIII. AT BOWDERSTYKE XIX. A BOLD OFFER XX. GERBY HALL XXI. JUSTICE XXII. THE END OF IT ALL THE SPIDER. CHAPTER I. A POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIP. The exterior of The Athenian Club, Pall Mall, represents an ordinary twentieth century mansion, which it is; but within, the name is justified by a Græco-Roman architecture of vast spaces, marble floors, painted ceilings, and pillared walls, adapted, more or less successfully, to the chilly British climate. The various rooms are called by Latin names, and the use of these is rigidly enforced. Standing outside the mansion, you know that you are in London; enter, and you behold Athens--say, the abode of Alcibiades; listen, and scraps of speech suggest Imperial Rome. Thus, the tastes of all the members, whether old and pedantic, or young and frivolous, are consulted and gratified. Modern slang, as well as the stately tongue of Virgil, is heard in The Athenian, for the club, like St. Paul, is all things to all men. For that reason it is a commercial success.