Injured and confined to a wheelchair as a young man, he used his considerable intelligence to operate an international crime ring from his office, “The Spider’s Den,” located in his mansion. The Spider generally stole from those who had achieved their wealth through criminal or immoral means, and especially those who had wronged him. As a younger man, working as the head of a team of spies and thieves in Paris, he had been a more direct player in his own schemes. Now, he relied on others to carry out his plans. He is an enormous man with a sinister smile, who keeps his operatives separated all over the world, like the strands of a web. One of his most loyal men is John Warwick, who was in love with the Spider’s innocent and unsuspecting niece Silvia Rodney. Eventually, the Spider retired and used his great wealth to help others.
Appearance List Stories in Detective Story Magazine: “The Spider’s Den” (April 16 1918), “The Spider’s Sign” (May 21 1918), “Into the Spider’s Jaws” (July 2 1918), “The Shekel of Shame” (July 23 1918), “The Turquoise Elephant” (August 13 1918), “The Spider’s Venom” (September 10 1918), “The Spider’s Debt” (September 24 1918), “The Spider’s Wrath” (October 22 1918), “The House of Horror” (November 12 1918), “The Spider’s Command” (December 17 1918), “The Spider’s Strain” (April 8 1919), “The Spider’s Reward” (April 29 1919). “The Spider’s Reward” can be read at Internet Archive and Wikisource.
Description Injured and confined to a wheelchair as a young man, he used his considerable intelligence to operate an international crime ring from his office, “The Spider’s Den,” located in his mansion. The Spider generally stole from those who had achieved their wealth through criminal or immoral means, and especially those who had wronged him. As a younger man, working as the head of a team of spies and thieves in Paris, he had been a more direct player in his own schemes. Now, he relied on others to carry out his plans. He is an enormous man with a sinister smile, who keeps his operatives separated all over the world, like the strands of a web. One of his most loyal men is John Warwick, who was in love with the Spider’s innocent and unsuspecting niece Silvia Rodney. Eventually, the Spider retired and used his great wealth to help others.
