Book excerpt: During an extended winter holiday, the Hardy boys are summoned to Montana by their father to help with a case: recovering stolen gold. The trip out West is anything but easy; the boys’ fame and success as amateur detectives has reached their father’s enemies, who are determined to undermine a reunion. Facing dangers from man, beast, and nature, the Hardy boys embark on a journey to recover the missing gold and bring justice to the small mining town of Lucky Bottom. This is the fifth book of the Hardy boys series, first published in 1928. While the author is credited to be Franklin W. Dixon, in reality, Leslie MacFarlane and Edward Stratemeyer are primarily responsible for the early volumes, including this one. This Standard Ebooks edition is based on the original 1928 text. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.