These days, when people think of Erle Stanley Gardner, they automatically thiink of Perry Mason...but Gardner was already a well-known author in the pulp magazines, e.g. Argosy, before the first Mason book was published. Pay Dirt is the second book of "Whispering Sands" stories, stories that first appeared in Argosy. Bob Zane is an old desert hand who serves as much as a commentator on desert life as he does as the narrator and main character in these stories.

"Singing Sand" tells how Bob Zane guided Harry Karg into Yaqui country. Lots of men went there but few have returned. Does Karg seek gold or a missing woman? The ending is ironic but expected. [Did those silver bullets inspire a radio serial?]

"The Land of Painted Rocks" explains why a yellow metal became a curse to the Navajo Indians. This story illustrates the perils of the desert to unwary strangers.

"The Big Circle" tells about gold mining in Nevada. An old prospector stumbles into a restaurant. Why would anyone want to hurt him? Could evidence be planted to convict the wrong man?

"Pay Dirt" begins with a man lost in the desert, dying of thirst and exposure to the sun. He made a new will naming Pete Harder as trustee. What will happen to the dead man's son? Can he unlearn the lessons of college? There is a surprise ending.

"The Land of Poisoned Springs" has Bob Zane being hired by George Fargo to lead a party to Burro Springs. Will they find fortune or failure? The story tells about treachery in the desert, and the triumph of rough justice.

"Stamp of the Desert" tells of a newcomer who travels out on the desert and makes mistakes. Hi-grading is the taking of gold by hired miners for their personal use. Could an innocent man be framed as a cover-up of the real hi-graders?

"Law of the Ghost Town" is a story about personalities, property, and the law. Could a tenderfoot swindle an old prospector? Could the swindled prospector even things up?

"The Law of Drifting Sand" explains the method of constructing railroads or highways in the desert. The story is how a young woman and her friend were able to find buried gold in spite of attempts of robbery and murder.

"The Whip Hand" tells how Bob Zane encountered a woman fleeing from a band of crooks who want to rob murder her for her gold claim. Zane misdirects the crooks and saves his life, the girl's life and her gold claim.