Island Nurse

    Carol is a new nurse whos first job is taking care of elderly Elizabeth Stafford who is recovering from a broken hip. As Mrs. Stafford is recovering quickly she encourages Carol to spend some time out with her 17 year old grandson, Herb, and his girlfriend Flo.

    Flo's older cousin Ronnie has just purchased a fancy new yacht to enter in the yearly race so the group goes to check it out. There Carol meets the handsome and flirty Ronnie and quickly is asked to attend a dance with him which she accepts.

    Back at the Stafford house Carol is visited by Flo's mother Lisa who wants to hire Carol to take care of her grandfather, William Elliot, who is suffering from diabetes and a weak heart. Carol asks to think over this offer but after Ronnie declares his love for Carol at the dance she decides to accept the job to remain close to him.

    The Elliot family reside in a grand old house on Myrtle Island, across the bay from the Stafford's. The inhabitants are Mr. Elliot, the patriarch. His grandson David, his Granddaughter Lisa, Lisa's husband John, and their three children Flo, Julie, and Billie. Ronnie is also his grandson but lives on a separate island that was gifted to his now deceased parents by Mr. Elliot.

    Mr. Elliot, despite his red hot temper, is kind and approves of Carol instantly. While Carol is meeting the family for the first time Billie runs up saying a man has just gone overboard out in the water. He, David, and Carol rush to rescue the man with Carol having to revive him. He remains at the house for the night then quickly leaves the next day. Julie believes she had seen the same man wandering around the swamp on the families property the day before. And when Lisa reports there's been several cases of poisoning from illegal moonshine on the nearby marine base she works at, they start thinking the mysterious man was a revenue agent looking for a hidden still. 

    Carol is invited out for a boat ride with Herb, Flo, Julie, and Billie but once on their way they inform her they're going to the swamp to look for the still. They worry that if it's found by the law the public might believe it's Mr. Elliot's and they want to protect him from any possible scrutiny that could affect his weak heart. However they don't find it. 

    Lisa and John are holding a party to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Ronnie attends making it the first time Carol has heard from him since the dance despite several weeks passing. Although she wants to be angry about his absence she quickly falls for his charm, much to the displeasure of David who has developed feelings for her. Broken hearted he heads out of town the next morning.

    Carol attends another dance with Ronnie where she notices he's sweating a lot and out of breathe as well as has a nasty cut on his hand. Despite her advice to see a doctor immediately he brushes it off and again declares his love for her and insists they get married. Carol thinks he's being ridiculous and when he kisses her she wishes it was David. 

    The next day a hurricane is approaching. The large oak trees surrounding Myrtle Island make it a safe haven during a storm but when Mark, Ronnie's hired man, shows up saying Ronnie is delirious with a fever and needs immediate medical attention Carol must leave the safety to help him. She hates to leave Mr. Elliot but knows the worry over his grandson could cause a life threatening episode. 

    After traveling through stormy waters to get to Ronnie's house, Hilda, the housekeeper, brings Carol dry clothes to change into: bedroom slippers, lingerie, and a dress, all of which she says have been left there after "weekend parties". 

    Carol cleans and disinfects Ronnie's wound and monitors him until his fever reduces. Then, due to the storm, she must spend the night there.

    The next morning there is a lull in the storm when Carol awakes and finds Ronnie on the mend. She demands to be taken back to the Elliot house as she is terribly worried about Mr. Elliot. Mark informs her they are in the eye of the hurricane and he can try to find a boat to get her back but they will have to be quick. Ronnie however tells her to stay and doesn't seem to care his grandfather could die without her aid. 

    David then bursts in looking disheveled. He arrived back in town shortly after Carol had left the previous day and quickly went after her, not trusting Ronnie. However his boat's motor died and he was washed up to the swamp. There he sought shelter in the old cotton gin where he discovered a still placed there by Ronnie and Mark. 

    Disgusted by Ronnie's illegal actions as well as his "weekend parties" Carol quickly leaves with David and they make it back to Myrtle Island to find Mr. Elliot in a horrible state. He desperately needs oxygen but with the roads flooded and the storm still raging there's no way to get him to a hospital. David suggests getting an oxygen tank from the marine base hospital and him and John set out against the storm in an effort to save their beloved grandfather's life. 

    A nervous two hours ensues before they return victorious and the elderly man's heart quickly stabilizes bringing him back from the brink of death. Carol and David confess their love and get engaged with Mr. Elliot gifting them nearby land to build a home. 

- I really liked Mrs. Stafford. Despite her age she loves to keep up with the goings on of the young people and she's never judgmental about what they're doing or how they're acting. She's not a "back in my day" kind of person at all. She's also an ideal patient as she follows Carol's instructions perfectly so she will be up on her feet as soon as possible as she refuses to become wheelchair bound in her old age.

- Carol is very level headed when it comes to Ronnie's love bombing which is a nice change of pace for a romance book. When he declares his love for her on the first date, and when he proposes marriage on the second, Carol thinks he's being ridiculous and dramatic. 

- The book was written by Marcia Ford which was a pen name for Ruby Lorraine Radford. I have reviewed several of her juvenile mystery book on this blog already. One thing that's clear from her writing is that she's a proud southerner. It's quite nice reading something that takes place somewhere that the author is not only very knowledgeable about but also passionate about. 

- One thing that did make me quite sad was dialogue between David and Carol where they talk about how awful it is that the rest of the country stereotypes southerners as ignorant, backwoods morons. The way it was written seemed very personal and it made me sad to think Radford was probably talking about her own experience with being discriminated against. I really don't think its okay to be cruel to people based on where they come from. After all no one chooses where they are born.

- Radford was around 67 years of age when this book was written. I was shocked! It reads very youthful. I've read books before that were clearly written by someone older but that's not the case here. Radford was certainly able to change her writing with the times and, as someone who can't write at all, I admire that.

    Overall I really enjoyed this book. Like most Avalon books it was paced fairly quick, making me want to keep reading to see what would happen next. It also wasn't very suspenseful with it's mystery which I appreciated. I need a break from suspense after reading My High Love Calling.

Sylvia Sanders and the Tangled Web

    Southern girl Sylvia Sanders has just arrived in Chicago to start her career on the radio. Back home in Carolina Sylvia has already dominated the air waves and if she wishes to have her career grow she has to step up to a bigger city. Her parents have allowed her to go to Chicago for the summer where she can stay with her cousin, Beth, who lives in the city for college. 

    Upon arriving Sylvia shares a cab with Helena Steiner, a sophisticated looking woman who writes and voices a radio advertisement for a jewelry store. She gives Sylvia her card and the southerner is excited to have made a radio connection already.

    Once at the apartment building Sylvia meets Hal Graham, the nephew of Beth's next door neighbor. He's a nice young man who has just started his own recording studio.

    That night over dinner Beth tells Sylvia her heavy accent is going to make finding a radio job difficult. She suggest Sylvia tone down the accent and introduces her to Eileen DeWolf, a voice coach. Miss DeWolf agrees to help Sylvia but when the girls arrive the morning of her first lesson they find the house in a tizzy. A set of antique silver goblets has been stolen from the woman during the night. The lesson is postponed but not for long and Sylvia speech quickly improves.

    Feeling confident she heads out to a radio company. She has a letter of introduction to a man at the company but when she gets there she finds the man has left to work in Hollywood a number of months ago and she is not permitted to have an introduction with his replacement. She then calls various talent agencies but finds they're all filled with girls hoping to find the same jobs as herself.

    Wyman Middlecoff is a young man that Beth often dates and he is eager to have Sylvia come out with the two of them some night. Sylvia does not want to intrude on Beth's love life but she agrees to a night out after she learns that Helena Steiner is Wyman's older sister and she will be coming along. Soon the woman has invited the girls, Wyman, and Hal to visit her home on Lake Michigan where her reclusive husband, Carlos Steiner, lives.

    The home is built hidden among trees behind a hill which blocks off the view of the lake. Once arriving by boat they are greeted by two strange employees; one with a peg leg and one with an eye-patch. Happy to be out of the city Sylvia decides to explore the grounds and is startled to find a large fenced off ravine guarded by watch dogs. Quickly turning to flee the dogs she finds she has been followed and spied upon by Pete, the man with the peg leg. She heads back into the house feeling disturbed.

    That night at dinner she meets Carlos Steiner and finds him intimidating. The next day Hal and Sylvia end up alone while swimming in the cove and discuss their mutual suspicions of the place. They decide to sneak off and explore during the evening which leads them to find a hidden cove with a secret tunnel built into stone.

    In the tunnel they find a door and are unable to open it before a storm erupts and starts flooding the tunnel. They quickly begin retracing their path back to the house when a tree branch comes flying at Sylvia. Hal blocks her from it, fracturing his hand in the process. Wyman drives him back to the city that night to see a doctor and the girls are offered to stay an extra night which Beth eagerly accepts.

    After dinner Sylvia heads back out to view the hidden cove and soon sees Pete heading that way. He meets up with a man who has boated into the cove and takes a heavy suitcase from him. The next morning Sylvia notes the suitcase is sitting by her and Beth's luggage by the front door. When she asks about it Wyman says he's bring some of his summer suits back to the city with him but on the boat Sylvia tests the weight of the suitcase and finds it much too heavy just to contain suits.

    Once back home she visits Hal who is struggling to do his own secretarial work with only one working hand. Sylvia decides to take a job for him as his secretary.

    While at lunch one day with Hal Sylvia notices Pete at the same lunch counter. That night Sylvia gets off work quite late and by the time her cab pulls up to the apartment building it's completely dark. As she crosses the sidewalk a man appears, grabs her purse, and sends a dagger flying at her. Sylvia quickly ducks and it sticks deep into the apartment door. Although shaken she tries to make light of the incident while also being conscious of the fact that Pete was in the city on the same day.

    Sylvia visits Helena at her apartment in the city to receive a script Helena has written just for her. It's custom made to show off Sylvia's acting range. She will make a recording of her performing it at Hal's studio then pass it around to the radio studios in the hope of landing a job. During the visit Helena tells Sylvia her chances of getting a job in Chicago are non-existent and she should try New York instead. When Sylvia refuses Helena admits she's worried for the girls safety and thinks she would be safer if she fled to New York.

    Helena has also hired Sylvia to do some typing for her. When Sylvia shows up at her apartment with the completed work she finds Carlos present as well as Maizie, Helena's sister. Helena looks as tho she's been crying and makes defiant remarks against her sister and husband. When Maizie request Sylvia to deliver a package to Friedman's Jewelry store Helena tries to make Sylvia decline but Sylvia's polite nature holds out and she accepts the errand.

    After leaving the apartment with the small package in hand Sylvia trips running across a crosswalk and is knocked unconscious. She awakes in the hospital with a bad cut and bruise on her forehead. She's disturbed to see the package has been badly damaged and even more disturbed when she sees the contents of the package. While inspecting the damage to the box a paperweight falls from inside with a note reading "So you can't be trusted". Sylvia is greatly insulted.

    With Beth on vacation and Hal holding down the studio alone Sylvia is at a loss who to call. Then she remembers Nat Hudson, one of her father's oldest friends who visits the Sanders every year for a fishing trip. He lives in Chicago where he works for the FBI. The hospital calls him and he arrives quickly and insists on Sylvia staying with him and his family until Beth's return. Sylvia explains everything that's happened since her arrival to the city and he is greatly interested in Carlos Steiner. He is able to replace the damaged box with a new one and requests Sylvia to complete her errand as though nothing had happened.

    Several days later he requests Sylvia to again visit Helena's apartment in the hopes of Maizie giving her another package to deliver to Friedman's . She does and as she is handing over the package two policemen bust in and arrest Mr. Friedman. Inside the package is one of Eileen DeWolf's stolen goblets and a package of cocaine.

    Carlos and his gang are arrested and tried with Sylvia having to testify as a witness. Helena is found to not have been involved with her husbands criminal dealing and her and Sylvia are able to continue their friendship. Wyman, who was a part of the gang, gets a light sentence but thankfully Beth has gotten engaged to an old boyfriend back home in the south so she won't be heart broken over it. And to really wrap up with a happy ending Sylvia and Hal get engaged and Sylvia is offered a part in a new radio show.

- After the receptionist at the radio studio was rude to Sylvia both her and Beth agree the woman was simply jealous because she must be a failed radio actress. This is so delusional and immature. Some people are just rude and assuming it's because they're jealous is just a way to pump up your own ego.

- Sylvia mocks the people who come into Hal's recording studio to make recordings of their singing. She thinks they're conceited to think they deserve to be recorded. I found this extremely rude and unnecessarily judgmental. These people are paying to have recordings made, it does not matter if the person has a good voice or not. Not to mention that Sylvia has no way of knowing why the recording is being made, she just assumes everyone is going to use them to try and get on the radio. Maybe they want them to send to a family member or loved one.

- I can't help but feel that Ruby Lorraine Radford was inflating her own ego when it came to Sylvia's southern accent. Sylvia only gets a job when her natural accent comes out because it is considered so beautiful. Normally I would assume this was a message about being yourself but it's not written that way. Sylvia has been advised to tone down her accent because she's hard to understand. Obviously this will impact her as a voice actress. She is never made fun of for her accent or told it sounds ugly or anything of that sort. So when Radford, a southerner, writes about how beautiful southern accents are I can't help but feel she's complimenting herself. This is the same thing I felt she did with Christianity in some of her other books.

    This book reminded me of Radford's other book, Nancy Craig and the Mystery of the Fire Opal (written under the name Matilda Bailey), because they both are very unique stories which are boring at first but very interesting in the second half.
    I found Sylvia arrival in the city and the stay at the Strikers home a bit boring and really had to force myself to read through it. Things didn't pick up until after Sylvia goes to the hospital. I also did not like how Beth disappears for the last half. It seems strange to me that she would take a vacation to Sylvia's home while Sylvia is visiting her in Chicago. Even stranger that she decides to not come back. It's also a little annoying that a plot is centered around Sylvia getting on the radio just for her to get a job on the last page and not get to experience any of that.

    Overall it's not bad and I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Dorothy Lamour and the Haunted Lighthouse

    When I first got this book I had very high hopes for it. It's part of the celebrity editions Whitman Publishing put out in the 1940's. The majority of those books were written by Kathryn Heisenfelt whose writing I do not enjoy. So I was very happy to acquire one of the books by a different author. This one was written by Matilda Bailey who also wrote the last book I read, Nancy Craig and the Mystery of the Fire Opal. 

    When I had originally read this book five years ago, I read it right after reading Nancy Craig. I remember thinking they were both great books however upon re-reading Nancy Craig I had very mixed opinions, this makes me wonder how I will receive this book.

    Dorothy Lamour is just a typical, non-famous girl who has just taken a job as a typist for Larry Edmunds. Mr. Edmunds is a young ww2 veteran who is writing a memoir about the war and also working as the lighthouse keeper in the seaside town of Pilot Town. 

    After her train arrived two hours late Dorothy takes a bus into town. The woman next to her, Mrs. Parker, tells Dorothy that the lighthouse she will be staying at is haunted and two other typists have already quit the job after their experiences there. Once the bus has arrived Dorothy befriends Kathy and Pat O'Leary, siblings around Dorothy's age who offer her a ride to the lighthouse. They first stop at the O'Leary house for supper where Dorothy is told more about the supposed haunting.

    The former typists claimed they heard a ghost ascending the side of the lighthouse at night. Dorothy is also told Mrs. Parker is the daughter of Vernon Parker who was the lighthouse keeper right before Mr. Edmunds. He was fired from the job for his strange behavior but is still going around town calling himself the lighthouse keeper. He now lives in a small house on the coast not far from the lighthouse.

    On the drive to Dorothy's destination the siblings also tell stories about how during the war enemy submarines had been found in the area with supplies from local stores meaning that traitors had been in the town and were helping the enemy, they were never caught and their identities are unknown.

    Upon arrival Dorothy is warmly greeted by Larry and Eleanor Edmunds and all get along famously from the start. Dorothy's room is on the second floor while the Edmunds and their baby sleep in a room on the first. That night Dorothy hears the ghostly sounds, a noise that sounds as if someone is climbing the wall right behind her bed. Although shaken she resigns herself to keeping her composure and not telling the young couple about this experience.

    The next day she begins her job as typist then has a picnic supper on the beach with Larry, Eleanor, and Kathy. She tells Kathy of the previous nights happenings and together they decide to find out the cause of the ghostly sounds.

    Several days later Dorothy joins the O'Learys for Sunday dinner. They've also invited Captain Tupper who tells of some interesting happenings in town; there is a river in which ships come in from sea, at the river opening a tugboat meets the ships and pulls it to dock. Several nights ago, sometime between when the ship entered the river and arrived at the dock, $50,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from the passengers. After a meticulous search of passengers and ship no jewelry was found and the culprit remains unknown. This is the third time its happened in six months and the belief around the dinner table is that the mysterious criminals may be hiding in the vast marshes on the other side of the river. A cabin was recently discovered somewhere among the many islands. Pat is interested in finding and visiting it and the girls wish to come along so plans are made for the next day.

    Once they get into the overgrown jungle-like place they hear the motor of a boat. Stealthily they are able to spy of the occupants of the boat; Vernon Parker and his son Jerry. After the Parker's have left Pat guides their boat in the direction the Parker's came from. There on an island they find the extremely well hidden cabin. Pat, who aspires to be a member of the FBI, uses dust marking to build a theory that the cabin is being used to move goods from one party to another.

    The following days Dorothy spends at the lighthouse working. The longer she's there the more she becomes curious about Larry and how he has extended absences during the day. He will often take off for the evening or even the whole day and Eleanor never says anything about it nor does anyone tell Dorothy where he goes or what he does during these times. Soon Dorothy hears the ghostly noises again in the night. She decides to write down when each strange occurrence happens as well as record when other things happen, such as seeing the Parker's in the marshes.

    Soon Larry has to go to new York for several nights to meet with his book publisher. While Eleanor is busy with a sick baby Dorothy becomes responsible for lighting and extinguishing the lighthouse light everyday. When the light needs polishing she goes into a storeroom in the back of the tower looking for polishing cloths. It's a strange triangle shaped room built in between the curved wall of the lighthouse and the straight wall of house, specifically the addition to the house that Vernon Parker had built quite awhile ago. 

    Dorothy notices that one of the walls is crooked when it should be straight and she deduces that there must be a hidden passage way somewhere in the storeroom. She begins looking through the items in the room, things that Mr. Parker is still storing there according to Eleanor. She examines a large trunk and finds its bottomless and concealing a trap door in the floor. She descends a latter in the trunk and finds a latter mounted to a concealed wall of the lighthouse tower. Climbing up it she finds another secret entrance that leads to the top of the tower and halfway up the latter there is a nook with a camouflaged door. Inside this nook is a cedar box containing the jewelry that was stolen from the ship.

    After examining it Dorothy decides to put it back in it's place. She fears if the culprit finds it missing she, Eleanor, and the baby would not be safe alone in the house with Larry gone. She then realizes that it's possible Larry put the jewelry there and him and Eleanor could be using the lighthouse as a front for criminal activity. 

    Larry soon arrives home and Dorothy finds her self struggling with what to do; she wants to report her find to the FBI but fears implicating the Edmunds. Kathy soon calls and invites Dorothy out to go crabbing with her and Pat that night. Once out in the boat Pats reveals that the crabbing trip is just an excuse to be present at the jetties of the river entrance when a ship comes in. He believes the jewelry thief is working with an off-ship collaborator and hopes to catch them in action.

    The group decides Kathy and Dorothy will stay hidden on the north jetties while Pat stakes out the south. As the ship comes in the three see someone toss something from a porthole and a boat stealthily come out to pick it up in the cover of darkness. Pat quickly makes after them on his boat and the criminals speed away. A chase ensues out of sight of the girls but soon they hear a gun shot. They're left in suspense over the fate of Pat for several minutes until his boat comes back. The mysterious men had shot at him but thankfully missed.

    They hurry back to the lighthouse to call the FBI and report what's happened. There they find the house absent of occupants and fully locked along with the lighthouse tower. Pat calls the FBI and while they wait for them to show up Dorothy and Kathy go upstairs to change into clean clothes. Once in Dorothy's room they hear the ghostly footsteps; someone is in the secret passageway but how if the tower is locked?

    Soon the FBI shows up and Larry is with them. Dorothy leads the men to the passageway and shows them the secret compartment, however it's empty. The girls are then sent into the house while the men stay and search for another entrance to the passage. Eleanor, who has been at the O'Leary is then brought home by Mr. O'Leary and the three girls sit up until early morning when Larry shows up saying that Vernon Parker, his sons, and accomplices have been caught and the jewelry recovered. 

    Dorothy learns that Vernon Parker had been using the secret passage to hide money, plans, and goods for the Nazis he was aiding during the war and flashed coded messages from the lighthouse to the enemy subs. Larry, although not a member of the FBI, has been working closely with them to solve these cases.

- I found myself greatly annoyed at the mention of the Edmunds attending church and Dorothy's happiness over going. This is because in the last book I read by Matilda Bailey, Nancy Craig and the Fire Opal, Christianity was used to show superiority of believers over non-Christians. Christianity was used as an example of an educated person while traditional religious beliefs of the area were to show how uneducated and ignorant the South Americans were. It was written offensively and has clearly left a bad taste in my mouth that is still lingering on with this book.
    At one point Dorothy looks around at the church-goers and wonders if the criminals operating in town were among them because, she says, some bad people will use church to hide their evil deeds. To me this looks as if Matilda Bailey was saying people who do bad things only use church as a disguise because no one who is a Christian would do bad things, as if being Christian makes you a good person by default.
    I think it's clear that Matilda Bailey was a Christian and that she held some ignorant beliefs about people involving religion.
    For the record I don't have any problem with Christianity, I simply do not like how Bailey used it to insult non-Christians as ignorant.

- Many times throughout out the book it is mentioned that Dorothy is so happy to have found young people her age to be friends with. Pat and Kathy's ages are not given but they're continuously described as young and Pat is in college so I assume he is in his late teens or early twenties. Kathy is younger so I believe she is in her late teens. Mrs. O'Leary also mentions that she is happy Kathy will now have a young friend her age.
    The Edmund's ages are also not mentioned but they are said to be young and close to Dorothy, Pat, and Kathy's age. Also since their child is only two I assume they're in their twenties. When Dorothy goes to the O'Leary for supper an uncle, Don O'Leary is there. He is thirty and not considered young. All this got me curious how old Dorothy Lamour actually was so I looked it up and to my amusement I learned that Dorothy Lamour was 33 when this book was published.

- Before Dorothy goes into the storeroom Eleanor tells her not to touch anything in there because it's not the Edmunds stuff. But when Dorothy goes in she wonders why tidy Eleanor would keep so much junk piled in a storeroom. Dorothy completely ignores that Eleanor just said it's not hers. Did Matilda Bailey forget what she wrote?

    Overall I think this book is quite good. No where does it get boring, drag, or feel like filler. It has a good storyline and good characters. I definitely think it's one of the better books in this series, miles ahead of Kathryn Heisenfelt's editions.

Nancy Craig and the Mystery of the Fire Opal

    This book is somewhat of a mystery itself. Years ago when I was looking to buy Whitman editions of the Polly Brewster set I purchased a book lot on Ebay, this was one of the books included. I had never heard of this book before which was surprising because I am fairly familiar with Whitman titles. This book also seems to have three different titles; Nancy Craig and the Mystery of the Fire Opal is printed on the cover, Nancy Craig and the Fire Opal is printed on the spine, and Nancy Craig and the Fire Opal of Guatemala is featured through out the book. "Authorized Edition" is printed on the spine, indicating that Nancy Craig is a pre-existing character outside of books but, try as I might, I can not find out who she is. She does not appear to have been a celebrity, a character in a radio show, or a comic strip. Who is Nancy Craig?

    When reading this book previously I recall finding it wonderfully adventurous but at the end I realized there was one problem with it; the main character did not have to be present for the actions of this story to happen. With or without Nancy Craig present the results of the story would have happened the way they did. I will talk more about this later.

    Fifteen-year-old Nancy Craig is on a plane piloted by her father heading for Guatemala. On the plane is her friend, sixteen-year-old Dannie Marston, who is heading to Guatemala with his father, archaeologist Dr. Marston, and a group of other research men. 

    Nancy is jealous because, unlike Dannie, she does not get to participate in the archaeology expedition into the Guatemalan jungle. She is going to visit her cousin, Kathy Wilson, who moved to the south American country a year ago when her father, uncle Ronnie, went into Foreign Service and was assigned there.

    Once they arrive Kathy tells Nancy about Maria Paso, a Guatemalan girl who boards with Kathy's family during the school year. She has invited the girls to visit her at her family's home during the current summer holiday. Kathy tells Nancy that Maria's family owns a vast amount of land, part of which is called the Forbidden Valley. Superstition says it's a dangerous place that no one must step foot onto. Nancy is instantly eager to visit it, brushing off superstitions as nonsense.

    After Nancy's father leaves Nancy, Kathy, Uncle Ronnie, Dannie, and Dr. Marston all head to Kathy's family's home where they meet Maria. As everyone is getting settled in their rooms Nancy and Kathy hear Maria talking rudely to two men who have come delivering produce from her family's farm. After the men leave Maria explains to the girls that the men are North Americans who are renting a hut on her family's land, right outside of the Forbidden Valley. They claim to be there to catch butterflies and locate flowers but Maria is suspicious of them because they've offered her father such a large sum of money to rent the hut.

    Ted, Kathy's younger brother, has been collecting rocks while living in Guatemala and is eager to show them to Dannie. One in particular catches Dannie's eye; he believes it to be an opal, possibly a fire opal which Dannie is very interested in and eager to find one for himself. Ted is excited by this possibility and agrees to have the stone taken to a member of the archaeology group who can cut it open to verify.

    Nancy and Kathy later join Uncle Ronnie when he goes into town to run errands. While the girls wait in the car they see the two North American men and feel they are up to something suspicious.

    Soon the archaeology groups heads out on their expedition. Dannie will be tasked with coming into town occasionally to get mail and supplies. His first trip is set for Wednesday but when the day arrives Dannie does not. Nor does he the next day. Uncle Ronnie insists there's nothing to worry about because, he says, Dannie is smart enough to take care of himself.

    Nancy and Kathy then head to the Paso's house where they will be guests for a week. During supper Maria talks about Dannie stopping by their house on his way to town Wednesday. Nancy and Kathy becomes instantly worried, Dannie had evidently started on his journey but never reached his destination. Mr. Paso follows the route Dannie had planned to take and asks everyone along it if they've seen him; no one has.

    That night an earthquake shakes the house. The Paso's and Kathy are use to them but Nancy has never experienced one and has been living in fear of them since arriving in South America. The experience leaves her quite shaken.

    As a distraction from worrying about Dannie the three girls and Tomás, Maria's brother, go for a picnic at some old ruins. The trail there leads past the rented hut and Maria once again voices her dislike of the renters. Tomás remarks that the men and their horses are gone every single day but he doesn't know where. 

    The ruins are close to Forbidden Valley and Nancy is eager to catch even a glimpse of it. Maria and Tomás vocalize their fear of the valley and share the legend that anyone who goes into the valley will never come out alive. Nancy brushes off this superstition and persuades the hesitant Kathy to walk up a bluff that over looks the valley. They notice hoof-prints and upon investigation find more prints going both toward and away from the valley. Evidently someone has been going into the valley and coming out alive, could it be the men renting the nearby hut?

    On top of the bluff they admire the beauty of the valley and persuade Maria and Tomás to join them. The two are shocked at seeing how beautiful the place is, they had believed it to be a barren wasteland. Trying to take advantage of the opportunity to rid the family of their superstitions Nancy says she's going to walk down the bluff into the valley to gather a flower. But as she descends down the rough slope an earthquake begins and she is tossed down and covered with debris. 

    On the whole she is fine but her leg has gotten cut and she's bleeding badly. She manages to climb back up the bluff and the Guatemalans, believing the evil spirits attacked her for entering the valley, are shocked she is alive. By this time Nancy has become woozy from blood loss and the two girls are having to carry her. 

    Tomás never stopped running after the earthquake began and has told the renters what happened as he ran past their hut. The men, Pearson and Conners, come find the girls and begin berating them for being so near the valley. They don't lighten up until Maria threatens to have them removed from her father's land. After this they lend the girls a first aid kit to bandage Nancy's leg, then lend a horse for her to ride back to the Peso's.

    Nancy spends the next day keeping off her leg and the Paso's prepare to take their produce and wares to market the following day. Around dinnertime Dr. Marston, Uncle Ronnie, and another man from the expedition show up to inquire if any information about Dannie has been found. Uncle Ronnie confides to Nancy that he fears Dannie has been robbed and murdered while on his way to town. 

    After the men leave the family discusses Dannie's visit and it is revealed he asked the Paso's endless questions about the forbidden valley. Nancy and Kathy come to believe this is where he had gone.

    The next day the Paso's are headed for the market when Nancy claims her leg isn't well enough to join in and Kathy insists on staying with Nancy. Once the family leaves for the day the American girls pack a lunch, water, and a field kit. They saddle the Paso's old burro and head to the forbidden valley in search of Dannie. The burro is slow and balks constantly which costs them time. As they get closer to the rented hut the girls hear horse steps and hide in the bushes. They see Conners and Pearson ride by heading to the market which releases them of the anxiety of running into the men in the valley. 

    Once in the valley they rein the burro by a stream then continue on foot. The valley is filled with lush fruit trees, mahogany trees, and what the girls believe to be opal stones. It's not long before they find a blazed trail which they assume the two men have made. They follow the trail calling for Dannie at intervals. 

    By the time they sit down to lunch Nancy's leg wound has opened and is bleeding. She's determine to carry on tho. Not long after they continue their trek through the jungle an earthquakes erupts causing a tree to fall and their packs become trapped under it. Kathy has a brief moment of weakness where she wants to run back to the mule but upon realizing Dannie has been in the jungle for multiple earthquakes and could have met the same fate as their packs, they continue on. 

    The farther they go the more lost in the wilderness they become and Nancy's leg gets worse and worse and she's soon struggling to walk. The girls discuss finding a sturdy tree to sleep in for the night, once they find one Kathy climbs it and from her viewpoint she sees an ancient pyramid and temple in the near distance. Finding this a safer place to sleep they head to it and climb to the top of the pyramid. They call for Dannie from this height and get a response; he's under the temple. 

    Once in the temple Dannie instructs the girls on how to unbar and lift a stone from the floor that works as the dungeon's entrance. Dannie is freed from his prison and reveals he was put there by Conners and Pearson. He tells his story of being curious of the forbidden valley and venturing in on Wednesday. He begins finding opal stones when Conners and Pearson appear. Enraged that the boy has found the natural treasure they have been stealing, they keep him prisoner so he can tell no one of it.

    By now Nancy is not able to continue on the journey and it's too dark to safely navigate the jungle so they spend the night in the temple. In the morning Nan's leg is worse and showing serious signs of infection. They decide that Dannie will go back through the valley for the burro so Nancy can ride out. The girls are placed into a caved-in nook on the side of the pyramid where they are to hide for several hours until Dannie's return. They figure here they will be safe if Conners and Pearson arrive. 

    The men do arrive and it's clear by their packed horses and attire that they are about to flee the country, they are just setting Dannie free first. The girls sneak down the pyramid and into the temple. One man goes into the dungeon after receiving no reply from their calls to Dannie, Kathy then sneaks up on the other and shoves him backwards into the dungeon opening. They secure the entrance then soon hear horses. A rescue party including law officials, Dr. Marston, Uncle Ronnie, and Ted appear with Dannie who they met in the jungle. The rescue party had been formed the previous night after the Paso's returned home to find a note from Kathy telling of their plans.

    The two men are arrested, Nancy's is given medical treatment, Dr. Marston has a new archaeological find with the pyramid and temple, and the Paso's are free of their superstitions and will now find great wealth with all the natural resources the valley contains.

- The way Guatemalans are looked down upon for their cultures religious beliefs is kind of annoying. I try to be extremely open-minded with old books, I know it was a different time when reliable information was not as easily available and so stereotypes, myths, and misinformation were taken as fact but this book was so rude. 

    It constantly talked about how Guatemalans who believed in their countries traditional religion were ignorant and uneducated. It mentions how Christian leaders were working to educate the country so they will adopt Christianity. I found it especially laughable when Nancy observes how the "ignorant and uneducated" people light incense on the church steps to their gods while the "educated modern" ones light candles in the church. Matilda Bailey clearly did not see how laughable this comparison was.

    Not only that but the savior theme of this book got on my last nerves, I've never come across a more intense version if it. For example there's a scene when Uncle Ronnie stops at a villagers house on the side of the road to purchase melons from the owner. Inside the home a young woman has sprained her ankle. A medicine man is there waving herbs over the ankle and all the natives are confused as to why this has not instantly cured the ankle. Our savior Nancy then comes in and mystified these ignorant and uneducated people by teaching them that hot water can ease pain.

    And it's not just that Nancy happens to help these people with basic knowledge but she actually sees it as her duty. When Dannie first goes missing Mrs. Paso tries to comfort Nancy and Kathy by saying she'll burn an offering to protect Dannie from evil spirits. Instead of being thankful for this act of kindness and empathy, Nancy feels guilty for not immediately trying to convince Mrs. Paso that offerings and evil spirits are not real.

- To make things even worse Nancy's cut leg is later treated with a poultice of herbs by Mrs. Paso to ease the pain. Even though they work and do ease Nancy's pain she does not change her opinions of people using them in the traditional healing practices.

- There a definite plot hole with how much destruction happens with each earth quake. For example when the earthquake happens when Nancy is descending the bluff to pick a flower. Rocks, dirt, trees, etc. all fall down around and on top of her. But if there was a large earthquake the night before and regular earthquakes every few days how was all that not dislodged previously. The same happens when the girls go into the jungle; there's no note of fallen trees from previous earthquakes but after one happens while they are there suddenly trees have fallen blocking the paths.

- The same meal is mentioned over and over; albondigas, tortillas, and boiled corn. I think this is the only South American meal Matilda Bailey knew of.

    Overall I feel conflicted about this book. I really enjoy the part that takes place in the valley and, to a slightly lesser extent, at the Paso's. I think the premise is good and it makes a wonderfully adventurous story but the judgmental overtones of the whole book really ruin the majority of it. I also found the parts taking place at Kathy's house and that surrounding area quite boring. 

    I'm not sure if their are any other girls books from this time period set in the Guatemalan jungle as it seems like a unique setting but if so then I would really love to find them and see if they got it right where Matilda Bailey got it wrong.

    Now as for what I mentioned at the start of this review about Nancy and Kathy not needing to be present for the actions of this book to turn out the same. I am going to copy and paste what I wrote about that from my previous review years ago:

    "Dannie had been kidnapped by 2 men and hidden in the dungeon of a temple in the jungle. The girls find and release him but it's then too dark to venture back so they sleep there. The next morning Nancy's leg wound is too painful/infected for her to walk back so Dannie goes to get the burro the girls left yesterday to carry her back. While they wait they hide and then the 2 men show up. The men were going to release Dannie that morning and then immediately leave the country, saying that by the time he walks out of the jungle they would already be gone. It's stated that it would only take a couple hours to get out of the jungle on foot. Well starting that morning the police had started looking for men who they had been suspicious of for sometime. So if the men had then left the jungle after releasing Dannie they would have been apprehended and Dannie would have walked back to the city or been found on his way back. Not only that but Ted had already told the authorities he had found the opal Dannie was interested in, in that jungle so the authorities were already on their way there looking for Dannie and thus would have ran into the 2 men. Regardless of if the girls had come the day before to find him, Dannie would have been on his was home and the 2 men would have been arrested on that same day around the exact same time."

    So as you can see the girls did not need to go into the jungle to save Dannie. The whole point of them going alone was that they claimed it would take too long to contact Dr. Martson or Uncle Ronnie to have authorities go but this is proven false. Therefore the girls endangered their lives and Nancy may have gotten blood poisoning for nothing.