THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY
CLEVELAND AND NEW YORK
Falcon Books
are published by THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY
2231 West 110th Street · Cleveland 2 · Ohio
W 3
COPYRIGHT 1948, BY THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
[1. Terry Makes a Mistake] 7 [2. Life at Woodcrest] 17 [3. Disturbing News] 26 [4. The Sunlight Message] 34 [5. The Man with the Key] 42 [6. Rapid Developments] 54 [7. Jim Makes an Enemy] 66 [8. The Fall Offensive] 75 [9. Under Fire] 83 [10. Rebellion] 90 [11. Vench Breaks Silence] 99 [12. The Paper Chase] 108 [13. Vench Is Astonished] 118 [14. The Postscript] 126 [15. The Journey in the Night] 134 [16. Vench Learns Something] 143 [17. In Clanhammer Hall] 152 [18. Don Meets the Colonel] 161 [19. Vench Is Mysterious] 171 [20. The Major Makes a Move] 182 [21. The Surprise Attack] 191 [22. The Man on the Ice] 199 [23. The End of the Mystery] 205
1. Terry Makes a Mistake
“Pardon me,” said the red-headed boy with a grin, “but what is that old jalopy over there?”
The tall young man on the station platform turned and looked with a slight frown at the battered station wagon across the street. He was dressed in a gray uniform and wore a tall military hat. The letters W. M. I. in gold showed plainly on the hat. It meant Woodcrest Military Institute, and Lieutenant Sommers was an important part of that institution.
Two boys who had just stepped from a train at Portville station grinned and nudged each other. They were nice-looking young boys, with sandy hair, freckles, and lean faces browned by exposure to the wind and sun. Don Mercer whispered to his brother: