Virgil Dare Watson, called Johnny by his friends, was the first human being born on Venus. He was named after Virginia Dare, the first pioneer child born in North America, and for a long time he was the only child on all Venus. And that would have been a lonely thing to be if it had not been for Baba. Baba, the bear, was not only Johnny's pet, but his best friend, too, and the only one who knew about his three secrets.

Because of these secrets, Johnny got himself, his jewel bear, Baba, and the whole colony of New Plymouth into desperate trouble. And because of these secrets, he also became a hero worthy of a statue—Venus' greatest hero.

Contents

[I]The First Two Secrets 1
[II]The Treasure of Venus 9
[III]A Dangerous Target 18
[IV]The Third Secret 25
[V]A Mystery Indeed! 34
[VI]Inside New Plymouth 45
[VII]The Rhinosaur Stampede 54
[VIII]One Secret is Revealed! 66
[IX]The Price of a Brother 71
[X]Alone in the Jungle 81
[XI]The Friends are Separated 97
[XII]The Price of a Boy 107
[XIII]Outwitting the Outlaws 116
[XIV]Captured! 129
[XV]A City in the Trees 140
[XVI]The Thunder of Rhinosaur Hooves 155
[XVII]Teachers Can't Play Hookey 172
[Facts About Venus] 178

[CHAPTER ONE]
The First Two Secrets

It was rocket day on Venus!—the day the yearly rocket from Earth arrived, and it was like Christmas, Fourth of July and your birthday all rolled into one!

In the windowless, one-room New Plymouth school, Johnny Watson, a stocky twelve-year-old, sat toward the back of the room, a big Venus geography propped up in front of him. Johnny was supposed to be studying. Every time Mrs. Hadley, the teacher, glanced his way, a page of the book slowly turned. The teacher was much too busy with the half dozen squirming, excited first graders to notice that a small black paw fastened to a furry blue arm was really turning the pages.

On Johnny's lap sat Baba, a perky-faced little blue bear with stand-up ears and bright blue eyes. To fool the teacher, the little bear, his eyes twinkling, flipped the pages one by one.