Dan Carter, Cub Scout, and the River Camp

Twelve-year-old Dan Carter loves being a Cub Scout. When he and his den-mates stumble upon a cryptic coded message mentioning Skeleton Island during a treasure hunt, they little imagine the adventure about to unfold. But then a mysterious French boy named Jacques appears on the riverbank, exhausted and refusing to speak about himself. When the coded message is stolen and fur thieves are reported in the area, Dan and his friends find themselves drawn into a real mystery that leads them to the forbidden island. What is Jacques hiding? Who are the men signaling from the shoreline? And what secret does Skeleton Island hold? This 1950s adventure captures something timeless: the thrill of a secret, the bond of friends who stick together, and the particular courage required of a twelve-year-old who must outsmart grown-up criminals. For readers who grew up on The Hardy Boys and Enid Blyton, or anyone who remembers when a summer mystery felt like the most important thing in the world.