The White Mice

Two young American friends in Venezuela stumble into a revolution. Roddy Forrester, sent by his father to inspect a lighthouse project, teams up with his cunning pal Peter de Peyster to free General Don Miguel Rojas, a beloved political prisoner rotting in a dungeon at the orders of the tyrannical President Alvarez. What begins as a lark sparks into something more serious: the boys form the Order of the White Mice, a secret society dedicated to daring heroic acts, and find themselves navigating treacherous political waters, outwitting soldiers, and risking everything for a stranger's freedom. Davis writes with the breathless pace of a dime novel but with sharper wit, folding in a whimsical fable at the opening that prefigures their adventure. The result is pure turn-of-the-century adventure fiction: breezy, bold, and brimming with the kind of youthful confidence that makes impossible seem merely improbable. It's a romp through revolution where the heroes are barely old enough to vote, yet their nerve is absolute.