Mildred A. Wirt's Trailer Stories for Girls #3 - TImbered Treasure

The third book in Mildred Wirt (Benson)'s "Trailer Stories for Girls" finds the Gibson children on their own yet again, traveling in their Crimson Cruiser.  A sixteen-year old, a fifteen-year old, and a thirteen-year old traveling across the country in a car with a trailer home attached seems a bit far-fetched in the real world; however, in the fictional world of children's mystery series, it actually makes for some really great stories.  (Although, let's face reality, perhaps readers of the late 1930s found it a bit far-fetched as well, since the series was not popular enough to last beyond just four books.)  For me, though, the stories in each book seem to outshine those in the prior books of this series.  With each book, Wirt gets stronger with her storytelling technique, the plots are more intriguing, and the characterization of the Gibson children is more firmly instilled.  It's a real shame the series did not catch on, as I would have loved to have seen what other ideas Wirt might have come up with for Barbara, Ginger, and Jimmie (and also whether the characters would have eventually aged - or, even gone to school for that matter!).

Timbered Treasure takes the children up the Eastern coast of the United States into the New England territories, as Barbara and Ginger are taking young Jimmie to a boys' camp for the summer.  I must say, this must be an awfully long summer for the kids - in the first book, they were not in school and took off to escape a tyrannical aunt who threatened to separate them - they were gone for weeks!  In the second book, they were vacationing with their uncle, who left them on their own in Great Falls where they spent weeks trying to solve the mysteries out there.  Now, here they are making a long trek up the East Coast to take Jimmie to a camp in Maine, where the girls will explore for the weeks that Jimmie is in camp.  In my world, a summer would only last about three months (June, July, and August) - yet the Gibson children seem to have an endless summer with which to travel the countryside in their trailer home!

Nevertheless, as in the previous book, the children meet up with a new mystery in the very first chapter.  While parked in a trailer camp along the route to Maine, the children meet a young man and his sister (Earl King and Virginia "Virgie" King) who are also at the camp.  Right next door to the camp is a loud amusement park, and so Barbara, Ginger, and Jimmie decide to check it out; however, before they can even get in, Barbara witnesses a hold-up at the ticket counter!  Before you know it, Earl King is being accused of the crime, but Barbara is fairly certain he was not the man she witnessed, so she quickly comes to his defense.   One would think he would be grateful, but instead, he and his sister take off, Virgie leaving the Gibsons a note thanking them for helping her brother.  The note indicates the brother and sister are heading to New Jersey, but the Gibsons suspect otherwise.

Resuming their journey to summer camp for Jimmie, the Gibsons next encounter a truck driver who runs them off the road!  When they demand he pay for the damage to their trailer, he flat out refuses.  There is something threatening about the man, so the children walk away, grumbling the whole while.  Jimmie eventually reaches camp, and the girls locate a nice place to stay along Long Lake - a quiet property owned by a lumberman, J.M. Steele, which property is cared for a man known as Dan Idol.  Dan is a quirky type, but he helps Barbara and Ginger get their trailer set up next to the lake.  Well, wouldn't you know, but just across the lake from them happens to be the King trailer!  (Yes, yes, what would a children's mystery be without the oh-so-convenient coincidences!)  Barbara and Ginger are both curious why the Kings lied to them about their destination, but they avoid confronting them- they have other mysteries with which to be concerned!  It seems the local area has had some forest fires of late, and the local ranger - "a tall, handsome young man in the uniform of a forest ranger" whose name is "Kentucky Renolds" (p. 72) - warns them to be careful while in the area and to notify him of any fires they may see.  That is most definitely an unusual name - I don't believe I have ever seen anyone actually named Kentucky, even though that is my home state, where I was born and bred (up until I was 17, anyway, and my family moved to Florida).  Along with the mysterious forest fires, there is also the problem of trees disappearing from Steele's rather large expanse of property.  Even though Dan Idol is supposed to be on guard, somehow, trees and lumber seem to disappear (of course, it's Barbara and Ginger who pick up on the fact that the fires always seek to occur at the same time as the trees and lumber are stolen, connecting the two mysteries).

But don't think they have forgotten the Kings.  That mystery deepens as well, when they witness Earl and his sister in the lake, as if they are searching for something.  During a sudden storm, the girls are able to rescue Virginia, whose boat overturns in the lake - but not even that will make the Kings trust them with whatever it is they are doing there. 

Wirt does an interesting job with these mysteries - even though the fires and the stolen lumber are connected, the mystery involving the Kings is wholly unrelated - yet, it is an out of control fire that results in Jimmie having to leave camp and return to stay with the girls on Mr. Steele's property that leads to the Gibsons uncovering the truth about what the Kings are searching for - and, as anyone can surmise, they step in to help Earl and Virgie find the treasure they are seeking to make all of their dreams come true.  Wirt certainly has readers guessing in this one - is Dan Idol good or bad?  Is he helping the lumber thieves?  What are the Kings searching for?  Was Barbara mistaken about Earl, and is he actually a thief?  Nothing is crystal clear in this one (other than the fact that the man who ran the Gibsons off the road is involved in the whole lumber theft), which makes for a well-crafted mystery.

As indicated above, the young ages of these children does not seem to hinder them in any way.  Kentucky Renolds and the other rangers have no problem allowing the children to assist them with watching the wooded area for fires, and even engage their help when the raging fire gets out of control.  It seems no one considers the danger they are putting these minors in, but, it does make for some suspenseful reading, and in the end, I guess that's all that really matters.  If the youngsters were always being set on the sidelines, it would be boring to read.

Wirt definitely outdoes the previous books with this one - more danger, more excitement, and more mystery.  And while the Gibsons are still traveling around in their crimson cruiser, the stories have focused less on the daily life of a travel trailer and more on the mysteries to be solved.  I said it before, and I'll say it again - it's a shame Cupples & Leon did not commission more of this series, as the tales are extremely good reading!

RATING:  10 sunken log rafts out of 10 for increasing the danger quotient in this book and for giving the two sisters a chance to really shine without their brother in this one!