The Secret of Tibet - a Hope Twins Adventure Story

This book is part of a series featuring Will and Dave Hope, two young aviators who happen to be twin brothers.  You do not come across too many series books which feature twins (The Bobbsey Twins are probably the first, and most popular, to come to mind), so when I come across any, I pick them up.  This particular series was mentioned in a Facebook group for collectors of children's series, and thankfully, the two books were not too difficult to find with dust jacket.  Published by Goldsmith in 1938 (although one website about the author indicates this book came out in 1938, while the next came out in 1939 - William Dixon Bell - however, both of my books show a copyright date of 1938), the books feature a strong continuity, as one book picks up literally right after the ending of the book before it.

 

The Secret of Tibet introduces readers to Will and Dave Hope, twin brothers who are in Shanghai, China after winning a contest by being the first flyers to cross the Pacific Ocean non-stop.  While there, they meet a stranger by the name of Theodore Curtis, who engages their services to fly him to the hidden city of Tibet, where he believes his friend, Professor Alfred Noll, is being held captive.  The Hope twins are suspicious at first, but Curtis convinces them and offers to have the National Scientific Society pay their expenses (but, sadly, no salary).  The boys' hesitation ends when a mysterious Chinaman with a scarred face appears everywhere they turn - and when Will is knocked unconscious after catching someone trying to sabotage their plane, the brothers realize they must help Curtis, as his friend (a fellow American) could be in serious trouble!

 

The story takes some rather unusual and, well, rather unbelievable turns as it progresses.  While the fancy, trick flying could be possible, the number of instances that the plane takes off and lands in places with little runway space is a bit far-fetched.  And when the twins, along with Curtis, find the hidden village, they come across a young woman - who happens to be Caucasian! - who thinks herself a goddess (actually, she believes she is a mixture: half Drolma, goddess of mercy, and half Dordjelutru, the god of the highest mountain [p. 126]).  And she happens to be quite fluent with the English language.  And she happens to believe the scar-faced Chinaman is a ruler of the people who can be trusted.  I cannot imagine what Bell was thinking when he wrote these elements into the story.  Plus, for this to be a book aimed at "boys and girls," as the back of the dust jacket proclaims, the fact that this girl is "almost naked" (p. 123), as can be seen on the dust jacket cover art, is a bit too risque for young readers!

 

As one might expect, the story does feature a lot of flying, and there is even a battle in the sky when the Chinaman and his villainous cohort chase our twin heroes in their speedy yellow plane, shooting a machine gun at the Hope twins!  Despite the damage done to their plane, the boys manage to climb down into a wooded area in the middle of nowhere, between the mountains, to find exactly the type of wood they need to make the necessary repairs.  How convenient is that?!  Of course, the boys ultimately outwit the villains, and not only do they rescue Prof. Noll (who they find to be naked as well [p. 177] - what is it with Bell and his naked characters?), but they also manage to sneak out the young goddess girl, who takes an instant liking to Curtis and agrees to leave her home where she is worshiped to start a new life in the outside world with Theodore Curtis!

 

One thing that did surprise me (and it was a pleasant surprise, considering some of the material in this book!) was the twins' refusal to believe in reincarnation when the young "goddess" tells them she has been reincarnated a thousand times.  Dave firmly tells the girl, "...you should be ashamed to claim to be a goddess.  There is only one God - the God who moved upon the face of the waters and gathered them together.  To Him only I pray" (p. 132).  It's not very often you see a series book character so bluntly express their belief in God and to stand strong like Dave does with his conviction of there only being one true God.  Sure, other series characters make vague references to attending church on Sundays, but outside of Christian books, I cannot recall another series that states a belief in God so firmly as this one does.  It rather made up for some of the other nonsense that goes on in this story.

 

While some online sites negatively critique Bell's writing, particularly with some of his dialogue, I actually enjoyed the banter between Dave and Will - it was fun and, to a certain extent, felt natural, with the boys constantly making snarky comments to one another.  Some of the "native" language and pidgin English is rather off-putting at times; however, the depiction of the Chinaman and the other characters the Hope twins meet along the way are nothing more than a reflection of the time in which the story was written (remember, the book was published nearly 90 years ago, and American views on foreigners, particularly between the two World Wars, were not exactly respectful).  Thus, I simply put them in that context, and they did not bother me as much.

 

One thing to note - I had assumed that this book and the next one were the only two books in the "Hope Twins" series; however, it appears there was an earlier book, The Lost Aviators (published more than ten years prior in 1924) that is the first book to feature the flying brothers.  Since this book makes considerable reference to the boys' famous flight across the Pacific, and the prize money they won for making the flight, one might assume that story is told in The Lost Aviators (which, ultimately, would make this a three-book series). Yet, some online research reveals the plot of that book involves three boys who start out on a hunt for some army aviators who were lost while traveling from San Francisco to Panama (sadly, I don't find reference to the names of these young boys, so I can't be sure if two of them are the Hope twins or not!).  Therefore, until I can snag a copy of that book and read it, I cannot be sure whether it truly is a prequel to The Secret of Tibet or not.

 

Nevertheless, the next book is a direct sequel to this one (picking up literally where this one left off), so I will be curious to see what strange adventures await the twin brothers in their next adventure!

 

RATING:  7 bridges made of slender bamboo rope out of 10 for sending two teenage boys on some crazy and unbelievable adventures into unexplored terrain between the mountains of Tibet!