SPIES ON THE DEVIL'S BELT

A fourteen-year-old orphan recruited into a special unit of the Continental Army that raided Setauket from across the Devil's Belt of Long Island Sound might have been every bit as naive as Jonathan Barlow, but to a degree his innocence only adds to the suspense. . . . We know, though he never suspects, that the bread he delivers from the tavern must contain secret messages, and long before he grows suspicious, we realize that his buddy Bracy must be a Tory spy. Jonathan comes out of it all a hero yet his conduct leaves something to be desired as he withholds information from his officers -- first out of loyalty to Bracy and later to save himself embarrassment. Perhaps what he lacks in character is compensated for by dumb luck and sheer physical energy -- and by Haynes' well larded, old fashioned narrative which rolls so smoothly that there's no time to think or care. Action.