THE MYSTERY OF 22 EAST

This is a boy's mystery which takes place aboard a freighter, England bound via the Panama Canal, but it' s not too hard to get your bearings: there' s some plodding plotting and the characters are wholesome but insubstantial down to the Ja-saytng Captain. Tom, fifteen, makes the crossing alone: there's a stowaway; a disappearing monkey; a storm at Sea and a fire on another ship whose passengers and crew they salvage; but mostly there are two unasked visitors in his stateroom, searching for some microfilm hidden in the light fixture... Serviceable- like wash and wear- as a medium-grade timekiller.