Sheryl and her cousin Jinny go with Jinny's parents to spend the summer in an old house in the Ozarks, believed to be haunted and corroborated by some of Jinny's (she's the most enterprising) experiences in the attic, cellar and a ""death damp"" cave. Both girls join the local youngsters' club- the Gypsies, engage in an Audubon contest, and befriend and cover for Betsy, a less privileged child. Finally Jinny accidentally discovers that the house which had been reputed to be an Underground Railway station in the past is now a hideaway for present day criminals.... Home-styled for junior un-sophisticates who will not mind that this is perhaps as old-fashioned as the house in which Jinny goes peeking and poking around, only to have all her best-worst anticipations come true.