Twelve-year-old Mike and his eleven-year-old brother Cal find adjustment a problem when they leave their familiar surroundings and are transferred to a country school in a remote farm district. Filled with resentment, they do not make friends with the other children, and finally decide to play truant, studying by themselves and enjoying a kind of uck Finn existence. Recluses in a deserted cave, the two diligently pursue their studies until an insane murderer intrudes on their sanctuary. Weary of their isolation, the boys respond with genuine civic interest, and aid in the apprehension of the criminal. A good story with well drawn characters which should appeal to every boy who ever, for an instant, wished that he might substitute a cave for a school room. Mebane Holoman Burgwyn, a prolific writer of books for young people, skillfully resolves the conflicts of her characters and subtly reinstates them into society.