Vicki Barr #11, The Ghost at the Waterfall

I know I said that The Secret Stair would be next, but I lied, okay? Anyway, I have to say that The Ghost at the Waterfall is a rather unusual series book. The book opens with Vicki's friend/RN Ruth Hall asking Vicki to fly her up to a remote area of Canada, to nurse her brother, who's injured himself in a mining accident. Betty Sue that Vicki is, of course she agrees. Good old Bill gets her set up in a plane, and off they go.

All is well until they run into a storm and short on fuel. They're forced to make a landing in a clearing in a remote area. They find a hunter's lodge, which unfortunately is inhabited by fur smugglers instead of hunters. Vicki and Ruth are (naturally) discovered hiding in a closet. Two of the smugglers have just shot the third smuggler, who is an odd character--a rough and tumble woman whom they first mistake for a man, and who is also the leader--and one of the men's wife. The men leave for a smuggling run, forcing Ruth and Vicki to care for Jody, the wounded woman.

Once the men are gone, the girls fly to the mine with an incriminating ledger they've found, after first getting Jody set up in relative comfort and safety. Ruth is left to nurse her brother as planned, while Vicki makes contact with a Mountie and tells him about the situation. He wants to take over, but Vicki (of course) feels an obligation to care for the injured woman.

Back at the lodge, the Mountie patrols the woods, while Vicki stays in the cabin. Like a genius, she falls asleep at the kitchen table, and the woman is able to steal the gun. The Mountie has no way of knowing that Vicki is now being held as a prisoner. Eventually, of course, they're able to capture the woman and all her accomplices, with the assistance of Vicki and Bill.

• This book has a really odd, claustrophobic feel. I really felt the isolation and desperation of the situation. In that way, it reminded me of Behind the White Veil, which is, in my opinion, the very best Vicki Barr book. Interesting, when you consider that they were by two different authors, Julie Tatham and Helen Wells.
  
• This book reminded me in ways of several other series books as well: The Mystery at the Ski Jump, a Nancy Drew book about fur smuggling, the original text of The Message in the Hollow Oak, another Nancy, which is set in rural, wooded Canada, and the Madge Sterling book, The Missing Formula, which has the same setting. Allow me to here plug the Madge Sterling books, which I think are really underrated. They're a breeder set by Mildred Wirt, published by Goldsmith. I got all three on Amazon, in dust jacket, for about $5 apiece.
• This book has some more seriously romantic vibes between Vicki and Bill than most of the other books, which feature a playful flirtation. In the end, Vicki is rescued by Bill, who "senses" something is wrong when she doesn't return on time.
• Is Ruth ever mentioned before this book? I don't recall her, although it's been awhile since I read the earliest books. I tend to file nurses away in my mind, since I'm an RN.
• The titular ghost at the waterfall is this alleged "Indian legend." The gang takes advantage of this legend by using Jody dressed up in Indian garb, yelling, as a signal for the nights when they're receiving furs. Yeah, it really makes no sense. It's also supposed to scare off the locals. I mean, how Scooby Doo of them.
• EVERYONE in this book seems to be a pilot. As in Jody and her husband, and I think a few others. I guess it's somewhat more plausible considering the remoteness of the location, but it still seemed a bit of a coincidence.
  

I quite liked this book, although it didn't have the light-hearted feel that I tend to prefer from a series book. It was much better to me than #10, The Search for the Missing Twin.

I have a question for collectors out there. My copy is ex-lib, which in this case doesn't bother me, as it's in beautiful condition. However, the dust jacket is still in the library mylar, which is glued to the front end papers. Should I attempt to detach the mylar (lighter fluid? scissors?) or slit it from the front and remove the dust jacket, or what? There's nothing on the spine, so it still looks quite good on the shelf. My first instinct is to leave it, but it does have a less than beautiful overlap seam on the cover, which you can see in the picture.