During the Second World War, Wendy Kenton loses her family in a bombing attack. Wendy, who is very interested in flying, is being looked after by Paula Standish and is living at an airbase. Paula belongs to the air transport auxiliary, a group of girl pilots who deliver new aircraft to the royal air force. Wendy hopes to earn her pilot licence as soon as she is old enough.
Rose Gray and her friend, Jane Bateman, are helping Rose’s grandfather to run a railway service on the formerly derelict honeysuckle line between Belford and Lymhurst. An unknown enemy has twice tried to sabotage the venture. After transporting some circus elephants, Rose and the others are told by the police that they are not allowed to carry livestock and so face a court action. The girls try and track down proof that the livestock ban was lifted.
Zara comes as a new girl to Highdene where she shares a study with Shena Stuart and Cindy Brown. The head-mistress tells them that Zara is an Arabian princess hiding from her father’s enemies. Shena thinks there is something uncanny about Zara, but even she doesn’t guess that the new girl has amazing mental powers and can control people’s minds. Nor does Shena know that only she, for some unknown reason, is immune to Zara’s powers.
Schoolgirl Susan Blair is a member of an archaeological expedition to the Pacific Island of Ternos, famous for its underground caves and tunnels. Susan uncovers a plot by the powerful priests of the ancient earth god, Te Tuana, to seize control of the island by force. Susan and her friend, Nella Kineto, another member of the expedition, are captured by the priests but they manage to escape.
Letty Goodman discovers that someone is blackmailing jockey, Mike Grady, trying to make him lose a race on Hope, the racing colt belonging to the villagers of Heatherfield Hundred. The villagers are using their winnings to modernise their cottages and save them from being condemned. Two property dealers, Lovell and Brewer, want to cheaply buy the land the cottages stand on and they are secretly behind Clancy Wainwright, the girl blackmailing Mike.
Young Carol Cansdale is accompanying her uncle, Professor James Cansdale, on an expedition into the unexplored wilds of Brazil to find a unicorn. Professor Cansdale is certain-that the unicorn is not merely a creature of fable but lives in the dense jungle. When Carol’s pet monkey, Bobo, goes into the jungle, she searches for him and stumbles on a glade filled with “flowers of sleep”, plants-that give off a scent that makes people drowsy. Carol falls unconscious in the jungle—just after seeing a unicorn’s head. When she recovers and returns to the expedition’s boat, and finds that the party have been taken captive.
When Meg Foster’s grandfather dies, he leaves £1000 to her father on condition that a Foster climbs the dangerous north face, in the Alps. If this condition isn’t fulfilled, James Foster’s cousin, Gilbert Beck, will inherit the money. Beck secretly engineers an accident to Meg’s father and she realises that, to claim the much-needed legacy, she must climb the north face herself. She joins a party led by Nigel Brand, a noted mountaineer. Gilbert Beck has plotted with Chris Palmer, another member of the party, to make sure that Meg doesn’t succeed.
* Thanks to April Slocombe for information and pictures
Professor Doyle, takes his family on a special holiday in the Neptume and underseas exploration ship. His adventurous daughter, Rita is excited but his other daughter Pauline is a bit more nervous. When Rita calls her a baby, Pauline is determined to show she’s not scared.
When she leaves school, young Val Wynn joins a unit of the Voluntary Overseas Organisation, which aids under-developed countries. Val’s unit is sent to Bokrama, an isolated African village, where she teaches in the school with Jack Rhodes. The hospital is managed by Doctor John Roberts and Sister Mary Jones, while Bill Coombes, an agriculturist, helps the villagers with their crop problems.
Other Appearances: