This book follows on immediately from Beverly Gray on a World Cruise where the gang aboard The Susabella went to Europe. The ending of the last book promised more on Lenora's bad luck scarab, Jim's half treasure map and more of The evil Count.
It isn't long before Beverly bumps literally into secret service agent Larry Owens in India at the Mahabodhi or Place of Great Intelligence in the sunken courtyard of the sacred Bo Tree. A nine storied pyramidal temple.
Next Count Alexis de Frachiny makes his return to the story and we learn that Beverly's ring she received from Omar El Hamel in Beverly Gray's Career has some significance to the locals in India. It makes you wonder for a moment during these scenes if the Count is really thick. He has searched Beverly's things before and never found the map and in Egypt Jim Stanton told him straight out that he had the map, so why not bother Jim instead?
Beverly next runs into Larry when they both break into the grounds of the Taj Mahal at night separately and bump into each other. Both are just there to sit in the grounds of the romantic place. Wow what poor security. Well at least they get caught in the morning when trying to leave. Again Omar's ring he gave Beverly comes to the rescue but the ending to the chapter is well written and forecasts gloom:
"For the second time in 24 hours Beverly's ring proved to be a valuable aid." ...
"Yet unknown to her, the hardest trial was yet to come, a trial which would prove the infallibility of Omar's gift." (p 44)
In India the group travel from Agra to Delhi by car except for Larry who has to go to Bombay.
A sign of the times, the men go hunting for tigers and Elephants in India whilst the women stay home. Shirley goes to the races whilst Lois, Lenora and Beverly go on a cattle barge on the river. When the boat capsizes Beverly is feared drowned. Her wrist watch turns up with a native. Beverly is saved from a tiger attack by writer / Explorer Anthony Anton.
In India the group then set out for Peshawar, the valley of Kashmir and the Khyber Pass.
They loved Srinagar for it's natural beauty. They bought oriental rugs and Kashmir shawls.
The last day they went to Shalimar. Then the Khyber pass from India to Afganistan. They stopped there and turned around to go back to Bombay to where The Susabella was.
On board the yacht they headed south to sail around the point of India and up the eastern shoreline.
Lenora states " We still have to see Ceylon, Calcutta and Benares."
They stop in the Madras to see the Seven Pagodas and to the once great city of Bali. From there they continue to Calcutta but are disappointed in it so quickly hop a train to Benares while The Susabella undergoes repairs.
The group visit The Monkey Temple in Durga. The Count returns and so does Omar from Beverly Grays Career (small world)
After all the concern their map has caused the group finally decide to look at it in detail. It has 2 x's and on the back 4 words. Fiji, inland, Temple and Pillar. They decide the other half of the map may have more words.
I can understand how Beverly Gray books would be popular for their time. Although author Clair Blank never travelled to or visited exotic locations the.details she adds would surely interest young readers who imagined what the world was like.
The group then decide to travel to China. Shirley says she wants to buy a jade necklace in Canton.
The next stop is Singapore for the day then on to Hong Kong. On the way to Hong Kong, Beverly is again giving poor Jim mixed messages.
"He couldn't give you diamonds or fancy yachts," Jim continued, his cheek against her hair, " but he'll always be around when you want him."
"Diamonds aren't everything and I never did want to own a yacht," she said very low."If the young man----"
"Goodnight everybody!"Lenora's voice broke between them and a chorus answered her. ( pg 109. )
What was Beverly going to say?
They spend the day in Hong Kong going to the peak to look over the city. Then they went into the city along Wyndham Hill Road before returning to their yacht in the harbor to go to Canton.
The Count again appears in Canton and Bevetly has to admit to the others rhat she told The Count everywhere they intended to go when she was friendly with him in London and Paris. Again how did she not know he was stalking g her if he failed to mention at the time he was also foxing to all the same places?
Back on ship the group are invaded by pirates on the Si River who kidnap Beverly and Shirley, when Jim tries to jump in to the rescue the last thing Beverly sees after a gun shot is Jim lying prostrate with three pirates standing over him.
Whilst kidnapped Beverly contemplates Shirley and her both being in love with Jim ( though the author stops short of saying Beverly is. It is here we learn that Beverly always thought that Shirley and Roger would eventually get together and that she had purposely had refused acme of Rogers invitations in order to throw Shirley and Roger together.
Before Beverly has too long to contemplate the Shirley, Jim triangle and how she feels about it Larry Owens turns up in disguise by Beverly's side.
Beverly to Shirley on being kidnapped. " We are the unluckiest two girls in the world, I believe."
"For anyone who likes excitement those are traitorous words," Shirley said. "I'll wager Lenora is wishing she were here." (p137)
After Beverly and Shirley escape from the pirates Beverly who has been jealous of Shirley and Jim's relationship (so she imagines) whilst captured has a change of heart and decides that her two best friends deserve happiness and Beverly sets the pair up to spend the day together whilst she goes off with Roger in Shanghai.
Roger and Beverly encounter The Count and Roger becomes determined to follow him, even though he was the one vocal earlier about not wanting to go after The Count and Barnaby when others in the gang wanted to. Roger and Beverly end up walking into a trap whilst Lenora spends time flirting with three navy men that Anthony Anton brings out to the Susabella with a dinner invite.
The story states that Lenora likes Terry more than she would like to admit. She also likes uniforms and knows she will get in trouble from Terry for flirting but does anyway. Terry counterbalances by flirting with the female (the Ambassadors Daughter) that comes out to the Susabella also with Anthony Anton that Shirley Parker and Jim Stanton had met that day.
The gang end up at the same restuarant where Beverly and Roger are trapped.
Larry again comes to the rescue after having tried to warn the gang all day to stay out of the old city Shanghai.
After the adventure Beverly realises that Shirley is in love with Roger not Jim.
The story ends with the gang having the other half of the map and setting sail for Fiji to find it. Larry Owens, Anthony Anton and a new character (an agent that has helped Larry) Shanghai Pete and his Parrot "John" join the yacht to increase the circle of friends even further for the next book, Beverly Gray on a treasure hunt.
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