Secret Circle #3 Devil's Lode and #4 Secret Tunnel Treasure

In Secret Circle Mysteries #3, The Legend of the Devil's Lode, Barbed Wire Jimmy says that he has finally located a lost silver mine that is said to be cursed.  Jimmy draws a map of the mine's location just before he dies.  David's family is in danger of losing their farm, so finding the mine would give them the money to save the farm.  David and his friend, Randy, ride with Wiley, a ranch hand, in search of the lost mine.

The young people attend the Calgary Stampede.  This is interesting to me, since Brad Forrest also attends the Calgary Stampede in Calgary Adventure.  As I read this part of the book, I fancied Brad Forrest also there somewhere nearby.

On page 100, the book describes the people present at the Calgary Stampede as "ranchers, Indians, Hutterites, businessmen, farmers, pickpockets."  I was amused that pickpockets were mentioned.

This is a really good book, about the same as the first book.  I greatly enjoyed it.

In Secret Circle Mysteries #4, The Secret Tunnel Treasure, Johnny and Gwen Matthews and their friend, Gaston, search for treasure reputedly hidden by General Montcalm on an island near Quebec.  The children find an old map in a book along with a riddle.  As they try to decipher the riddle, they learn that two men are also after the treasure.

On page 14, Johnny is scolded for how he was sitting on the chesterfield.

Johnny slid down off the arm with a sigh.  That was the trouble with grown-ups.  Here was a whole buried treasure, right underneath their feet maybe, and they made a fuss about how you sat on a chesterfield.  No sense of proportion.

The storyline in this book is very appealing to a book collector.  The children visit all the antique shops in their search for old maps.  On page 40, the children try not to let the owner know which book of sermons they really want, since they fear he will price it too high or refuse to sell it.  I'm sure we can all relate to that experience.

On page 42, the shopkeeper states that collecting old books is an expensive hobby.  This remark is made after the children express dismay about the $30 price of the book they want.  $30 is now approximately $240 in 2015.  Amazingly, the children come up with the $30, which is quite a lot for an old book at that time.

On page 58, Johnny worries that the shop might have been wired for microphones, which means that they would have been overheard.  I found the mention of microphones to be interesting, since that sort of device is typically not mentioned in old series books.

This book has a riddle that the children must solve, which reminds me of some of the early Three Investigators books.

This book has everything a series reader could want from a cemetery at night to a secret tunnel to hidden treasure.  This book is outstanding.