Dana Girls #13 The Secret in the Old Well

In Dana Girls #13, The Secret in the Old Well, a student at Starhurst named Arlene Sherwood has disappeared.  The only clue is that Arlene went to see a psychic reader and that the reading may have upset her.  The Danas fear that Arlene might instead have been abducted.  Their fears worsen when Arlene's father also disappears, and her mother is ordered to turn over some important papers.

Jean has poor math skills.  On page 10, Louise remarks that a bloodhound was able to track a scent 105 hours old.  Jean exclaims, "Why, that's over five days!"  No, 120 hours is five days. 

On page 105, Louise receives an electric shock from the chain hanging in a well.  Of course, Louise is just fine.  My main thought is how Kay Tracey-esque the electric shock is.

A dance and dates with Bill and Bob are mentioned.  The series is moving in the direction of getting Louise and Jean some regular dates, but Bill and Bob won't be the chosen ones.

On page 139, Louise gets hit in the back with a stone.  Excellent!  More shades of Kay Tracey.

On page 184, the Danas want a photograph that Lettie has of herself with Mr. Osborne so that they have a picture of their suspect.  "It took some time to convince Lettie she ought to part with the photograph.  Louise finally won her over by saying the picture of her was very cute and she would like to have it.  She would cut Mr. Osborne out later."  Lettie agrees.

Say what?!  The Danas and Lettie truly despise each other.  Louise's statement about Lettie being cute is so obviously a lie, and Lettie falls for it.  This is absurd.

It turns out that the well leads to an underground cave.  Fur pelts are hidden in the cave.  My thought is... what if it rains?

This book introduces Kate Allen, a Starhurst student who appears in just a few books.

I became bored during the last couple of chapters, although I enjoyed the story up to that point.  This story is overall very good.