The missing brother: a mystery story for older boys

by Keith Robertson

An unusual and exceptionally well-written mystery for boys, giving all the flavor of a small town in Iowa and all the antics of an adventurous teen-ager. Fifteen-year-old Ted Fowler had expected to spend Saturday hiking to the river. But after exploding a homemade land mine under his agriculture teacher, Ted found himself with some extra homework to do -- an assignment to fetch a sample red clay from hills far in the opposite direction. After wading through a strange bog, finding a old Indian arrowhead, being held up by a fierce, bearded man with a gun, and collapsing with him down the crumbling wall of a gravel pit, Ted decided agriculture homework could be pretty exciting. It seemed that clay and Indian relics weren't the only things hidden in the low hills and that Ted and the bearded man weren't the only people interested. Though the red clay was soon safe in the school laboratory, Ted found himself in the midst of a situation as explosive as any of his own land mines.

220 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Keith Robertson was born on May 9, 1914 in Dows, Iowa. He joined the Navy in 1931, and served as a radioman on a destroyer. Later, he attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating with a B.S. degree. He attributed his initial decision to study at the Academy to a "fanatical aversion to washing dishes." He said, "When I discovered that midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy did not wash dishes but were gentlemen by act of Congress, I promptly applied for entrance." Robertson served in World War II as captain of a destroyer. He was awarded five battle stars. He retired from the service as a captain in the United States Naval Reserve.

Robertson published his first book, Ticktock and Jim, in 1948. His writing career spanned 40 years. As a member of the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature, he was active in encouraging aspiring authors.

He was married to Elizabeth Woodburn Robertson, a rare-book dealer, and had four children. He died of cancer at his home in Hopewell, New Jersey on September 23, 1991, aged 77.