Books with title The Sign of the Crooked Arrow

A Great Undersea Adventure for Young Readers from the Golden Age! "It was midnight. Johnny Thompson paced the deck of the Sea Nymph alone. He would be doing this until daybreak. The tropical night was glorious. There was a faint breeze-just enough to ripple the waters where the phosphorescent light thrown off by a million tiny creatures rivaled the stars above. 'Spooky,' he thought, meditatively. 'Out here all alone with the night.... Natives over there.' He faced the east, where dark green hills loomed out of the water. Over there was a small island. Johnny never had been there. Some time he'd get into a canoe and paddle over. Earlier in the evening he had seen a light, a white man's light, he had thought, without knowing why. He- His thoughts were interrupted by someone moving, up forward. Or was there? He had supposed they all were asleep-the strange old man, bony and tall, with goggle eyes and heavy glasses, the tall young man and the blonde girl. They all had berths forward. The captain and mate were aft; the native crew, below deck. There was no need for any of the crew, now. The boat was anchored. Only he, Johnny Thompson, was needed, to keep watch for prowlers of the sea, or signs of a storm. It was strange, this new job. He was not sure just what these people were planning-some scientific expedition, he thought. The ship's outfit was rather irregular, but he had been glad of the chance to sign up as watch. He loved the sea. 'Someone-' he said to himself, '-is moving, up there.' He started forward, cautiously."

A sailor standing watch aboard a scientific schooner off the coast of Haiti observes a series of green lights in the shape of an arrow coming from the island's interior. In time he concludes that the lights are some kind of code. Since no other vessels are in the area, he deduces the lights are being flashed by spies aimed at a submarine. In time, he concludes his deductions are correct and he becomes determined to locate the source of the mysterious green arrow lights. When a local girl is kidnapped, the sailor and other crew members discover a nest of spies and rescue the girl who has been abducted aboard the enemy submarine. The faint tropical breezes are balmy, the nights are glorious, and the waters ripple all the while sinister forces, prior to World War II, are at work planning to turn this idyllic island into a naval base from which to launch subversive activities.