Here is a mystery story for boys of all ages – from nine to ninety. It is a typical Seckatary Hawkins tale, told by the young scribe who takes care of all the troubles and mysteries that assail him and his young friends in their old clubhouse on the river bank. Your boy – and your girl, too, for that matter – will fairly revel in this book, and many will read it over and over again. It teems with the adventure of boyhood, and while it furnishes and abundance of thrills, it does so in a manner that is bound to teach the young reader the importance of thinking for himself and of playing fair and square throughout his lifetime. The Knights of the Square Table are an interesting lot of youngsters who conduct themselves in an admirable manner when they come upon a mystery in the Lonely House where the miser’s gold is supposed to be hidden. To give the outline of the plot would be to spoil a great climax and the keen pleasure that the reader will have in the ending of the book. Suffice it to say that every boy, no matter what your age, no matter how dim those days of boyhood seem, will read this through from cover to cover with great relish. (From the original dust jacket)     [chương_files]  

Seckatary Hawkins, the genial fat boy, is a favorite character with everyone who enjoys the deeds of a very real boy who manages to discover that adventure and mystery are not so very far off for one who looks for them. In Seckatary Hawkins in Cuba, he is embarked on that greatest of adventures, the search for hidden treasure. It is the hoard of old Cazanova in Cuba upon the quest for which young Hawkins is intent, and there are thrills and surprises and laughs aplenty in his narrative of the events encountered. Hawkins accompanies his friend “Link, the Skinny Guy”, into the romantic West Indian island to obtain possession of an inheritance. They find themselves in a nest of mystery and experience ghastly happenings in the Cuban villa where they stay. Ghostly chains rattle, a figure in a portrait moves, a strange old man is caught robbing the house. The treasure map is discovered and the young fellows find that pirate gold may be found but that it is another matter to safely retain it. The climax comes when “Skinny” finds his mother, whom he thought was no longer living. (From the original dust jacket)     [chương_files]  

This Is one of the Hawkins series and a right good one at that! Big boys and little boys, manly and “yellow”, all these figure in the adventures which are recounted and the reader is quite breathless by the time he has taken part even vicariously in the numerous pranks and serious experiences. Good wholesome lessons are taught also as when the bully of the group comes to realize some of the big things of life just before he is called to the larger life beyond this one A real boys book but girls will like It also. (Bookseller and Stationer 1923) Seckatary Hawkins, a fat boy with a cowlick hairdo, records daily minutes of the adventures of a remarkably organized group of boys. The group of ten or so boys (some boys rotated in and out of the club) have their own clubhouse on the river bank, complete with a stove for heat, a telephone, and even an organ for the required singing practice. While never the president of the club, Seckatary Hawkins is clearly the smartest member and the leader. He is regularly called upon by the books’ few adult characters and many of the youthful ones to solve various mysteries and to keep the river bank safe. (Adapted from Wikipedia)     [chương_files]