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Show TOWBOAT PILOT By Elston J. Melton (Caxton Printers .... $4) By Lyn Connelly. ' Here at last is an intelligently written book for adolescent boys, one of the best of its kind since the immortal Mark Twain penned that perennial favorite, "Tom Sawyer." Tom Briggs is essentially a good boy, but because he takes precious time away from his daily chores to swim with his chum, Johnny Sanders, San-ders, and because he dreams constantly con-stantly of the day when he might be a towboat pilot on the . mighty Gasconade river, he is considered lazy and shiftless by his cruel stepfather step-father and many of the town citizens. citi-zens. You'll share Tom's frustration when, after he works hard to buy himself a small boat so that he can fish to support his family, his stepfather step-father sells the boat and pockets the money. You'll share his horror when his hunting rifle goes off accidentally acci-dentally in the post office and he is accused by Mr. Pugh, the postmaster, postmas-ter, of having deliberately attempted attempt-ed to kill him. Despite his many handicaps, Tom proves through sheer perseverance and courage that he is capable of being a towboat captain. The story carries him from the age of 12 when he is in the dream stage, through the age of 21, when he makes his first cruise as a pilot But long before be-fore the realization of his ambition, he ea'rns the respect of his neighbors neigh-bors when he clears Mr. Pugh of a possible murder charge of which only Tom knows he is innocent, thus proving that he holds no malice in his heart for the postmaster who would have sent Tom to a juvenile home when he, too, was wrongly accused of a crime. The book is a joy for those loving the great outdoors. Mr. Melton, a prominent Missouri newspaper man, knows his subject well and handles it beautifully with the result that there emerges a book full of tears and joy, tenderness and adventure. |