The Crystal Ball: A Mystery Story for Girls

In Short

This brisk 1936 mystery follows Florence Huyler and her friend, the spirited French girl Jeanne, as they dismantle a ring of exploitative occultists in Chicago. Beyond the city, the story shifts to the rugged, icy landscapes of Isle Royale, where the pursuit of a hidden treasure intersects with a search for lost family. Blending urban detective work with ethereal, dreamlike sequences, the book captures the restless energy of the Great Depression era, ultimately serving as an optimistic exploration of friendship, loyalty, and the persistence of hope.

The Story

The narrative opens in a Chicago office building, where Florence Huyler, a sharp-witted investigator, discovers a room shrouded in "midnight blue velvet" and filled with the eerie, artificial atmosphere of a crystal-gazing parlor. She is immediately skeptical, viewing these establishments as dangerous rackets that prey on the vulnerable. Her companion, a vibrant and resourceful French girl named Jeanne, joins her in this investigation. Together, they navigate the city's underbelly, encountering a "Tiger Woman" and a voodoo priestess, both of whom claim supernatural powers to defraud their clients.

As Florence exposes the mechanical nature of these scams—often involving phone calls to verify victims' secrets—the story takes a dramatic turn. Jeanne, ever the adventurer, finds herself caught up in the life of a talented young violinist named Tum Morrow, whom she rescues from obscurity. The investigation of a stolen four-hundred-dollar fortune leads the girls to a showdown with an aggressive gypsy woman. During this confrontation, Florence demonstrates her physical courage, subduing the thief with a firm hand before the police arrive.

The mystery then migrates from the city to the remote, wild expanse of Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Here, the tone shifts from urban grit to atmospheric adventure. Guided by visions and intuition, the girls track a mysterious code, "D.X.123," which points toward a submerged cache of gold. Amidst the freezing temperatures and the struggle to aid a starving moose, they discover that the threats they faced in Chicago were merely shadows compared to the genuine, often inexplicable, wonders of the wilderness.

The arc concludes with the recovery of the treasure and the safe return of a missing father, John Travis, whose reunion with his daughter, June, provides the emotional core of the finale. The friends visit a mysterious "little lady in gray" who had previously offered them accurate guidance, only to find that the house where they met her is now occupied by a woman who claims to have lived there alone for years. Florence, ever the rationalist, chooses not to interrogate this final impossibility, accepting that some mysteries—and some "fairy godmothers"—are better left as they are. The book ends on a note of domestic peace and the promise of a future journey, signaling that the girls' need for investigation has finally been satisfied.

How It Unfolds

The investigation begins Florence stalks through a Chicago high-rise with the "slyness of a cat," infiltrating a crystal-gazing parlor that feels like a trap. She quickly identifies the atmosphere as fraudulent, setting the stage for her mission to dismantle the city’s ring of fake seers.

The gypsy connection Jeanne searches for a missing widow’s money in a street market, where she is mistaken for a gypsy and enters a dance contest to prove her legitimacy. She encounters an impostor and is aided by her stepfather, Bihari, who dispenses with the thief using a show of brute strength.

Exposing the fraud Florence orchestrates a test for a fortune teller named Myrtle Rand by feeding her false information over the telephone to prove the woman is a charlatan. The trap works perfectly, confirming that the "crystal ball" is merely a prop for parlor tricks.

Escaping the voodoo priestess A confrontation with a voodoo practitioner turns dangerous when a man threatens Florence with a white-hot torch. She barely escapes by leaping onto a window ledge, narrowly avoiding the "fire" that the occultists use to intimidate their victims.

The journey to the north The girls travel to Isle Royale by airplane, where the mystery deepens into a search for gold hidden beneath a frozen lake. They decipher cryptic signs and survive the harsh winter, finding that the wilderness tests their character in ways the city never could.

The final mystery After retrieving the treasure and restoring a family, the girls attempt to revisit a mysterious benefactor, only to find she has vanished. Florence realizes that some things in life defy logical explanation, choosing to let the final puzzle remain a beautiful, unanswerable secret.

The People

Florence Huyler is the book’s tactical brain. She views the world through a lens of skepticism and duty, constantly measuring people against her own moral code. She is physically capable and fearless, yet her growth comes from learning that not every mystery requires a rational explanation.

Petite Jeanne is the heart of the adventure. A "sparrow" of the city, she is defined by her restlessness and her empathy. Her desire for excitement drives the plot forward, but her genuine care for others—like the starving moose or the struggling violinist Tum Morrow—transforms her from an observer into a guardian of the vulnerable.

Tum Morrow is the talented, down-on-his-luck musician who represents the plight of the artist. He is humble, self-deprecating, and trapped in a cycle of poverty until Jeanne and her friends facilitate his big break. His inclusion highlights the theme that hidden talent requires only a platform to shine.

John Travis is the missing father whose recovery anchors the book’s emotional stakes. He is a man of substance and wealth, yet his temporary loss serves as a mirror for the girls’ own feelings of being "lost" in a difficult, changing world.

In Its Own Voice

"Florence did not so much as allow the yielding door to make a sound; she turned the knob as one imagines a robber might turn the dial of a safe—slowly, silently."

Florence’s careful, cat-like entry into the mysterious office building establishes her as a cautious but determined investigator.

"The building was old, might at any time be wrecked to make parking space for cars; the elevator, as she came up, had swayed and teetered like a canary bird’s cage on a coiled spring."

This description of the decaying Chicago architecture grounds the reader in the specific, precarious reality of the 1930s.

What It's Really About

At its core, this story is a meditation on the tension between cold, rational investigation and the inexplicable nature of grace. Florence and Jeanne navigate a world where fraud is rampant, yet they are constantly confronted by moments—the "little lady in gray," the intuitive connection to the wilderness—that logic cannot account for. It explores the idea that during "troublous times," human beings rely on their daydreams and their moral compasses to survive. Ultimately, it argues that while the world is full of "cheats" and "frauds," the existence of genuine, quiet goodness is the only thing that makes the adventure of living worthwhile.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy vintage juvenile mysteries will find this a charming, if occasionally stiff, window into a bygone era. It captures the specific, restless spirit of the 1930s, where modern technological progress—like airplanes—coexists with the lingering shadows of urban superstition. The prose is functional and direct, occasionally punctuated by moments of genuine, descriptive beauty when the setting shifts to the isolation of Lake Superior.

One should be prepared for the period’s attitudes and occasional reliance on stereotypes regarding Romani people and other groups, which reflect the sensibilities of the time rather than modern perspectives. The narrative rhythm is fast-paced, jumping between locations with a breathless urgency that expects the reader to keep up. It is not a deep psychological study, but it is a warm, unpretentious story about young women taking charge of their own destinies. If you are looking for a straightforward, optimistic tale where the "good guys" win and the mysteries are solved with pluck and ingenuity, this book remains a satisfying experience. It lingers in the mind not as a complex puzzle, but as a cozy, snowy, and adventurous memory of a time when the world felt just mysterious enough to be worth exploring.