A Measure of the Earth

Appalling secrets lie beneath the civility of a small town. Two boys joined in an unlikely alliance confront a world of body snatching, terror, and murder.

Nathan Pickerel's hilarious difficulties adjusting to a new school lessen after Floyd Singletary, a gifted outcast, befriends him. The two boys hear tales from an old widow that set them on an exploration of Nathan's new home – an ancient two-story house full of secrets. In an attempt to find money hidden in the house they soon turn up a mummified corpse in a retaining wall in the basement and expose themselves to sinister forces that have remained out of sight since the 1930s.

In a showdown between the boys and a sadistic family of grave robbers who feel they have a right to the missing money, Nathan is kidnapped and faced with torture. Floyd, unable to enlist the help of the police because of his reputation as living in a fantasy world, saves Nathan through cunning and bravery. But Floyd is later convicted of murder. Only Floyd's brilliance and Nathan's loyalty eventually save him.