The Humming Precipice — Mary Sheppard

Flight from the past brought "Skippy" Schipton to the desolate mountain retreat of Wholly Land, only to face a more terrible nightmare than the one she was running from...

Child of Danger...

There was something vaguely sinister about Wholly Land, the tall, proud rock-pile of a house dominating the top of Laurel Mountain. But to Katherina "Skippy" Schipton, it was a welcome haven where she could forget her own tragedy and concentrate all her attention on a little girl who needed her. Six-year-old Laurie Budlong's mother and grandmother had both died of tuberculosis. Now Laurie had been attacked by the disease and her grandfather, Hank Blackburn -- still young and forcefully handsome -- was determined to see the child cheat death. But Skippy soon discovered that there was more for her to be concerned about at Wholly Land than the struggle against a dread disease. Ghostly lights in the supposedly deserted cliff-wing of the house and a midnight intruder who materialized mysteriously beside Laurie's bed -- and just as mysteriously vanished -- made her suspect that the child was the target of another, unknown, evil. But could she convince Hank that her fears were justified...before it was too late?

Nightwatcher...
"Hank!" The frightened cry in the night woke me. Laurie!"
Grabbing my robe I raced to the porch. She was standing up on her bed. "I want Hank!" she cried. "Somebody's trying to get me!"
I gathered her close. "Oh, no, they're not. You've been dreaming."
"I heard something...on the steps..."
"No, no it was just a dream," I insisted. "You get back in bed and I'll prove it."
As she slipped back under the covers, I went to the screen and looked down. The wind whipped the bush against the steps, but there was nothing else.
"It's all right, Laurie," I said, turning--and then I froze. Something had moved in the shadows below...!

Hero: Hank Blackburn
Heroine: Katherina "Skippy" Schipton