A slender missile, fire streaming from its tail, rose majestically into the blue sky over the waters of Cape Kennedy. Suddenly it exploded into a thousand pieces, showering the ocean and beaches with debris. This was the first sight to greet the Hollisters on their arrival in Florida for a visit with their cousins, Sharon and Randy Davis. Anxious to help Uncle Walt, a rocket expert at Patrick Air Force Base, they join in the search for the rocket's nose cone, which is lost among the debris. The payload lodged in the nose cone is a very special "treasure," for on it depends on the success of future launchings.
The holiday becomes an adventure when their new friend, Lady Rhesus, the space monkey, is stolen and they discover that her tracks lead to a fisherman's beach shack. The secretive manner of the fisherman, plus a strange encounter with his friend, leads Pete to suspect that they are engaged in something more villainous than stealing a monkey. When he finds that their boat is equipped with a powerful radar device for deep-sea exploration, he is certain From then on the Hollisters race against time to find the three-million-dollar payload first.
This new story should be an excellent addition to the series since it brings the Hollisters into the headline-making news of Cape Kennedy.
Paperback; 173 pages with 19 illustrations.