Justin Robert's plans to climb all the mountains near his family's Fourth Lake camp before the summer is over hit a snag when he comes face-to-face with a coyote on the trail up Black Bear Mountain.
Justin and his friends become involved in a mystery when the staged robbery aboard the North Creek Museum train in the Adirondacks turns out to be real, and the robber makes off with a treasured watch given to Justin by his grandfather.
Ten-year-old Justin Robert, vacationing at his family's camp in the Adirondacks, becomes the champion of a pair of common loons that have taken up residence on Fourth Lake.