The City of Fire by Grace Livingston Hill

In the mountain village of Sabbath Valley, fourteen-year-old Billy Gaston watches the world from Pleasant View station, earning a little money while his sharp eyes catch far more than train schedules. When a rough new freight agent begins making secretive calls and arranging an urgent night meeting, Billy follows him into the woods and uncovers a kidnapping plot aimed at wealthy young Laurence Shafton. Clever, wary, and never easily outmaneuvered, Billy even turns the conspirator's attempt to recruit him into a bargaining game, taking payment while keeping the upper hand. Against this backdrop of danger, the quiet home of the Severns is shaken by the return of Mark Carter, a proud, troubled young man whose love for Lynn still burns beneath his self-imposed distance. Their family's faith, kindness, and moral seriousness stand in stark contrast to the vanity and unease of a guest like Opal, while Billy's friendship with Mark hints at loyalty in the midst of trouble. As Mark lies awake in anguish, haunted by lost innocence and the books that once shaped his soul, the story becomes both a suspenseful mountain mystery and a moving drama of pride, regret, and the hope of redemption. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.