This second book in the series whisks readers, along with Katie and her cousin Imogen, back in time to the wild American frontier of 1828. In a world teeming with dangers, from renegade Indian warriors to horse thieves and bandits, Katie and Imogen team up with a young half-Cherokee Indian Wattie to survive. But Wattie's village is under attack, and at the heart of the Cherokees' troubles is a stolen stone: the legendary Serpent Stone. Embarking on a dangerous river voyage to solve the mystery of the stone could save Wattie's home. But Katie has a hunch that the quest might also lead her to discover who is behind the time-portal paintings. This middle-grade young adventurer's mystery has been heralded "The Huckleberry Finn for our times ... a paean both to a forgotten America and its enduring values." -- Readers of mysteries such as the series, wilderness adventures like , and time-slip and American historical tales will love .