In this remarkable and deeply moving story of the founding of the Spanish missions in California in the 1770's, Father Junipero Serra and Aptos, his favorite Indian convert, compete for the reader's interest with a balky mule and a determined pup.

Humor and pathos, mingled with a sympathetic understanding of the problems Father Junipero faced daily, present an accurate picture of the period, not only in California and in Mexico, but in the American colonies to the East, as told through the advent of a shipwrecked sailor, anxious to help in the fight for independence from British domination.

"As long as there are authors to write and children to read, the inspiring epic of the California missions will be part of our American heritage. In this book the soul of Father Serra goes marching on, along El Camino Del Real and the royal road of juvenile literature. Racial and religious tolerance find expression in Aptos, the Indian boy, and the young Yankee, Nat Carter. It is a privilege to recommend it." —Richard J. Hurley

From the dust jacket