The Mysterious Grotto — Louise Bergstrom

Kim Stewart's view of Capri was seen from the steamer taking her and nineteen other teachers, on a summer tour of Europe, to the dock at the Marina Grande. She had not dreamed that Capri would be so mountainous, having the vision of flatter ground and palm trees instead of a volcanic island dotted with olive groves and cypresses planted by man.

One of the things Kim wanted to do on Capri was to look up Beth Carter Isacson, a girl from her boarding-school days who now resided, with her Swedish husband, Jan, on the island. But when Kim arrived at Casa Capriccio, she was told by a servant that Beth and Jan had gone back to Sweden. This in itself would not have concerned Kim if later, on a cruise around Capri, she had not spotted what looked exactly like Jan's double standing on the terrace of the villa.

Intrigued, and somewhat apprehensive, Kim revisited the villa and met the man who so closely resembled Jan--his handsome hold brother, Arne. Kim also met Arne's ailing mother, who had been born in America and who took an immediate liking to Kim, insisting that she stay at the Casa Capriccio as her part-time companion.

Even in Arne had not voiced his disapproval of this arrangement, and even if the legend of the grotto beneath the villa were not so fascinating, Kim was prepared to come to Casa Capriccio--for she could not shake the feeling that with every precious moment she was moving closer to her destiny.