The Secret of the Red Flame (Aladdin Mystery)

JOZEF IS PLAYING A DANGEROUS GAME After Jozef loses the earnings from his family's butcher shop to a gang of street urchins, he vows to recover the money. Refusing to heed the warnings of his brother, an embittered, disabled Civil War veteran, he and his friends form a secret society to infiltrate the gangs that have been victimizing the Polish-American community in 1871 Chicago. To his surprise, Jozef finds himself in an uneasy friendship with Bridget, a member of one of the gangs. When Bridget is falsely arrested for the murder of a parish priest, Jozef knows the only way to save her is to find the real killer. As tinder-dry Chicago threatens to erupt in flames, Jozef, with the help of an unlikely ally, pursues a foe far more dangerous -- and evil -- than the homeless waifs who stole his family's cash. As a member of the Red Flame, Jozef Chapski works to disband the gangs of street urchins who have been causing great problems in the Polish merchant community, yet when the whole city of Chicago goes on fire, Jozef wonders if a certain street urchin he has been seeking is behind it all. Original.