"The Valiant Runaways" by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton takes readers to a California near the turn of the century. Roldan Castanada is awaiting being drafted into the army, his cushioned and comfortable life soon to fall by the wayside in place of adventures and action on the front line. Unable to stomach the idea of being a coward, however, he takes on the challenge, but what he's about to face shakes him to his core.