[mgrunk]

I have a book that I read obsessively - can't remember the title or author and it's driving me crazy - it was a scholastic book that I got in the late 70's probably (yes I'm old :-) - it was about a brother and sister who's parents were killed and they were being chased. They set off on their own - meet a wood carver who gives them refuge until the bad guy catches up - she twists her ankle in a canyon and stays in a cave that has a natural fireplace flue. The forest they go through becomes absent of birds as they approach the fortress - it's full of kids that have been kidnapped and are being brainwashed by this black stone material that the building is made of. There is mention of a hieronymus bosch machine? She's put on a stronger brainwasher thing that looks like a giant black playpen - yeah! I found it via a post I placed this morning on abebooks.com - The Silver Crown.