The Motor Boys Across the Plains; Or, The Hermit of Lost Lake

Three boys, an old professor, and a motor car venture into the wild American West in this zippy adventure from 1910. Bob, Ned, and Jerry pile into their automobile with Professor Snodgrass for what should be a straightforward journey across the plains, but trouble finds them immediately: a smashup with an ox cart in Mexico, a cabin full of snakes, and a mysterious hermit who seems to be hiding something. The real danger arrives when they learn that young Tommy Bell has been kidnapped by a ruthless gang, beaten and held in a hidden ravine while criminals try to force his father to hand over money. The boys must use their car, their wits, and their courage to pull off a rescue before it's too late. Filled with hairsbreadth escapes, mechanical mishaps, and the wide-eyed wonder of an era when automobiles were still miraculous contraptions, this is old-fashioned adventure fiction at its most exuberant: boys being brave, machines being temperamental, and the open road promising excitement just over the next hill.