
Andy Nelson is a resourceful but homeless teenager who has bounced from one hard‑luck job to another. After rescuing a farmer’s child and proving his knack for tinkering, he lands a position as a hired boy in the bustling Talbot automobile garage. The garage, a newly refurbished paint‑shop on Princeville’s main street, is run by the demanding Seth Talbot, whose sharp eye and tight purse make every day a trial.
From his first shift, Andy finds himself at odds with Gus Talbot, the brash son of the garage owner, who tries to swindle a customer’s money. Refusing to be bullied, Andy’s strong sense of honor and his quick mechanical instincts set him apart. As he navigates the cramped lumber‑room quarters and learns the secrets of early automobiles, he discovers that his talent may open doors far beyond the soot‑covered floorboards.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (214K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Roger Frank, Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2011-06-12
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

A house name used for brisk, adventure-filled boys’ books in the early 1900s, this byline gathered stories from several writers working for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The result is a lively shelf of tales about school life, the outdoors, and young heroes finding their way.
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