Steve and the Steam Engine

by Sara Ware Bassett

While his father, mother, and sister Doris had been absent in New York for a week-end visit and Havens, the chauffeur, was ill at the hospital, the boy had taken the big sixcylinder car from the garage without anybody's permission and carried a crowd of his friends to Torrington to a football game. And that was not the worst of it, either. At the foot of the long hill leading into the village the mighty leviathan so unceremoniously borrowed had come to a halt, refusing to move another inch, and Stephen now sat helplessly in it, awaiting the aid his comrades had promised to send back from the town. What an ignominious climax to what had promised to be a royal holiday! Steve scowled with chagrin and disappointment. The catastrophe served him right. Unquestionably he should not have taken the car without asking. He had never run it all by himself before, although many times he had driven it when either his father or Havens had been at his elbow. It had gone all right then. What reason had he to suppose a mishap would befall him when they were not by? It was infernally hard luck!

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Sara Ware Bassett (1872 – 1968) was a prolific American author of fiction and nonfiction. Her novels primarily deal with New England characters, and most of them are set in two fictional Cape Cod villages she created, Belleport and Wilton.
(Source: en.wikipedia.org)

Reviews

[Jennifer Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just needs more action

For an early attempt in children's lit, it was not bad. It could be spiced up with a little more action than boardroom talk.

[Mark Rabideau · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story-line of this novel is not as well constructed and interesting as others in the series. Having said that the narrator provided by Librivox (Brian Keenan) is excellent.