The Motor Pirate

A narrator who moves to the outskirts of a country town to learn motoring and pursue a courtship becomes drawn into a series of violent road hold-ups carried out by a mysterious motorized outlaw. Local tensions, including rivalry with an attractive newcomer, intersect with escalating crimes that include robbery, murder, and a baffling disappearance. The narrator is arrested, then collaborates with an investigating inspector while participating in reconnaissance, ambushes, a risky burglary, and armed confrontations in pursuit of leads. Wounds, rescues, and mounting clues lead to final revelations about the outlaw's identity and motives, and a resolving of personal loyalties complicated by a romantic subplot.