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[Illustration: THE BEAR WAS TRYING TO CLIMB UP ON THE ENGINE HOOD.]


THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS

Or

The Hermit of Lost Lake

by
CLARENCE YOUNG

Author of "The Motor Boys," "The Motor Boys Overland,"
"The Motor Boys in Mexico," "Jack Ranger's Schooldays," etc.

Illustrated







New York
Cupples & Leon Co.


      *      *      *      *      *      *

BOOKS BY CLARENCE YOUNG

=THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES=

(_Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Of._)

12mo. Illustrated

Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid

  THE MOTOR BOYS
    Or Chums Through Thick and Thin

  THE MOTOR BOYS OVERLAND
    Or A Long Trip for Fun and Fortune

  THE MOTOR BOYS IN MEXICO
    Or The Secret of the Buried City

  THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS
    Or The Hermit of Lost Lake

  THE MOTOR BOYS AFLOAT
    Or The Stirring Cruise of the Dartaway

  THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE ATLANTIC
    Or The Mystery of the Lighthouse

  THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS
    Or Lost in a Floating Forest

  THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE PACIFIC
    Or The Young Derelict Hunters

  THE MOTOR BOYS IN THE CLOUDS
    Or A Trip for Fame and Fortune


=THE JACK RANGER SERIES=

12mo. Finely Illustrated

Price per volume, $1.00, postpaid

  JACK RANGER'S SCHOOLDAYS
    Or The Rivals of Washington Hall

  JACK RANGER'S WESTERN TRIP
    Or From Boarding School to Ranch and Range

  JACK RANGER'S SCHOOL VICTORIES
    Or Track, Gridiron and Diamond

  JACK RANGER'S OCEAN CRUISE
    Or The Wreck of the Polly Ann

  JACK RANGER'S GUN CLUB
    Or From Schoolroom to Camp and Trail

      *      *      *      *      *      *


  Copyright, 1907, by
  CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                               PAGE
      I. RAMMING AN OX CART               1
     II. A NEST OF SERPENTS              11
    III. THE DESERTED CABIN              20
     IV. NEWS FROM THE MINE              30
      V. TROUBLE AHEAD                   39
     VI. ON A STRANGE ROAD               46
    VII. THE RESCUE OF TOMMY BELL        55
   VIII. PURSUED BY ENEMIES              65
     IX. INTO THE CAVE                   72
      X. ATTACKED BY A COUGAR            81
     XI. A RUNAWAY AUTO                  90
    XII. TOMMY FINDS A FRIEND            98
   XIII. THE <DW52> MAN'S GHOST        107
    XIV. TROUBLE WITH A BAD MAN         117
     XV. THE STORY OF LOST LAKE         127
    XVI. A LONELY CABIN                 135
   XVII. THE INDIAN AND THE AUTO        144
  XVIII. LOST LAKE FOUND                152
    XIX. THE GHOST OF THE LAKE          161
     XX. THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN           169
    XXI. THE DEN OF THE HERMIT          175
   XXII. A REVELATION                   185
  XXIII. SEARCHING FOR THE HERMIT       195
   XXIV. THE HERMIT'S IDENTITY          203
    XXV. ATTACKED BY THE ENEMY          212
   XXVI. ON THE ROAD AGAIN              221
  XXVII. TROUBLE AT THE MINE            227
 XXVIII. ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL      237




PREFACE


_Dear Boys_:

Here it is at last--the fourth volume of "The Motor Boys Series," for
which so many boys all over our land have been asking during the past
year.

To those who have read the other volumes in this line, this new tale
needs no special introduction. To others, I would say that in the first
volume, entitled, "The Motor Boys," I introduced three wide-awake
American