Jack Straw in Mexico: How the Engineers Defended the Great Hydro-Electric Plant

In Short

This brisk, high-stakes adventure novel captures the spirit of early twentieth-century “engineering fiction.” When the teenage protagonist, Jack Straw, travels to the isolated Necaxa power plant to deliver vital schematics, he finds himself trapped between revolutionary sabotage and a hunt for a mysterious traitor. Through a blend of technical ingenuity and physical courage, Jack helps protect the infrastructure that lights the national capital. It remains a compelling time capsule of a specific era, documenting the intersection of American industrial expansion and the turbulent, shifting politics of revolutionary-era Mexico.

The Story

The narrative begins at a Vermont preparatory school, where Jack Straw, a standout athlete and reliable student, is recruited by his principal for a delicate mission. The Necaxa hydro-electric plant in Mexico, a facility critical to the capital’s power supply, is struggling. Its chief engineer, Harry Ryder, has perfected a new lightning arrester but lacks the final chemical formula. Because the Mexican Revolution has rendered the postal system unreliable, Jack is tasked with delivering these sensitive blueprints by hand.

Upon arriving in Mexico, Jack is immediately thrust into a climate of profound suspicion. He is apprehended by suspicious customs officials and later detained as a potential spy by government secret service agents who fear his blueprints are military designs. After surviving a harrowing interrogation in a Mexico City barracks, Jack is eventually cleared and escorted to the secluded Necaxa plant.

The plant itself is a fortified industrial island surrounded by a wilderness roamed by Zapatista rebels. Inside the gates, however, the real threat is internal. Machinery is being sabotaged, generators are being clogged with sand, and lights are failing. Jack and Mr. Ryder realize a traitor is working from within the staff. Their investigation centers on a mysterious individual identified only by a deep, identifying scar on his heel, found in the dust near the site of various sabotages.

Tensions boil over when the blueprints go missing from Mr. Ryder's own desk. The situation at the plant shifts from industrial troubleshooting to open warfare as rebels bombard the facility with fieldpieces. During a climactic skirmish in the mountains, Jack and the plant's defenders engage in a pitched battle against a rebel leader named José Cerro. After the rebels are defeated in a desperate cavalry charge, Jack’s sharp observation proves critical. He realizes they have been tracking the wrong man; a second scar—on the opposite foot—points to the true culprit, Nedham, an assistant engineer. Confronted with the evidence and the weight of his own actions, Nedham confesses to the theft and sabotage. With the plant secured and the threat neutralized, Jack prepares to return to Vermont, having earned his mettle in the crucible of a foreign revolution.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Jack accepts the mission from his principal, feeling a surge of patriotic duty as he sails past the heavy harbor defenses of New York. His enthusiasm is checked upon arrival in Mexico, where his lack of Spanish and the possession of “mysterious” drawings make him an instant target for paranoid authorities.

Trapped in the capital Jack endures an uncomfortable train ride under guard and a night in a dark, stuffy military cell. He eventually wins his freedom through his calm demeanor and the intervention of his engineering contacts, who treat the entire ordeal as a common occupational hazard of the region.

Life at the fortress The Necaxa plant is described as a veritable fortress, complete with trenches, barbed wire, and rapid-fire guns to hold off encroaching guerrilla bands. Jack begins his patrol duties, navigating the social complexities of an American staff operating in a hostile, impoverished, and deeply divided landscape.

The hunt for the traitor A trap set for the saboteur leads to a discovery of a footprint with a scarred heel, but the theft of the blueprints complicates the mystery. Jack discovers that the man they have imprisoned for the crime is actually innocent, as he notes the discrepancy between the left- and right-footed scars.

A final confrontation The rebels launch an all-out assault, forcing the engineers and their rurale guard to fight for survival in the valley. After the rebel leader is routed, Jack helps apprehend the true saboteur, Nedham, who breaks down under the strain of his own guilt and illicit habits.

The People

Jack Straw acts as the quintessential reliable protagonist. He is brave, athletic, and observant, characterized by a unwavering loyalty to the engineers who trust him. Unlike the jaded adults around him, he retains a sense of idealism, though he is forced to grow up quickly in a world where "vultures" wait for the weak.

Harry Ryder is the seasoned, hard-nosed chief engineer of the Necaxa plant. He is a man of intense focus who views his responsibility to keep the lights on in Mexico City as a sacred duty, regardless of the political regime in power. He is prone to volatile outbursts of temper but possesses a grudging respect for Jack’s youthful courage.

Nedham, the assistant engineer, represents the internal rot at the facility. Distracted by the lure of illicit "pulque" and sympathetic to the revolutionary cause, he uses his position to undermine the plant's operation. His collapse at the end of the story serves as a stark contrast to the steady, disciplined resolve of his superiors.

Captain Alvarez leads the rurales—the local government guards—with a ruthless efficiency that Jack finds both necessary and unsettling. He is a man of few words who operates in a world where the outcome of a trial is often a firing squad, representing the violent political reality of the Mexican Revolution.

In Its Own Voice

"The mere sight of these embankments with the Stars and Stripes whipping in the breeze above them made the young Vermonter thrill with patriotism, and for the first time in his life he realized fully how glad he was that Yankee blood coursed through his veins."

(Jack reflects on his national identity while departing New York for Mexico.)

"The rurale says that every time the linemen’s peon goes to the village he smuggles in several jugs of the stuff."

(Mr. Ryder explains the source of the persistent indiscipline among the lower-level staff at the plant.)

"I have an idea that this is the man who stole your drawings and tried to wreck the plant."

(Jack confronts the true saboteur after realizing the clue of the scarred heel.)

What It's Really About

At its core, this is a story about the fragility of modern infrastructure in the face of political chaos. It explores the tension between technical progress and the "wilderness" of revolutionary upheaval. The book implicitly argues that the engineer is a neutral servant of society, but it acknowledges the moral cost of maintaining such neutrality when working for a corrupt or struggling government. It touches on the questions of what constitutes duty and whether one can truly remain apart from the conflicts of the land they inhabit. Ultimately, it suggests that reliability and physical courage are the essential currencies of a young man proving his place in an unpredictable, often dangerous world.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy historical adventure will find this a fascinating, if occasionally dated, window into the 1910s. It captures a specific American perspective on the Mexican Revolution—one that is undeniably biased and reflects the paternalistic, "gringo"-centric attitudes of the period. The prose is direct and action-oriented, mirroring the breakneck pace of the industrial progress the characters serve.

You will appreciate this book if you are interested in the history of technology or early twentieth-century genre fiction. It feels like a genuine artifact of its time, complete with the excitement of "modern" electric power and the anxieties of a world in flux. However, modern readers should be prepared for the period-typical, derogatory descriptions of the Mexican peon class, which are pervasive in the characters' dialogue. If you can read with a critical eye toward the attitudes of the 1914 author, you will find a compelling, fast-moving tale that highlights the high-stakes, "can-do" spirit of the era's engineering culture. It is a slim, brisk read that stays with you for its vivid, if narrow, portrayal of a forgotten industrial frontier.