Motor Matt Makes Good

In Short

Part of a long-running series of early twentieth-century dime novels, this adventure follows the resourceful Motor Matt and his comrades as they operate the submarine Grampus. The crew finds themselves targeted by a secretive group known as the "Sons of the Rising Sun," who have stolen a rival submarine to intercept them. Blending technical jargon with the fast-paced tropes of the era, the book chronicles a series of underwater skirmishes and mechanical crises, ultimately celebrating the ingenuity and unwavering friendship of its titular hero as he secures a victory for his team.

The Story

The narrative opens off the coast of Chile, where Matt King, the youthful master of the submarine Grampus, finds his vessel shadowed by unseen enemies. While performing a routine lookout, Matt is suddenly snatched from the deck by a rope cast from a mysterious craft and hurled into the sea. He is quickly rescued—not by his friends, but by his own ingenuity; he manages to clamber onto a Whitehead torpedo that had been fired at the Grampus and rides the erratic, air-filled cylinder through the fog until he is eventually reunited with his crew.

The Grampus soon puts in at the port of Lota, where the boys encounter a frustrated French inventor, Captain Pons. Pons was tasked with delivering a French submarine, the Pom, to the Chilian government, only to have it stolen by a group of Japanese infiltrators. Matt and his companions, including the stalwart Canadian sailor Dick Ferral and the boisterous German-American Carl Pretzel, realize that their enemies—the Sons of the Rising Sun—are using this stolen vessel to pursue them. The conflict intensifies as the Grampus and the Pom play a dangerous game of cat and mouse along the rugged coastline.

The tension peaks when the Grampus crew discovers the Pom beached in a hidden cove, where the infiltrators are attempting to repair a salvaged torpedo. Matt leads a daring reconnaissance mission ashore, engaging the saboteurs in a series of desperate physical struggles. Though he is temporarily knocked unconscious, his bravery buys his friends enough time to regroup. In a final, climactic maneuver, the crew of the Grampus succeeds in outmaneuvering their rivals and reclaiming the stolen French vessel.

With the Pom secured, the boys turn their attention toward diplomatic resolution. They arrange a meeting with the Chilian naval officer Captain Sandoval, who has monitored their progress. The resolution is swift: the captured Pom is returned to its rightful guardian, Captain Pons, and the threat posed by the Sons of the Rising Sun is neutralized. The book concludes with the crew of the Grampus reflecting on their successful journey and the deep, hardened bonds of friendship formed in the crucible of their shared dangers. As they prepare for their eventual arrival in San Francisco, they look back on their victory not merely as a mechanical achievement, but as the triumph of their collective spirit against persistent, shadowy foes.

How It Unfolds

The missing captain After Matt vanishes from the deck during a foggy night, his crew is left in a state of frantic despair. They frantically search the waters while Matt, having survived a fall into the ocean, maneuvers a rogue torpedo to safety.

The port of Lota The group arrives in Lota to find a local political and naval entanglement involving a stolen French submarine. They learn that the Japanese infiltrators are using this second boat to target them, prompting a shift from passive travel to active defense.

The cove skirmish Following a narrow escape from a shark, Dick locates the hidden Pom and its crew. Matt leads a ground assault against the infiltrators, showcasing his physical prowess and ability to outrun and outfight his opponents in rough terrain.

The final confrontation The crew of the Grampus faces a critical moment when a tow line breaks and leaves them vulnerable. By retreating into their own vessel and sealing the hatches, they outlast the infiltrators, eventually emerging to turn the stolen boat over to the authorities.

A safe arrival With the Pom returned to Captain Pons, the boys secure the respect of the Chilian naval command. They conclude their journey with a sense of relief and camaraderie, looking toward their final destination with pride in their successful mission.

The People

Matt King (Motor Matt) is the central figure, a boy possessed of extraordinary mechanical skill and cool-headed leadership. His primary goal is the safe transit of the Grampus, and he faces constant harassment from saboteurs who view him as an obstacle to their secret designs. He ends the story as he begins it: the steady, reliable heart of the team.

Carl Pretzel serves as the group’s boisterous, humorous anchor. He is fiercely loyal to Matt and constantly voices his pride in his American identity while maintaining a thick, stereotypical dialect. His desire is to return home to the United States, and he evolves from a wide-eyed participant into a seasoned, battle-hardened companion.

Dick Ferral is a young Canadian sailor who brings a sailor’s grit and superstition to the crew. He acts as the secondary scout and combatant, driven by his commitment to his chums. He grows from a rough-hewn sailor into a tactically minded officer, finding his confidence bolstered by the group's success.

Ensign John Henry Glennie provides the official connection to the U.S. Navy. Initially somewhat skeptical of the boys' non-traditional methods, his skepticism vanishes as he witnesses their effectiveness. By the end, he is fully integrated into their inner circle, viewing them as true comrades.

In Its Own Voice

"The Grampus was proceeding slowly northward along the Chilian coast."

This sets the scene for the early part of the journey, where the crew is unaware of the danger lurking in the fog.

"Matt, remembering the two rifles he had seen on the beach, had no intention of waiting for the other two Japs to reach the scene."

This highlights Matt's tactical mindset during his desperate confrontation with the saboteurs on the shore.

What It's Really About

The book explores the triumph of individual ingenuity over institutional rigidness and malicious secrecy. Matt is a self-made authority, relying on his own mechanical knowledge rather than formal command structures to solve problems. The narrative argues that personal loyalty and moral clarity are the ultimate defenses against those who hide behind masks or secret agendas. It also touches on a budding sense of national pride, as the characters navigate foreign waters while holding tight to the values of their home. Beneath the surface of the adventure, the book poses a question about the nature of responsibility: whether it belongs to the official, like the bumbling Captain Pons, or to the one who can actually make the machine work.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy "boy inventor" narratives or historical mechanical fiction will find this a charming, if dated, window into a specific era of American juvenile literature. It captures the spirit of early 1900s adventure, where progress, technology, and sheer "pluck" were seen as the defining traits of the next generation. The mechanical descriptions—though often simplified for a young audience—have a nostalgic, tactile quality that reflects a pre-digital fascination with engines and gears.

However, the reader must be prepared for the realities of its time. The text relies heavily on ethnic caricatures and "dialect" writing, particularly regarding the German and Japanese characters, which are products of a 1909 perspective and can feel jarring to modern sensibilities. The pacing is that of a weekly serial: fast, episodic, and occasionally repetitive, with dramatic cliffhangers that serve the format of a five-cent novel. If you can move past the period-specific attitudes, the book offers a brisk, earnest, and undeniably optimistic look at the "motor boys" archetype. It stays with you as a curious artifact of a time when the world seemed vast, unexplored, and ripe for any teenager with a wrench and a sense of adventure to conquer.