The Reivers

To reveal too much of the plot would be a discourtesy to the reader, for this is a book which moves on the wheels of breathless suspense. It may be said, however, that one day in 1905 eleven-year-old Lucius Priest—certain to become one of the most cherished striplings in literature—“borrowed” his grandfather’s automobile, with the tacit connivance of two older friends: the part-Indian Boon Hogganbeck and Ned William McCaslin, a Negro. In that nostalgic day, their ensuing expedition in the car from Jefferson, Mississippi to Memphis called for the fearless hardihood of pioneers. The account of the heroic trio’s journey is as exciting as it is hilarious—but it is just a pale prelude to the adventures that await them in Memphis.