When the Motor Boys - cowboy Joe McGlory and his best friend, Matt King, known around the country as "Motor Matt" - discover that Joe is about to come into a fortune from an Arizona gold mine, it's all the boys can do to fend off a gang of ne'er-do-well hustlers in 1909 New York City. Kidnapped separately from in front of the Flatiron Building (yep, it was there then), Joe and Matt are taken by taxi and touring car to the crooks' hideout near Boston. It's a wild ride, complete with accidents, sexual revelations, chases, and knock-'em-on-the-head deceptions. At the gangsters' lair, the boys are held while the crooks (including a beautiful blonde disguised as a young boy) head back to New York to pose as McGlory and Matt and abscond with gold bars worth $10,000!

Can Joe and Matt escape the clutches of the gang in time to stall the bank executives from handing over the gold bullion? Thugs with guns guard the windows and doors; the car needed for an escape is locked behind iron gates. Should they escape, can Matt and Joe trust the local villagers for help? Is there anyone who will believe the boys' improbable story about gold mines, bullion, kidnapping, and skullduggery?

In this 1909 young adult thriller penned by Stanley R. Matthews, originally featured in the serial magazine Brave and Bold Weekly, the Motor Boys unite once again to fight off the bad guys while showcasing the fabulous world of the early 20th century. From motorcars that speed along at a breathtaking 25 miles per hour to discussions about heavier-than-air flight to the stock tickers of Wall Street linked to a gold mine in Tucson, A Taxicab Tangle: The Mission of the Motor Boys is in many ways as fresh and innocent as it was more than a century ago.