The Racer Boys on the Prairies by Clarence Young
The Racer Boys on the Prairies opens as Frank and Andy Racer return to Riverview Hall for the spring term, greeted enthusiastically by their chums Jack Sanderson, Ward Platt, John North, Duke Yardly, and Donald Burgess. Andy demonstrates a wrestling trick he learned over vacation, and the boys notice a mysterious new Freshman, William "Billy" Chase, who seems perpetually afraid of being followed or attacked. That night the boys stage an elaborate hazing prank, disguising themselves as masked robbers to "hold up" their fellow Sophomores and the Freshmen. In the confusion, Frank accidentally confronts the real Billy Chase in the hallway, and Billy reacts with startling ferocity, believing himself genuinely attacked, before recognizing Frank and explaining it away as nerves. Frank and Andy notice a lame, black-bearded stranger watching Billy during baseball practice, causing Billy to abruptly quit the game and flee. Later, while returning from town, Frank and Andy discover Billy unconscious in a lane, having been struck down by an assailant. Billy reveals he is protecting a valuable legal document for his uncle, Richfield Thornton, a Kansas rancher engaged in a bitter dispute over water rights and a piece of land called Golden Peak, which a man named Sam Shackmiller and his associates also claim. Billy explains his uncle is building a dam to create an irrigation lake, and Golden Peak—rumored to hold a lost treasure—sits in the disputed strip blocking completion of the dam. After Billy nearly drowns when a rotten tree limb breaks while he's fishing (Frank and Andy pull him from the river in time), Billy receives word that his uncle urgently needs help back in Kansas. He invites Frank and Andy to accompany him to the Double X ranch near Sageville. With their parents' permission secured, the trio departs by train, surviving a serious railroad wreck en route in which Shackmiller himself is critically injured in a boiler explosion. Arriving at the ranch, the boys are welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Thornton, the foreman Archie Lynch, and the Chinese cook Sing Lee. They learn the dam is nearly complete except for the disputed strip leading to Golden Peak. Riding out to investigate a suspicious wagon, they are confronted and turned away by armed men guarding the contested land. A sudden cyclone strikes the ranch, and afterward the boys find an injured man who appears to be Shackmiller—but he claims to be Bruce, Shackmiller's twin brother, searching for Sam. Despite suspicions, he is given shelter, but that night he vanishes, stealing the crucial legal document from Thornton's desk. A pursuit fails to catch him, so Thornton decides to finish the dam and flood the valley regardless, asserting possession as his best legal recourse. Before the flooding begins, Frank, Andy, and Billy ride to Golden Peak to search for the rumored treasure before it disappears underwater. After days of fruitless digging and one encounter with an unseen intruder, Andy accidentally falls into a hidden cave, where the boys discover a genuine gold vein, apparently the source of the old prospector's original strike. They extract a substantial quantity of ore before the vein runs out and a chasm blocks further exploration, while a cloudburst traps them safely inside the cave. They begin packing the gold for transport back to the ranch.
By Clarence Young · First published 1916 · Genre: Adventure, Coming-of-age, Mystery · 30 chapters · 64,165 words
First lines
"Say, there are the Racer boys back!"
"That's great! Now the fun will start!"
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Genres
- Adventure — The narrative is driven by physical action: hazing stunts, a masked robbery prank, attacks and pursuit by a lame man, drowning rescue, and continuous excitement throughout.
- Coming-of-age — The story centers on teenage boys navigating friendship, school life, personal development, and moral choices during their formative years at boarding school.
- Mystery — A central plot thread involves solving the mystery of Billy Chase's fearful behavior, the identity and motives of the lame man, and the nature of his uncle's secret business dealings.
- School Story — The entire narrative unfolds within the boarding school setting at Riverview Hall, with dormitory life, classes, student relationships, and school authority figures as constant elements.
Tags
boarding school · brothers · mystery · adventure · baseball · wrestling · pranks · disguise · hazing · humorous · athletics · coming-of-age
What this Textopian page supports
The Racer Boys on the Prairies is listed on Textopian as a novel by Clarence Young, dated 1916 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Clarence Young
- Date: 1916 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Adventure, Coming-of-age, Mystery, School Story, Young Adult Fiction
- Length: 64,165 words
- Structure: 30 chapters, 1,794 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Racer Boys on the Prairies by Clarence Young
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Contents
- "what is he Afraid of?"
- Planning the Hazing
- A Needless Alarm
- A Mysterious Man
- A Strange Attack
- Billy Tells Something
- News from the West
- A Thrilling Rescue
- The Invitation
- Off for the West
- A Railroad Smash
- The Man who Limped
- The Relief Train
- Forward Again
- On the Prairies
- "we are being Followed!"
- At the Ranch
- Mr. Thornton is Worried
- Warned Away
- The Black Cloud
- The Injured Man
- The Missing Paper
- The Chase
- Off to Golden Peak
- Camping Out
- The Cloudburst
- Getting out the Gold
- The Rising Water
- Marooned
- The End of Golden Peak