The Flying Mercury

A stranded limousine on a dark Long Island road brings Emily Ffrench into contact with Lestrange, a driver whose calm authority matches his skill behind the wheel. With his quick, outspoken assistant Rupert, he helps repair the car and arranges for Emily to reach home safely. Her cousin Dick, connected to the company that makes Mercury automobiles, finds himself drawn into the demanding world of racing and factory work.

Eleanor M. Ingram builds this romance around the machinery, speed and personal loyalties of automobile racing. The excerpts move from searchlights and a roadside tire change to a noisy workshop, where Lestrange urges Dick to take responsibility for the business. Their growing friendship gives the mechanical setting a human stake: courage means both handling danger and committing to useful work. Readers interested in early motoring fiction will find practical detail alongside brisk exchanges and the tensions of family expectations.