Young Stephen Tolman disobeys his father and takes the family car out for a ride with a group of classmates, resulting in scratches and dings, not to mention running out of gas. Will he confess to the deed? Meanwhile, Stephen travels with his father to New York, getting into misadventures and learning the history of travel by rail and by steam along the way. Book 2 of the Invention Series. (Summary by Brian Keenan)