The Motor Boys on The Pacific
is the eighth volume in the 22-volume Motor Boys series. The boys are back home in Cresville, MA, just outside Boston, from their adventures in Florida. Almost immediately, they get bad news: their beloved runabout, the Dartaway, which they shipped from Florida, was smooshed when the freight train wrecked. Alack and alas! When they get an invitation to visit friends in California, their school suddenly has to delay opening for the term and, as luck would have it, their odd naturalist friend, Professor Uriah Snodgrass is planning a similar trip. Off they go. And, to top it all off, the boys hear of a wrecked ship containing gold and valuable papers that carries a sizable reward but sizable dangers, as well.