Decky Jones and Fred, the engineer of the train that rushed past Decky's back yard at 3:49 every afternoon, had a secret. It was a wonderful secret, which Decky shared only with his friend, Rez Pandora. It made every day seem like Christmas, but suddenly Decky found he had to choose between either having the secret or helping his father save his delivery business, while his father worked on a war job at the mill.

Decky chose helping his father, so after school each afternoon and on Saturdays he and Rez made deliveries on their tandem bicycle. Many exciting things happened to Decky that almost made him forget his secret—going to a carnival with Rez and Art, the boarder, and hunting for Rez when she suddenly disappeared. But the loss of the secret bothered him, and he never gave up hope that sometime he and Fred, the engineer, would have it again. How they did made an exciting surprise, even for Decky.

From the dust jacket