Brady Minton's trouble was that he couldn't keep a secret. He just naturally had to tell everything he knew.

After all, there were so many interesting things to talk about: his brother Matt had just been appointed a professor of history; his friend Range knew where the best trout fishing was; and something strange was going on at Drover's cabin.

That's what really started the trouble. Brady just had to tell about the runaway slaves he thought he saw at Drover Hull's cabin. The minute he said it, Brady could tell by the look on his father's face that he'd opened his mouth once too often again.

Slavery was something Brady Minton had never thought about at all. When he learned of his father's part in the slavery controversy, Brady wanted to help him, but he knew his father didn't trust him to keep a secret.

Jean Fritz has written a sympathetic, moving story of a young boy pre-Civil War days who was forced to make his own decision on the question of slavery, and who learned how important it can be to keep a secret.

From the dust jacket