The Sooner hound—so-called because 'he'd sooner run than eat'—could not bear to be parted from his master, the Boomer fireman. So when the Roadmaster said that no passengers were allowed in the cab, there was nothing for the Sooner to do but run along beside the train.

The Roadmaster didn't believe any dog could keep pace with his trains, and the Boomer knew his dog could outrun anything. What happened when the long-legged, lop-eared hound beat the freight, the local, and the express, and was finally matched against the Cannon Ball, is an exciting and humorous story taken from the collection of tall tales that grew up in the West with the expansion of the railroad.

Arna Botemps is the author of Sad-Faced Boy and other books for children.

The full-color illustrations are by Virginia Lee Burton, author-illustrator of Choo Choo, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and other popular children's books.

From the dust jacket