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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What matters more on the track: beating a rival or keeping your sense of fair play?
Fred Fenton on the Track brings you into the school world of Fred Fenton, where sport gives friendship, courage and honesty a testing ground. Published under the name Allen Chapman, this boys’ sports story belongs to a tradition of training days, team rivalry and the pull of a big contest.
The appeal reaches beyond the race itself. This is the world of the old-fashioned school story, where hard practice matters and rivalry puts character under pressure. Fred stands at the heart of a tale shaped by games and friendships, with direct storytelling and short chapters that invite you to keep reading.
What you’ll discover
- Sport with something at stake Explore a school world where competition brings questions of honesty and fair play into focus.
- The pull of rivalry Feel the tension that makes a sporting contest more than a test of speed.
- Courage in everyday choices Consider the courage of hard practice, speaking up and standing by a friend.
- Friendship beside the track Discover the place of friendship in a school story built around games and competition.
- A story that moves Enjoy direct prose and short chapters that keep the next page within easy reach.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like school sports stories, friendly rivalries, young sleuths who solve puzzles with footprints and good sense, and heroes who win by kindness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Running opens into a mystery
- Fred acts when someone needs help
- Help reveals an unexpected connection
- A disappearance threatens the team's hopes
- Careful attention gives the search direction
- A fair rival becomes a partner
- Rescue gives way to fresh danger
- Fair play and kindness build bonds
- Fred's strength is how he responds
Who’s who
- Fred FentonA modest, clear-thinking Riverport schoolboy and long-distance runner who helps others while quietly worrying about his family's Alaska mine claim.
- Bristles CarpenterFred's loyal, talkative friend with upright hair, quick to rush in with a club and always ready for a joke.
- ColonRiverport's long-legged star sprinter, who hops like a kangaroo and is expected to win the short races.
- Gabe LarkinsThe butcher's delivery boy, once a thief, now trying to change his ways and still longing to run.
- Buck LemingtonThe Squire's bullying son, who holds a long grudge against Fred and will go far to spoil his rivals' chances.
- Felix WagnerMechanicsburg's track captain and best short-distance runner, a hard but fair rival who hates dirty tricks.
- Sarah MastersonA farmer's daughter, rescued from a well, who lives with her sick father and fears hard times.
- Brad MortonRiverport's anxious track captain, who plans every event and relies on Fred to win the long race.
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Fred Fenton on the Track
by Allen Chapman · 1913
Two runners hear a groan from a well, and a star sprinter vanishes the night before the big meet.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Two boys in running clothes jog down a dusty country road, joking about a sore toe. Within minutes they stop a runaway horse, hear a groan from an old well, and haul a frightened girl out of the dark.
Fred Fenton on the Track at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 40 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 38,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1913by Allen Chapman
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cross-country run meets a runaway horse
The book opens on an early fall day. Fred Fenton and his friend Andy Carpenter, called Bristles because of his upright hair, are in a cross-country run. Fred has stubbed his toe, so the two jog easily and talk. The long-legged sprinter Colon is far ahead.
Fred came to Riverport a year earlier. He is modest, cheerful and always ready to help a friend. Behind his smile is a worry he shares with almost no one. His father inherited a valuable mine in Alaska, rich investors want it, and the one witness who could settle the matter, Hiram Masterson, has been missing for months.
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Which edition is right for me
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1913
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Chapman, Allen. Fred Fenton on the Track. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/fred-fenton-on-the-track.
Chapman, A. (2026). Fred Fenton on the track. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fred-fenton-on-the-track (Original work published 1913)
Chapman, Allen. Fred Fenton on the Track. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fred-fenton-on-the-track.
@book{chapman2026fred,
author = {Chapman, Allen},
title = {Fred Fenton on the Track},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fred-fenton-on-the-track},
note = {First published 1913}
}
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What is Fred Fenton on the Track about?
It follows Riverport schoolboy Fred Fenton before and during a three-school athletic meet. A rescue at a well, a kidnapped sprinter, a haunted mill and a secret practice run lead up to the five-mile road race.
Do I need to read the earlier Fred Fenton books first?
No. This is the fourth book in the series, but the opening chapter summarizes the earlier stories, so the plot, the Alaska mine claim and the main characters are easy to follow on their own.
Who is Bristles in Fred Fenton on the Track?
Bristles is the nickname of Andy Carpenter, Fred's close friend. His hair sticks up, and he is cheerful, talkative and bold, always ready to charge in with a club while Fred plans.
The author
Allen Chapman
1974–? · American children's fiction house pseudonym
American soccer referee.
More by Allen Chapman
See all their booksMore like this
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