“Mother!” Whenever Abe said the word,
he was thinking of both Nancy and Sarah.
Sarah was waiting by the window. A tall man in
a high silk hat came striding up the path.
“Abe! You’ve come!” She opened
the door and looked up into the sad, wise face.
“Of course, Mother.” He gave her
the kind of good bear hug he had given her when he
was a boy. “I am leaving soon for Washington.
Did you think I could go so far away without saying
good-by?”
The word spread rapidly that he was there. One
after another the neighbors dropped in, until the
little room was crowded. As he sat before the
fireplace, talking with all who came, Sarah seemed
to see, not a man about to become President, but a
forlorn-looking little boy. She had loved that
little boy from the moment she first saw him.
He had always been a good son to her—a
better son than her own John.
When the last visitor had gone, she drew her chair
closer. It was good to have a few minutes alone
together.
“Abe,” she told him, “I can say
what scarcely one mother in a thousand can say.”
He looked at her inquiringly.
“You never gave me a cross word in your life.
I reckon your mind and mine, that is—”
she laughed, embarrassed, “what little mind I
had, seemed to run together.”
He reached over and laid a big hand on her knee.
She put her wrinkled, work-hardened hand on his.
When the time came to say good-by, she could hardly
keep the tears back. “Will I ever see you
again?” she asked. “What if something
should happen to you, Abe? I feel it in my heart—”
“Now, now, Mother.” He held her close.
“Trust in the Lord and all will be well.”
“God bless you, Abraham.”
[Illustration]
He kissed her and was gone. “He was the
best boy I ever saw,” she thought, as she watched
him drive away.
Growing up in southern Indiana, not far from where
Abraham Lincoln spent his boyhood, Frances Cavanah
has always had a special interest in Lincoln and the
people who knew him. Furthermore, she is recognized
today as one of America’s leading writers of
historical books for boys and girls. She has
written many books for young people and has also been
associate editor of Child Life Magazine.
One of her most interesting and beautiful books is
OUR COUNTRY’S STORY, a fascinating introduction
to American history, told in terms simple enough for
children under nine. Miss Cavanah now lives in
Washington, D.C., and devotes all of her time to writing.
Paula Hutchison was born in Helena, Montana, and attended
schools in the State of Washington until she came
east to attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
After graduating, she studied for several years in
Paris, London, and Florence and made painting trips
to Cornwall, the English lake district, and Scotland.
She now lives in a small town on the New Jersey shore
where she and her husband have a six-acre farm, on
which she has her studio. Miss Hutchison has illustrated
a great many books for children and has also illustrated
a number which she has written herself.
