Act 2, Scene 4 Summary

It is now five years later and the scene is set in the law offices of Stuart and Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois. It's a small office with a desk, a few chairs, and a bed in the corner. A law clerk named Billy Herndon is working at a table when Abe walks in and tells Billy that everything has gone fine on the circuit. Abe then sits down to sort through the letters and papers that have accumulated in his absence. Billy asks him if he's had a chance to make any political speeches while he was gone, and he tells him that he did deliver a few speeches and even ran into Steven Douglas and they had a public argument.

Billy tells Abe that he has received an invitation to speak at the League of Freemen's Abolitionist rally next week...