Two girls, one about Sally's age,
the other about eight, stood behind her. The wagon was piled high with
furniture--more furniture than the Lincoln children had ever seen.
"Whoa, there!" Tom Lincoln pulled at the reins and brought the wagon to
a stop before the door.
"Here we are, Sarah." He jumped down and held out his hand to help the
woman.
She was very neat looking, tall and straight, with neat little curls
showing at the edge of her brown hood. She said, "Tsch! Tsch!" when she
saw Tom's children. She stared at their soiled clothing, their matted
hair, their faces smudged with soot. "Tsch! Tsch!" she said again, and
Abe felt hot all over in spite of the cold wind. He dug the toe of his
moccasin into the frozen ground.
"Abe! Sally!" their father said. "I've brought you a new mammy. This
here is the Widow Johnston. That is, she was the Widow Johnston." He
cleared his throat. "She is Mrs. Lincoln now. I've been back to Kentucky
to get myself a wife."
"Howdy!" The new Mrs. Lincoln was trying to sound cheerful. She beckoned
to the children in the wagon. They jumped down and stood beside her.
Pages:
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33