"Here I
was thinking how grown up you were getting to be. Now you be acting like
a young one again."
Abe kissed her on the cheek.
8
[Illustration]
Abe sat up late, holding his book close to the flickering flames in the
fireplace. As the rain drummed on the roof, his thoughts were far away.
He was with General Washington in a small boat crossing the Delaware
River on a cold Christmas night many years before. He was fighting the
battle of Trenton with a handful of brave American soldiers. They must
have wanted very much to be free, he decided, to be willing to fight so
hard and suffer so much.
"Isn't it getting too dark for you to see?" Sarah called sleepily.
"Yes, Mamma."
Carefully Abe placed the precious little volume between two logs in the
wall of the cabin. This was his bookcase. As he climbed into the loft he
wondered if the book told about the time George Washington became
President. He would have to wait until morning to find out.
He was up early. But his face grew pale when he reached for the book.
During the night the rain had leaked in on it through a crack in the
logs.
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