"Abe has had as much schooling as he
needs."
Back at the cabin, Sarah had dinner on the table. Tom cheered up as he
and Dennis started "swapping yarns." Both were good storytellers and
each tried to tell a better story than the other.
Abe did not like being left out of the conversation. "Pa," he asked,
"can you answer me a question about something in the Bible?"
"I figure I can answer any question you got sense enough to ask."
Johnny and Mathilda nudged each other. They knew what was coming. One
day when the preacher stopped by, Abe had asked him the same question.
The preacher had been downright flustered when he couldn't answer.
"It's just this, Pa," Abe went on. "Who was the father of Zebedee's
children?"
Tom flushed. "Any uppity young one can ask a question. But can he answer
it? Suppose _you_ tell _me_ who was the father of Zebedee's children?"
"I sort of figured," said Abe, "that Zebedee was."
Everyone was laughing except Tom. Then he laughed, too. Sarah was glad.
Abe had told her that Mr. Swaney was at church. She was going to talk to
her husband that very afternoon about sending the children to school,
and she wanted him to be in a good humor.
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