Just think, folks, this Pigeon Creek had
no one but Indians living here a few years back. And today we got cabins
with smoke coming out of the chimneys. We got crops agrowing. We got a
meeting house where we can come together and praise the Lord--"
Abe paused.
"Amen!" said Tom.
"Amen!" said the others.
"Don't forget," Abe went on, "all of this was the Lord's doing. Let us
praise Him for His goodness."
He reached down, plucked a fistful of grass, and mopped his forehead. In
much the same way had the preacher used his bandanna handkerchief. The
Lincoln family rose, sang "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow," and
church was over.
The young folks drifted away. Tom stretched out on the grass for his
Sunday afternoon nap.
"Abe tells me that new Mr. Swaney was at church," Sarah said.
Tom opened his eyes. Before he had a chance to go back to sleep, she
spoke again.
"He's fixing to keep a school next winter."
"So I hear," said Tom cautiously.
"He charges seventy-five cents for each scholar. Some schoolmasters
charge a dollar."
"Sounds like a lot of money."
"Several of the neighbors are fixing to send their young ones," Sarah
went on.
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