But the Lincolns raised only enough for their own use. They never had
anything left over to sell. Nor could they afford to build a flatboat
for the long trip down the rivers.
"How come?" Sarah asked again.
Abe seized her around the waist and danced her across the floor. She was
out of breath but laughing when he let her go.
"Allen Gentry is taking a cargo of farm truck down to New Orleans to
sell," he explained. "His pa has hired me to help on the flatboat. Mr.
Gentry will pay me eight dollars a month. I reckon Pa will be pleased
about that."
Abe himself was pleased because he was going to see something of the
world. New Orleans was seven hundred miles away. It was a big and
important city. Sarah was pleased because this was the chance that Abe
had been wanting.
He had grown so tall that she had to throw back her head to look up at
him. "I'm right glad for you," she said.
12
[Illustration]
To a boy brought up in the backwoods, the trip down the rivers was one
long adventure. Abe sat at the forward oar, guiding the big flatboat
through the calm, blue waters of the Ohio, while Allen cooked supper on
deck.
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