Read Abe Lincoln at Last!: A Merlin Mission for Free Online Page B

thought, but Sam couldn’t have been more than seven or eight at the time.
    “We did as best we could with the furniture,” Sam said with a laugh. “Someday we’ll do better.”
    “It’s not bad,” said Jack. He looked at the cabin with new eyes. It seemed like a miracle now—everything made by hand, without the help of machines or even nails.
    “You make all your own food, too, don’t you?” asked Annie.
    “ ’Course,” said Sam. “We have our crops, and Pa hunts for our meat, or he did when he was here.”
    “I wouldn’t be a good hunter,” said Annie.
    “Me neither,” said Jack.
    “Me neither,” said Sam. “I shot a turkey once. Then I took a good hard look at the bird. I was sotaken with its beauty, I ain’t pulled a trigger on a wild creature since. That’s why we haven’t had any meat since Pa left.”
    “Well, you do a great job making corn bread,” said Annie.
    “You sure do,” said Jack. He took his last bite, finished his milk, and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Okay. Now they had to look for the president. Through the cracks in the cabin, he could see it was getting darker.
    “Did you get all your chores done?” said Annie.
    “Nope. I ain’t worked in my Dilworth speller yet,” said Sam. “But I don’t really consider that a chore. It’s my favorite thing. You could say I have a great thirst for learnin’.”
    “So do we,” said Annie. “What’s your homework for today?”
    “Annie,” said Jack, trying to catch her eye.
    “Hold on, I’ll get the speller that Sarah brought me from school and show you.” Sam crossed the room and scrambled up to the loft. “The lesson Istudied this morning is parts of speech,” he called down.
    “We have to go,” Jack whispered to Annie.
    “We can’t hurt his feelings,” whispered Annie. “Just let him show us the speller.”
    “But we have a mission—” Jack started.
    “Here it is!” said Sam, climbing down from the loft. He grinned at them and held up a tattered book. “Would you mind giving me a little test?”

CHAPTER TEN
Readin’ and Writin’
    “W e don’t mind,” said Annie.
    “Annie,” said Jack.
    But Sam opened the speller and handed it to Annie. “Parts of speech,” he said.
    “Okay,” Annie said. “What is a conjunction?”
    Sam bit his lip. “Let’s see … a conjunction is a part of speech that joins words and sentences together,” he said. “Some conjunctions are
and
,
but
, and
because
.”
    “Perfect!” said Annie.
    “Yes, perfect,” said Jack. “Here’s an example: Jack wants to leave,
but
Annie is ignoring him.”
    “Good example,” said Annie. “What is an interjection?” she asked Sam.
    “That’s a part of speech that expresses a sudden passion of the mind,” said Sam, “such as ‘Alack!’ or ‘Alas!’ or ‘Fie!’ ”
    “Good,” said Annie, laughing, “except Jack and I don’t use interjections like those. We express a passion of the mind by saying things like ‘Oh, man!’ or ‘Oh, wow!’ or ‘Whoa!’ ”
    “Yes, that’s right,” said Jack, glaring at Annie. “Like ‘Oh, man, time is running out!’ Or ‘Oh, wow, the sun is going down!’ Or ‘Whoa, we have a mission to complete!’ ”
    Annie laughed again. “Right, that’s how we use our interjections,” she said to Sam. “What else is in your book?”
    “Spelling and grammar rules,” said Sam. “And quotes from the Bible and fables.”
    “Cool,” said Annie.
    Sam closed his speller. “I only wish I had more books,” he said. “Anyone who’ll give me a book is my best friend. I’ll walk miles to borrow it.”
    “Jack would, too,” said Annie. “And Jack and I both love to write, too. Don’t we?” She looked at Jack.
    “Yes, we do,” said Jack, sighing.
    “Oh, I do, too!” said Sam. “Neither my pa nor my ma ever learned to write. But I love it. I write words in the dust or the sand, even in the snow. I write them in the dirt floor with a stick.” Sam laughed. Jack