But just then there came a long, deep whistle-blast, and one of the great white steamers began to move slowly away from the levee side. The carriage rolled up to the landing, and the coachman pulled the rearing horses to a stop. As Tad jumped out he saw a tall, awkward youth in homespun and deerskin waving to him from the forward rail of the upper deck. “Abe,” he cried, “wait! wait!” “Come back!” shouted his father, “I want to give you the reward.” And he held up a fat black wallet. One of Abe’s quaint grins overspread his homely face. “No,” he called back. “He was a good hand an’ earned his keep.” Tad ran forward to the edge of the levee and cupped his hands about his mouth. “Abe,” he yelled, “what’s your last name? I want to write to you.” “Lincoln,” the backwoods boy replied. “Jest send it to Gentryville. They’ll see that I git it.” Then with a clang of bells and a great splashing of foam as her paddles beat the water, the _Ohio Belle_ swung out into the current and headed upstream. And the last thing Tad saw was Abe picking up the little bear, Poke, in his arms, and waving one of the cub’s black paws in a comical good-by. _other books by STEPHEN W. MEADER_ THE BLACK BUCCANEER DOWN THE BIG RIVER LONGSHANKS RED HORSE HILL AWAY TO SEA KING OF THE HILLS LUMBERJACK THE WILL TO WIN AND OTHER STORIES WHO RIDES IN THE DARK? T-MODEL TOMMY BAT BOY WITH A PACK CLEAR FOR ACTION BLUEBERRY MOUNTAIN SHADOW IN THE PINES THE SEA SNAKE THE LONG TRAINS ROLL SKIPPY’S FAMILY JONATHAN GOES WEST BEHIND THE RANGES TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Italicized or underlined text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.