Chapter 2 Thomas Lincoln

"Ready to go?" Bogg asked later that morning after they'd eaten.

They landed in a clearing beside a wide dirt path.

"Ow," Jeff exclaimed and pulled a stick out from under his leg.

Phineas Bogg glanced over at him and chuckled, "be glad it wasn't a skunk," he said philosophically.

Jeff's jaw dropped open, then a moment later he closed it and stood up. "Skunks are nocturnal, we wouldn't have landed on one now," he pointed out, moving his hand to point across the crude trail where the morning sun cast shadows of the trees.

"Raccoon then."

"They're nocturnal too," Jeff said smugly.

"Grizzly Bear!"

"Okay, I get it, there are worse things than a stick," Jeff answered.

"And I've seen plenty of skunks in the daylight," Bogg told him.

"Are you gonna find out where we are or are we gonna discuss animals all day?"

Bogg chuckled to himself as he unhooked the omni from his belt, thinking once again that Jeff's company was enjoyable. He looked at the device, "Hardin County, Kentucky, 1807, red light."

Suddenly they heard a crash and a horse whinny loudly. Bogg immediately moved toward the sound. Around a bend in the rough trail they saw a wagon overturned. The horse was thrashing around wildly, still connected to the wagon by a crude harness. Bogg held his hand out for Jeff to stop.

"Stay out of the way," he instructed, and ran to the pile of contents strewn on the ground. He quickly found a blade and cautiously made his way toward the horse.

"Ho, easy," he said softly. Luckily, the animal had stopped struggling to catch its breath, so keeping as far away from the hooves and back end of the horse as he could, he reached out and carefully severed the bit of harness that was caught under the wagon. Bogg backed away as the horse jumped to his feet and lunged away from the wagon, toward the woods.

Jeff edged toward the animal and spoke in a calm voice, finally taking hold of the reins and leading the horse down the road, trying to calm him. When they returned, he tied him to a tree in the shade, then hurried to where Bogg was lifting the wagon so the man could pull his leg out from under it. The reins were tangled around his ankle. He paused to stare at the broken axle and could see where one of the wheels had rolled off the track into a small gully, causing so much strain that the axle had snapped.

Bogg was kneeling beside the man who was struggling to sit up. "We'll help you, just rest a minute." He reached down and felt the man's leg, unwrapping the reins as he did, "it doesn't feel broken."

"I'm okay, but I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't come along. He might've killed me, with all his thrashing around." He paused and held out his hand, "thanks, I'm Thomas Lincoln."

Bogg shook his hand, "Phineas Bogg," then he motioned toward Jeff, "Jeffrey Jones."

"You're Thomas Lincoln?" Jeff asked.

"You've heard of me?"

"Is your wife named Nancy?" Jeff asked.

"Yes."

Jeff smiled, "nice to meet you," and he motioned with his head so he and Bogg could talk in private.

"Okay, who is he?" Phineas smiled. It was obvious that Jeff knew what was going on here.

"He's Abraham Lincoln's father Bogg, or at least he will be."

"Oh," Bogg nodded, then turned back to Thomas. "Can we help you fix the wagon?"

The sun was high in the sky by the time Thomas had fashioned a replacement axle and Phineas had helped him lift the wagon so it could be secured through the hub of the wheel.

"Good thing it only has to last for another 3 miles," Thomas remarked as they rolled the wagon forward to test the makeshift part.

"We can split the load," Jeff suggested, "some on your horse and Bogg and I can carry some things too."

"Thanks son, that would really help," Thomas answered.

Thomas and Bogg redistributed the load quickly and hitched the horse back up to the wagon. As they started up the rough track, Phineas glanced at Jeffrey, concerned that he'd been very quiet as they had prepared to start the trek to Thomas' cabin. The boy's shoulders sagged and he looked at the ground as he walked. Bogg sighed. He guessed that Thomas' casual way of calling him son had probably brought back some sad feelings for Jeff. As they trailed along behind the wagon, he tried to think of how he could help, but his hands were full, and Thomas was in earshot. He couldn't think of anything that might help Jeff feel better.

Jeff walked behind the wagon beside Bogg, carrying a satchel. He felt a sudden surge of anger at Thomas. How dare he call him son! He didn't know Jeffrey at all. No one could call him son. No one would ever call him that again, he thought angrily.

They completed the trip in silence and stopped in front of a cabin in a clearing beside the rough track. Thomas immediately unhitched the horse and led him to a small corral where he could forage and drink from a nearby steam. Then he returned to Phineas and Jeffrey. "Let me take that," he said, reaching for the satchel and Jeff relinquished it quickly.

"Thanks," Jeff grunted and then straightened up and stretched. He smiled at Bogg as he watched him put down his load, his anger forgotten. "Why don't you check the omni?" and watched as Bogg took the device off his belt.

He could hear the green light ding before Bogg showed it to him.

"Where were you heading?" Thomas asked.

Jeff froze, he didn't know the name of any place close by.
"West," Bogg answered.

Thomas nodded, "well, I hope you'll stay the night. I shot a buck last evening, Nancy will have a fine stew for supper."

"We'd appreciate that, thanks," Phineas answered and he and Jeff followed Thomas inside to meet his wife.

Jeff's looked around the inside of the cabin, his eyes taking in everything, as Thomas explained how they had helped him with the wagon.

"Well, the stew won't be ready for awhile, so why don't you rest while I gather some berries," said his wife.

"No," Jeff spoke up immediately, anxious to help, "I'll do it."

"We'll do it," Bogg's voice echoed his and together they left the cabin, carrying baskets.

"This is great!" Jeff said ecstatically.

"You like picking berries?" Bogg asked, amused. He was thankful that Jeff was feeling better. Maybe he didn't need to respond to every one of Jeffrey's sad feelings. Maybe, just knowing Bogg was there was enough.

"Just the whole thing. We're gonna eat with Abraham Lincoln's parents, in the cabin where he'll be born. Come on Bogg, don't you think that's amazing?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Bogg answered as they walked. Seeing each Voyage through Jeff's eyes was amusing. Jeff turned away from him and began to pick some large blackberries beside the path. Behind him Phineas Bogg first smiled, then chuckled at him and shook his head. It was strange that seeing Jeff so happy, actually made him happy and seeing Jeff upset made him upset.

They worked among the berry bushes, gradually separating, in their quest to find the largest berries. When his basket was almost full, Jeffrey looked up and saw Bogg about twenty yards to his left. A large brown bear was halfway between them.

"Bogg," he called out, and the tone of his voice sent chills down Bogg's spine.

Phineas looked up and took in the situation. "Don't move Jeff," he instructed.