He had told her what she had never even suspected before, that John
McNeill was not his real name, but that it was John McNamar. Shortly
before he came to New Salem, he explained, his father had suffered a
disastrous failure in business. He was the oldest son; and in the hope
of retrieving the lost fortune, he resolved to go West, expecting
to return in a few years and share his riches with the rest of the
family. Anticipating parental opposition, he ran away from home; and,
being sure that he could never accumulate anything with so numerous a
family to support, he endeavored to lose himself by a change of name.
All this Ann had believed and not repeated; but now, worn out by
waiting, she took the story to her friends.

With few exceptions they pronounced the story a fabrication and
McNamar an impostor. Why had he worn this mask? His excuse seemed
flimsy. At best, they declared, he was a mere adventurer; and was
it not more probable that he was a fugitive from justice--a thief, a
swindler, or a murderer? And who knew how many wives he might have?
With all New Salem declaring John McNamar false, Ann Rutledge
could hardly be blamed for imagining that he was either dead or had
transferred his affections.

It was not until McNeill, or McNamar, had been gone many months, and
gossip had become offensive, that Lincoln ventured to show his love
for Ann, and then it was a long time before the girl would listen
to his suit. Convinced at last, however, that her former lover had
deserted her, she yielded to Lincoln's wishes and promised, in the
spring of 1835, soon after Lincoln's return from Vandalia, to
become his wife. But Lincoln had nothing on which to support a
family--indeed, he found it no trifling task to support himself. As