is harness and dashed ahead. Up went his hind legs in the air; off shot
Gregory Montague into the mud, and then away went Grits, clipperty-clap!
home to his stable.

When Harry and Tom, the two horses, the little mule, the eight colored
men, the sled, John William Webster and eleven logs of wood reached the
village it was considerably after dinner-time.

When the horse-hire was paid, and something was expended for mending
borrowed harness, and the negroes had received a little present for
their labor, the Aunt Matilda Fund was diminished by the sum of three
dollars and eighty cents.

Mr. Truly Matthews agreed to say nothing about the loss of his wood that
was scattered along the road.

CHAPTER IX.

BUSINESS IN EARNEST.

Although Harry did not find his wood-hauling speculation very
profitable, it was really of advantage to him, for it gave him an idea.

And his idea was a very good one. He saw clearly enough that money could
be made by hauling wood, and he was also quite certain that it would
never do for him to take his time, especially during school term, for
that purpose. So, after consultation with his father, and after a great
deal of figuring by Kate, he determined to go into the business in a
regular way.

About five miles from the village was a railroad station, and it was
also a wood station. Here the railroad company paid two dollars a cord
for wood delivered on their grounds.

Two miles from the station, on the other side of Crooked Creek, Harry's
father owned a large tract of forest land, and here Harry received
permission to cut and take away all the wood that he wanted. Mr. Loudon
was perfectly willing, in this way, to help his children in their good
work.

So Harry made arrangements with Dick Ford and John Walker, who were not
regularly hired to any one that winter, to cut and haul his wood for
him, on shares. John Walker had a wagon, which was merely a set of
wheels, with a board floor laid on the axletrees, and the use of this he
contributed in consideration of a little larger share in the profits.
Harry hired Grits and another mule at a low rate, as there was not much
for mules to do at that time of the year.

The men were to cut up and deliver the wood and get receipts for it from
the station-master; and it was to be Harry's business to collect the
money at stated times, and divide the proceeds according to the rate
agreed upon. Harry and his father made the necessary arrangements