act to carry these letters and messages to and from the mines had
been given to Miles's employer, and the steady negro man had been taken
off the mail-route to attend to this new business.

"Well, Miles," said Harry, as he overtook him. "How do you like riding
on this road?"

"How d' y', Mah'sr Harry? How d' y', Miss Kate?" said the colored man,
touching his hat and riding up on the side of the road to let them pass.
"I do' know how I likes it yit, Mah'sr Harry. Don't seem 'xactly nat'ral
after ridin' de oder road so long!"

"You have a pretty big letter-bag there," said Harry.

"Dat's so," said Miles; "but 'taint dis big ebery day. Sence de creek's
been up I haint been able to git across, and dere's piles o' letters to
go ober to-day."

"It must make it rather bad for the company when the creek rises in this
way," said Harry.

"Dat's so," answered Miles. "Dey gits in a heap o' trubble when dey
can't send dere letters and git 'em. Though 'taint so many letters dey
sends as telegraphs."

"It's a pity they couldn't have had their mine on the other side,"
remarked Kate.

"Dat's so, Miss Kate," said Miles, gravely. "I reckon dey didn't know
about de creek's gittin' up so often, or dey'd dug dere mine on de oder
side."

Harry and Kate laughed and drove on.

They soon reached Mr. Loudon's woods, but found no wood-cutters.

When they arrived at the station they saw Dick Ford and John Walker on
the store-porch.

Harry soon discovered that no wood had been cut for several days,
because the creek was up.

"What had that to do with it?" asked Harry.

"Why, you see, Mah'sr Harry," said John Walker, "de creek was mighty
high, and dere was no knowin' how things ud turn out. So we thought we'd
jist wait and see."

"So you've been here all the time?"

"Yes, sir; been h'yar all de time. Couldn't go home, you know."

Harry was very sorry to hear of this lost time, for he knew that his
wood-cutting would come to an end as soon as the season was sufficiently
advanced to give the men an opportunity of hiring themselves for
farm-work; but it was of no use to talk any more about it; and so, after
depositing Kate at the post-office, where the post-mistress, who knew
her well, gave her a nice little "snack" of buttermilk, cold fried
chicken, and "light-bread," he went to the station and transacted his
business. He had not been there for some weeks, and he found quite a
satisfactory sum of money due him, in spite of the ho