What Might Have Been Expected

vely

ary, I feel proud of you both. The idea was honorable to you, and, so far, you have done very well; better than I expected; and I believe I was a little

s, father?" said Harry. "I'm sure

I want you to get along

quite an impression on Harry,

done about it? Is that poor old woman to have only half

y la

hs of enough to eat if I only read ni

you can do," she continued. "You can get up half an hour earlier, every morning

bout them in b

he was knitting a "tidy," worth two pounds of sugar,

er noticed that the subject of Aunt Matilda's maintenance did not so entirely engross the conversation of the brother and sister in the evenings; and th

ave been deeper, but it was deep enough for sledding. On the Friday, Harry, in connection with another boy, Tom Sel

ough it was rough enough,-being made of heavy boards, nailed transversely upon a couple of solid runners, with upright poles to keep the load in its place-it was a very good sled, as far as it went, which had not been very far of late; for there had been no go

Harry's father gave his consent to the plan, and loaned his sled. Three negro men agreed to help for one-fourth of the profits. Tom Selden went into the affair, heart an

for, being a girl, she could not very well go on a wood-hauling expedition, and she could

a team; and nothing less than a fou

y cents for the day; and the storekeeper, after much persuasion, lent a big gray mule, Grits by name. There was another mule in the village, which the boys could have if they wanted her; but they did not want her-that is, if they could get anything else with four legs that would do to go in their team. This was Polly, a little mule, belonging to Mrs. Dabney, who kept the post-office. Polly was not only very little in size, but she was also very little given to going. She did not parti

Polly would have to be taken, for no

n volunteers-some big and some little-who were very willing to work for nothing, if they might have a ride on the sled. The harness was not the best in the world; s

eaders, and Polly and old Selim

ny Sand, as black as ink, was hoisted on Grits, and Gregory Montague, a tall yellow boy, with high boots and no toes to them, bestrode thin Hector. Harry, Tom, and nine negroes (two more had just

was no

He looked around mildly at the little mule, as if he would say: "Now, don'

en frozen to the ground, and all the cracking of whips and shouting of "Git u

his voice heard

. Dick, and you other fellows, just start off

e, and spurred him with his heels, and every darkey

llop, and up the road, tearing along. Negroes shouting, chains rattling, snow flying back from sixteen pounding hoofs, sle

ding tight to an upright p

d down he went on his knees, as the big sled banged over a stone in the r

n six minutes, there was only one of the small darkies left on the sled. The men, a

jumped, she skipped, she galloped, she slid, she skated; sometimes sitting down, and

d whips cracking, on they sped, until John William Webster's

an instant he jerked himself up to his feet,

ohn William, his legs working like steamboat wheels,

ither, and in less than two minutes he reached the sled, grabbed a man by

he got his breath. And yet he

g and shouting, the team was brought to a halt, and then s

ed and puffed a little, but Polly

nd so the boys set to work with a will to load the sled; for they wanted to make two trips that morning. But although they all, black and white, worked hard, it was slow business. So

nearly ready to start, when John William Webster

r Harry! M

he road, and stood there p

was th

he fence corners. The day had turned out to be quite mild, and the s

The boys ran back to the sled, and the colored men ran out to the

ick Ford

r Harry! I say, just l

g to do it?" said Har

as slippery as grease. That th

d try what could be done, and then, if the loaded sled was too much for

had melted in the woods-and when they got fairly out on the main r

e, and there were two horses and

ride over the snow. The boys and the men trudged through the mud, by the side of the sled, and, looking at it in the best possible light, it w

he edges of the sled, outside of the load, holding on to the poles. Then Grits, the big mule, began to run, and Gregory couldn't hold hi

sticks, six sticks, a dozen stic

not fastened down in any way, and Harry and Tom and the men o

stopping for that. He was bound for home. And so he plunged on at the top of his speed. But t

ness and dashed ahead. Up went his hind legs in the air; off shot Gregory Monta

colored men, the sled, John William Webster and eleven logs of

harness, and the negroes had received a little present for their labor, the

othing about the loss of his wood