It was not to be any trifling little "boy-play" wood-hauling. Harry's
father owned a woodsled--one of the very few sleds or sleighs in the
county--which was quite an imposing affair, as to size, at least. It
was about eight feet long and four feet wide; and although 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 good sledding for several seasons. Old Mr.
Truly Matthews had a large pile of wood cut in a forest about a mile and
a half from the village, and the boys knew that he wanted it hauled to
the house, and that, by a good day's work, considerable money could be
made.

All the arrangements were concluded on Friday, which was a half-holiday,
on account of the snow making travelling unpleasant for those scholars
who lived at a distance. 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 and hand, agreeing
to take his share out in fun. What money was made, after paying
expenses, was to go into the Aunt Matilda Fund, which was tolerably low
about that time.

Kate gave her earnest sanction to the scheme, which was quite
disinterested on her part, for, being a girl, she could not very well go
on a wood-hauling expedition, and she could expect to do little else but
stay at home and calculate the probable profits of the trips.

The only difficulty was to procure a team; and nothing less than a
four-horse team would satisfy the boys.