this afternoon after i had come back from fishing

we had a meating of the Terible 3. we met at

Pewts shop. Pewt read the report whitch i had

rote for him and he had coppied. then we talked

about wether we had augt to use sling shots xcept in

xstream cases. we desided never to use sling shots

in a croud and never to ame hier than a fellers hind

leg xcept when he is tirned back to for fear of puting

out his ey. and we desided never to fire a sling

shot without ameing nor rocks neether. but grean

apples and all other vegtibles including both stail

and roten egs espeshionally goos egs whitch is hard

to get and ded fish whitch you swing round your

tale by the head, no i meant whitch you swing round

your head by the tale and let ding is all rite to plug

without amein becaus they wont do enny harm and

cant put out a fellers ey.

i am going to have that rote into the record.

October 16, 186---brite and fair. Spitt cougt a

almost full groan chicking today. the chicking stuck

his head between the slats and Spitt grabed him

with his claus and pulled him the rest of the way in

and toar him in peaces and et most of him. it is

verry xpensive to keep two mutch stock but i hait

to let eether of them go. Hork is all rite and Spitt

is all rite but Hork and Spitt together is moar than

1 feller can feed unless he is a butcher or a fishcart

man or a rat ketcher.

tonite the Terible 3 dident comit enny crime becaus

Billy Morris Nigger ministrils give a show in

the town hall and we all went. at 1 oh clock there

was a parade and there band plaid. it is a ripper

and can play almost as loud as the Exeter Band.

tonite we all went. it was the funiest show i ever

went to. it beat Comical Brown all to peaces and

the orchistry was splendid. They sung shoo fli dont

bodder me and little Maggy May, Way down upon

the Swany river and Massa is in the cold cold

ground and they dansed clog danses and had funny

direlogs. i tell you it was fine. so the Terible 3

dident do nothing. somehow when a feller is laffin

he doesent feel like comitting crimes unless it is

funny ones.

October 17, 186---missed in grammer today and

got licked. not very bad only he shook me round

until he toar my coller and neckti off. i jest wish

the Terible 3 wood plug old Francis sum time with

bricks.

old J. Ward Levitt has found out who broak his

winders and has got his pay for them. he come over

tonite and told me and father about it. he sed he

went down to Squawboo Bowleys and asted him

about it and Squawboo proofed that he was down to

Charles Grants store on Hemloc square with Peenut

Perkins all that evening. then he went down to old

Heads house and asted two stewcats about it and

they sed they never done it then J. Ward he told

them they wood pay him for them winders or he

wood go to doctor Soule of the academy about it

and them fellers sed they never done it but had

ruther pay for 2 winders than to have doctor Soule

asting them questions, and so J. Ward sed they

pade him 50 cents for the 2 winders and 50 cents

for the trubble he had in detecking them and maiking

them confess. he sed they sed that they dident

confess and never done it but he sed if they was

onnest fellers they woodent pay for brakeing winders

whitch they hadent never broak and he sed

aint that rite Geroge? to father and father he laffed

and sed well i aint so sure about that. i was in the

academy under docter Soule and gess there wasent

enny time i was ther after the ferst weak that i

woodent rather pay for 2 windows than to have

docter Soule ast me questions about what i had did.

but i gess these fellers must have did it or they

woodent have pade for it.

Aunt Sarah sed father was xpelled from the

academy twict. i asted him what he was xpelled

for. he sed the ferst time was a case of religious

persecution. i asted why they was persecuting him

and he sed he and another feller thougt the students

was having to pay too mutch atension to morning

prairs in the chapil and so he and the other feller

screwed up the doors of the chapil one nite and the

nex morning they coodent get into the chapil for 2

days and they found out that he and the other feller

had bougt sum screws. so they persecuted him for

that and xpelled him.

then i asted him why he got xpelled the 2nd time

and he sed it was edjucasional persecution of the

wirst kind. i asted him what they done to persecute

him that way and he sed that docter Soule marked

all the fellers down awful low and it dident make

enny difference how hard he studded none of the

fellers cood get a good mark. father sed it was

dredful the amount of whale oil he birnt in lamps

nites studding his greke and latin. he thinks he

must have birnt about 2 hoal whales full but it dident

do enny good. he never cood get a good mark. well

docter Soule kep his marking sheets in his desk and

eech day he marked the felers down feerful low and

locked his sheets in the desk and at the end of the

day he wood give the shets to anothr teecher to add

them up and give out a list of the best scolars.

well father and another feller got a kee that wood

fit the lock of that desk and evry day they wood get

the sheet and mark evry feller 100 percent and doctor

Soule never looked at it and give them to the

other teecher to add up and evrybody got perfict

marks and evrybody sed it was the best class in the

school.

well bimeby one day father and the other feller

marked themselfs 125 percent and when the other

teecher added the marks up he found sumthing was

rong. so he spent a weak adding and substrackting

and multipliing and dividing and reduceing to the

leest common denominator and invirtin the diviser

and perceeding as in multiplication and finding the

leest common multipel of and xtracking the squair

root of and at last he maid up his mind that there

was a niger in the woodpile.

so he took his figgers to old docter Soule and they

set a trap and cougt father and the other feller and

they xpelled them and that was the last of father

in the academy. but while he was there he was

verry poplar becaus they wasent ennything he woodent

do for his classmaits.

so i gess he was rite when he told old J. Ward

what he did about old docter Soule. father sed he

tride to get back onct moar and he thougt they had

augt to have gave him one moar chanct. if he cood

have been xpelled onct moar he cood beet enny feller

whitch ever went to the academy he was verry

mutch disapointed when they woodent give him another

try so he cood be xpelled onct moar.

so when we had the nex meating of th Teribl 3

i wanted them to mark old docter Soule to paist sum

nite but they woodent do it becaus they sed we was

all townies and we woodent notise the academy.

Pewt and Beany was gelous becaus Pewts father

and Beanys father hadent never been xpelled from

nowhere. they thougt i was showing off but i

wasent.

October 17, 186---brite and fair and hot as summer.

it has been hot for almost a weak. Rob

Bruce, Skinnys brother and Dan Casidy went in

swiming yesterday. they sed it was bully but i bet it

was cold. tonite after school Pewt maid sum sines

whitch we put up after dark. one we put up in

front of old Ike Shutes door. it sed bewair Ike the

Terible 3 is on your trale. that will be enuf to keep

Ike in nites. Ike drives us out of his yard when

he sees us.

another one we put on Bill Eldriges door. it sed

the vengence of the Terible 3 will folow You Bill

until you are ded or in jale. the last one we put on

Peeliky Tiltons granfathers door becaus he put tin

cans and broaken glass bottels and old hoopskerts

and wire into the swiming hole at sandy bottom and

we cant swim there enny moar. i dont know jest

what we will do to him. it seams as if slingshots

or roten egs aint bad enuf. we will try to scair him

to deth ferst and then we will do sumthings to him

that he will never forget in his life even if he lives

to be 200 years old. the sine sed this old man Tilton

say your prairs for the Terible 3 has got you on

their list. when litening strikes it leaves no traices

of its victims. bewair bewair.

Pewt rote them with sum stencil plaits his father

has got so nobody will know his hand wrighting.

October 18, 186---this morning we had speaking

in school. i spoke Horatias at the brige. it made

me think of the Terible 3 when it sed

the three stood carm and staitly

and looked upon there foes

and a grat shout of laffter

from all the vangard rose

but all the saim they nocked the stuffing out of

Aunus from grean Tifernum and Seius and the

other fellers and it wasent enny laffin matter for

them and it wont be enny laffin matter with the

Terible 3. old man Tilton dident laff this morning

when he see that sine on his door. he has laid it

onto old Marco Bazzris Wadley and Jack Flinn

and Gimmy Fitsgerald and Moog Carter all ready,

and Luke Manix two and old Ike Shute has had old

Kize and old Swane the Poliseman up to see about

his sine and old Bill Eldrige has been to see 2 lawyers

Alvy Wood and Jug Stickney. everybody but

them is laffin and wundering who the Terible 3 is.

sum of them may find out sum day.

well this afternoon me and Pewt and Beany went

up river fishing. we dident xpect to get ennything

it was so lait in the fall but Hork and Spitt hadent

been fed for 2 days. we got a lot of shiners and

perch and jest befoar we come back we got the

bigest snaping tirtle i ever see in my life. it was a

ripper and the madest one i ever see. it snaped rite

and left and wood throw his head rite back on his

shell trying to grab us. we had hard wirk to get

a peace of closeline round his hind leg. the only

way we cood do it was to let it bite a stick and

hold on.

we had desided to use a slingshot on old man

Tilton sum day when he was bending over a sawhorse

and his britches were tite but Pewt sed it

wood be a good thing to scair him to deth with the

snaping tirtle ferst. so we are going to tie him to

old man Tiltons doornob sum nite and ring the

doorbell. we coodent do it tonite becaus evrybody

goes down town Saturday nite to the stores and sets

up lait having baths and things. but look out for

yourself mister old man Tilton for the Terible 3

in on your trale.

we xpect a bizzy weak nex weak.

Oct. 19, 186---Sunday. rainy and windy. had to

go to chirch. the only fun i had was to see peeples

umbrellas blow rongside out and to hear them

sware. sum of them was chirch members two. they

did not belong to the Unitarial chirch.

Oct. 20, 186---rany as time. i never gnew it to

rane harder. evryone had on rubber boots and umbrelas.

the wind blew terible and all the leeves is

gone and sum branches of trees is blew down. Buldy

Tasker pushed me into the gutter in front of old

Gim Ellersons lacksmith shop and i went in over

my rubber boots. when i got to school i puled off

my boots and poared out the water and there was

about 4 quats in eech boot. it taiks a long time to

dry rubber boots. they say the best way is to fill

them full of otes and after the otes has been in

about a day or 2 poar out the otes and the boots

is dry and the otes is wet. so when i got home i

was going to do it but there wasent moar than a

pec of otes in the baril and Nellie had to be fed so

i had to put the boots upside down behine the stove

in the kitchen. the Terible 3 had a meating and

went down to see our snaping tirtle. he was there

all rite hiched by his old hine leg to a tree and he

was out of site in a pudle of water that the rane

had made. we pulled him out by the hine leg and

he was awful mad and claued and scrached and

snaped. so we let him go back in his pudle after

we had saw that the closeline was all rite. i bet we

will maik old man Tilton gump out of his britches

when he sees that old tirtle hanging to his doorgnob.

i hope he will for enny man whitch will fill

up a swimming hole with old tin cans and glass had

augt to be bit by a ratlesnaik.

October 21, 186---it has stoped raning today. for

a wunder neether me or Beany or Pewt missed in

our lesons. it dont verry often hapen that way.

i think old Francis thougt we was playing sum sort

of a trick on him for he acked sort of quear and

looked at us sort of hard. tonite we aranged to

meat at Pewts at 8 oh clock. after school we got

a meel bag and went down for our snaping tirtle.

it took nearly a hour to get him into the bag. ferst

we had to ty up his mouth becaus we only want to

scair old man Tilton and not to kill him. it took a

haff hour to do that. we never cood have did it

if it hadent ben for Pewt who can ty gnots like a

sailer. ferst we got the old tirtle mad and then

we give him a stick to bite and then i pulled at it

and Beany pulled at the roap on his hine leg. of

coarse the snaper woodent let go of the stick and

when his head was out strait Pewt put a noos round

his mouth and wound it round and round like ganging

a fishhook on a line and he tide that old tirtles

mouth up titer than a drumhead.

then we tride to get him in the bag but it was

all we cood do he claud so. bimby we got him in.

then we tide the bag under a bush down behine old

Perry Moultons yard. then we went home. i split

up my kinlins and done my choars and studded till

8 oh clock and then mother sed i cood go down town

with Beany. so i went over to Beanys and it was

dark. so we got Pewt and went down and got the

bag and carried it up Court strete and throug old

Nat Gordons woods until we got to the feeld oposite

old man Tiltons house.

it was a awful lug and i bet we put it down to rest

50 times but bimeby we got it there. then we tride

to shaik the old snaper out of the bag and it seamed

as if we never cood get him out. bimeby we got

him out and lit sum maches to see his mouth was

tide up tite and it was and the stick was still there

he coodent spitt it out. gosh but he was mad and

tride to snap. there was a lite in old man Tiltons

house and we cood see him setting by a table with

a red cloth and a lamp with a red wick reading.

sumwhere in the back of the house was another lite

and we could hear Peeliky Tiltons uncles practising

band tunes on their horns. they was making a feerful

noise so nobody heard us when we 3 tide the

snapper to the dorgnob. it was all we cood do he

claued so. then when we had him hanging head

downwerds we rung the bell as hard as we cood and

hipered acrost the strete and hid in the bushes behine

the fense.

we cood see old man Tilton put down his paper

and holler sumthing. i gess he told Peeliky Tiltons

uncles to stop their noise. ennyway it stoped and

he lit a little tin lamp and come to the door and

opened it. we cood hear the old tirtle scraching at

the door and banging his head agenst it as he tried

to snap and the old man heard it and when he

opened the door he looked round throug his old

specks and dident see ennything and then he steped

out on the porch and stuck his hed round the door

and i gess it was lucky he dident take the big lamp

for when he see that old snaper swinging this way

and that way clauing and snaping he let out a yell

you cood heard for 3 miles and droped the lamp and

almost tirned a back sumerset he tride so hard to

get back into the house and slamed the door. then

we heard him hollering for Peeliky Tiltons uncles

and we cood see them come piling into the room and

evryone talked. then they come out of the side

door. Peeliky Tiltons uncle had a lantirn and a ax

and his uncle George had a shot gun and a tin lamp

and his uncle Warren had a pichfork and a torchlite

percession torch and old man Tilton was looking

out of the window. Ed went first with the lantern

and when he saw what it was he sed it is a snaping

tirtle as big as a wash boiler. sum darn fool has

tide it to the gnob. so George sed sumone cut the

roap and we will get him and Warrin he sed look

out them snapers will taik a mans hine leg off at

1 snap and Ed sed hell i aint afrade and he cut the

roap with his ax and the old snaper fell on the steps

and begun to craul off and Ed grabed the roap and

yanked him onto the sidewaulk and he sed hold the

lite Warrin and let the snaper bite a stick and i

will cut his hed off. so Warrin he held a lite and

George got a stick and poaked him and the old

snaper snaped but dident ketch hold and Ed he sed

that is a hell of a snaper. so George poaked him

again and he kep snaping and bimeby Ed sed sum

feller has tide up his mouth with a stick in it. so

then nobody was afrade and they all gethered round

and Peeliky and his father come out of their house

and old man Tilton come out and sed things have

come to a prety pass if a man cant go to his door

without being et alive by a snaping tirtle or knawed

by a rampaiging wilcat or pizened by a hoopskert.

he meant a hoop snaik but he was xcited, and if the

polise dident do there duty he wood put it in the

hands of the county solissiter and see is respectible

citisens cood be et and lose their lifes without nobody

doing ennything to stop it. and he sed do we

live in Rooshy or Prooshy and dont a man have

enny petection of the law? and he waulked up and

down the porch and banged his cain and hollered

and while he was hollering Ed and George and

Warrin and Peeliky and Peelikys father was taiking

the old snaper into the back yard and they cut his

head off and Ed told Peeliky that the head woodent

die for 7 days. then they come back and told the

old man to shet up and Ed sed they was going to

have tirtle soop and fride chicking, and rost beef

and boiled ham and sossige and quale on tost and

clamb chowder and pigs feet and pork scraps and

hogs head cheze all out of that tirtle. but the old

man kep a hollering and asking if he lived in Rooshy

and Ed sed the old man will feal better tomorrow

when he has drunk about a quat of soop and

et 4 or 5 pounds of diferent kinds of meet from

that old snaper.

well bimeby they went in and the old man went in

and set down and they begun to play on their horns

and we clim over the fense and went home. i gess

we scart the old man most to deth. if you had saw

him let out the yell and heard him tirn the back

somerset you wood have thougt so. we aint throug

with him yet. a man whitch will stop up a swiming

hol with tin cans and broaken glass aint going to

get off with lesson. and wire two whitch is cumtimes

wirse. and hoopskerts.

then we all went down town and come up throug

Coart Strete laffing and talking about what we see

in the store winders so our folks wood know we had

been down town. mother sed i was prety lait and

sed that father sed i hadent augt to be out so lait

but she told him i asted if i cood go and she sed yes.

she told me i must come home erlier next time. father

had went to bed so i dident see him and he

dident yip.

it was the most sucesful meating the Terible 3 has

had. i have got to wright out the report for Pewt

becaus i can spel so mutch beter than Pewt can. so

i cant wright moar tonite in this diry.

October 28, 186---today the ferst thing i see was

old man Tilton coming down town with his old

cain. he glore at me when i met him and i sed how

do you do mister Tilton and he sed how do how do

and waulked on. so i know he doesnt suspeck us.

i bet he woodent say how do to Gimmy Fitzgerald

or Moog Carter or Luke Mannix or Ticky Moses.

i wached him and he went into the polise stasion.

then he come out and talked with old Swane and

old Mizzery Durgin the polise oficers. his naim

is Ezry but we call him Mizzery. he is the feller

that throwed me out of the town hall the nite father

was going to maik a speach and dident dass

to. old man Tilton pounded his cain on the ground

and hollered. i coodent hear what he sed except

Rooshy and Prooshy so i gess he was triing to find

out where he lived becaus he wanted to know last

nite and nobody told him. i gess he hasent et enny

of that soop yet. i wish we cood have kep that

tirtle. it wood have fed Hork and Spitt for 2

weaks. i cougt a rat today. an old linger and they

toar him up and et him. Spitt had the ferst whack

at him and i thougt he wasent going to leeve no

coar so i poaked a part of it out with a stick and

gave it to Hork. if i kep Hork and Spitt together

they wood eet eech other up. i wunder if they wood

be ennything left when they got throug.

ennyway a bullfrog can eet another bullfrog as

big as he is. the one that gets the first snap gets

the other and swalows him down his gozzle with his

feet sticking out of the corner of his mouth. A

bullfrog swalows the other bullfrog hoal. he chews

him up inside like a hen or a boar constricter only

he dont squash him ferst. i am glad i am not a

bullfrog and havent enny teeth in my stomack. how

cood a dentist pull a tooth in a fellers stomack if it

aiked. how cood a feller tell wether it was a tooth

aik or a stomack aik. wood a feller die if he maid a

mistaik and had a dentist pull a tooth whitch was in

his stomack when it dident aik but his stomack did.

if i was a bullfrog i shood like to know them things.

but i aint a bullfrog and i shant have enny teeth in

my stomack unless when i am old and have false

teeth i swalow them when i am aslep as old man

Collins did onct.

tonite we had company. Aunt Mary and Charles

and Helen and Cad Smith and Steve and Ann Maria

Piper and Annie Piper, and so i coodent go out

after supper but had to stay in and hear Keene and

Cele sing. i can hear them enny day and i had

agreed to go out with Pewt and Beany and try to

brake sum of J. Albert Clarks windows to pay for

telling father when i let out his rooster to fite mine

and mine licked his. if his had licked mine old J.

Albert woodent have yipped. i dont blaim him for

being mad becaus i let them fite when he wasent

there to see and becaus mine licked but no feller that

is a real feller will go tattle taleing to a fellers father

and get him kep in the yard a hoal day. if he

had given me a bat in the ear or had hit me a paist

with his cain i woodent have caired but a feller that

tells on another has got sumthing to learn and that

is what the Terible 3 is for. to lern fellers to behave.

so i coodent go out and Pewt and Beany sed they

wood try to do it without me. they sed they wood

go up to Pewts yard again and wood try sum grean

apples on a stick and aim more to the rite than they

did when they broak old J. Ward Levitts windows

whitch the stewdcats paid for brakeing. so i kep

my ey pealed becaus J. Albert lives in the other side

of our house and i gnew if ennyone broak his winders

old J. Albert wood come piling in to tell father

it was me and father cood tell him he was a dam

lier becaus i wood be there with father all the time

and father wood know i hadent went out for a

minit.

so i set in the parlor and father told the story

about the feller whitch got the long hair in his

mouth and lots of stories that maid us nearly kill

ourselfs laffing. then Cele and Keene sung flow

gently sweet Afton and pass under the road and

we shall meat but we shall miss him and my mother

bids me bang my hair and then father maid me sing

alone. i hait to sing alone. i cood have sung with

Keene but he maid me sing alone. i sed what shall

i sing and he sed sing ennything. so i sung a new

virse of if ever i ceese to love. it goes this way

if ever i ceese to love

if ever i ceese to love

may Horris Greelys cat

have kittens in his hat

if ever i ceese to love

well father and Steve and Ann Maria and Aunt

Sarah and Aunt Mary and Charles and mother all

laffed but Cele and Keene and Annie Piper sed i

was very disgusting. ennyway father sed i cood

sing ennything.

well after i had sung Cele and Keene were playing

a peace about Napolion crossing the Alps when

there was a big gingle of glass and a hard apple

came wizzing throug the window and came within

a inch of taiking Steve on the snoot. Keene gave

a screech and evryone gumped up jest as another

hit the side of the house bang. father was out of

the house and down the steps in 2 minits and i after

him. the stewdcats in old mister Heads house were

setting by their table studding in there shert sleaves

and we heard sum one down the strete and father

hipered down strete and i after him. we met Nipper

Brown and his father and father he sed have

you met enny fellers Gus and Nippers father he sed

yes 2 fellers ran down Clifford Strete and me and

father went down Clifford strete and coodent see

enny fellers. so we went back and i picked up a

rock and put it in my pocket. when i ran out after

father i picked up the apple and nobody had seen it.

i gnew if father see that apple with a hole in it he

wood know it was throwed with a stick and he

wood know in a minit who broak old J. Ward

Levitts winders.

so when we come back to the parlor they sed that

2 more rocks had struck the house while we was

gone and i pertended to pick up the rock i had

brougt in under the otterman. father sed if that

rock had hit you Steven it wood have cooked your

goos. and Ann Maria sed it is a mersy it dident

and Aunt May sed this is a serius matter George

and father sed it is more than that Mary it is a

dam outrage and he and Charles went out again and

i folowed them. ferst they went over to Beanys and

asted his father if he had saw ennyone. he sed he

hadent. then father asted where Elbrige was. Elbrige

is Beany you know and he sed he was up to

Pewts painting sumthing in the shop. so father

come back. he was prety mad and sed he wood

give 100 dollers to find out who throwed them

rocks. and he wood like to know what the polisemen

was for enyway. so he and Charles and Steve

talked about how bad the town was run and what a

tuf set of rowdies there was now a days and how

mutch better it was in the old days. then father he

sed a few days ago sum one put a notise up on

cousin Isaks house sined by the Terible 3 and Ike

hadent been down town sence and hadent been out

day times without having old mother Moulton come

in and set with his wife while he was gone. he sed

Ike had got a pistol and was going to lode it only

he dident know whitch end of it loded and his wife

was moar scart of the pistol than she was of the

Terible 3 whoever the misable cusses was. father

sed that old mother Moulton was moar pertection

than 5 pistols and 2 bull dogs and he wood pity enny

Terrible 3 or Terible 300 whitch wood dass to interfear

with her.

then old Steve he sed he had heard of sum things

the desperrit villanes had did. they had tide a snaping

tirtle to the doorgnob of old mister Tilton and

he had been prety badly bit by him and that docter

Perry and docter Swet and docter Perrum had all

been called and it was moar than a hour befoar

they stoped the flow of blood. i told them i guess

that wasent so for i see him down town the next

day all rite. i sed the fellers was talking it over at

school and Luke mannix sed that the fellers that

tide the snaper to the doorgnob had tide up his

mouth. he sed he see the snapers head after Ed

Tilton Peeliky Tiltons uncle had cut it off and its

mouth was tide up with a cord.

Steve sed a feller mite jest as well be bit as

scart to deth and Charles Smith sed that may be

so cussin Stefen but if i had to be boath i wood

ruther be one and i wood ruther be scared to deth

becaus you cood get over being scart to deth but

you mite not get over being bit if you had a hine

leg or arm bit off. ennyway he sed it was time

that the orthoritys of the town got together and

offered a reward for ennybody whitch wood ketch

those fellers.

father sed onct he and Gim Melcher and Bill

Young usted to get a pocket full of gravil and when

the old fellers was setting round the stove in the

stores smoaking and spitting and talking the fellers

wood open the stoar door and plug a handful of

gravil in and slam the door and run. they done that

for quite a while and bimeby old Boss Langly

whitch kep a store down by great brige offered a

reward of 10 dollers to ennyone whitch wood ketch

them. so he hid 2 nites oposite his store and neerly

froze to deth for it was in november and a cold nite.

bimeby father and Bill and Gim come along and

they all got ready. father sed he peeked into the

store and see all the old pods setting there and he

opened the door and they all pluged the gravil and

started to run and run rite into Boss arms and Boss

grabed father by one neck and Gim by the other

and he waulked them down to fathers fathers

house and sent for old Dan Melcher and he came

hipering up from his house with his coat tales floating

in the breaz. well after they had talked about

an hour fathers father and old Dan Melcher paid

10 dollers to old Boss Langly and agreed to tan the

hide off of father and Gim if old Boss woodent

persecute and woodent tell the other store keepers

who pluged the gravil. and fathers father tanned

the hide off of father and Gims father tanned the

hide off of Gim and Bill got off becaus old Boss

dident have but 2 hands to grab with an had put his

falce teeth in a glass of water behine the stove and

he coodent hold Bill without teeth or he wood have

got Bill two, and father and Gim wasent tattletales.

father had sed he thought old Boss got prety good

interest for nothing. he got 10 dollers and dident

have to pay enny reward and had the fun of ketching

them and the way they put it on showed that

they liked to do it. so evrybody was satisfide xcept

father and Gim. then Aunt Mary she sed well i

guess you desirved it George and father laffed and

sed i gess i desirved a good deal moar than i ever

got Aunt Mary. father had augt to have licked

me 10 times as often as he did. and then Hellen

Smith sed evrybody tells me George that you was

the meanest boy in the town and father sed no

Hellen i dont think i was meen. i was bad enuf

god knows but i always had lots of frends and kep

them and a meen feller never has frends. and

Hellen she sed well if you wasent a meen boy i

shood like to know what a meen boy was and father

he sed a meen boy or man or girl or woman is one

whitch does meen things to another or says meen

things about them. i dont know whitch is the wirst

but i gess the one whitch says meen things about

peeple. so Hellen she set up and nobody sed ennything

for 2 minits. then Keene got up and went

to the piano and set down and sung

i'm the girl that's gay and happy

where so ear i chanct to be

and there's sumthing i will tell you

if you will but list to me

i tell you Keene is rite on hand when there is ennything

going on. bimeby they went home and i went

upstairs. i wonder what Pewt and Beany will say

when they find out that they broak fathers winders

insted of old J. Alberts. it seams funny to have

to pay Pewts father for putting in new panes of

glass in plaice of them whitch Pewt broak. if Pewt

can do this evry nite he can keep the old man bizzy

all the time and make a pile of money.

October 24, 186---brite and fair and frost last

nite. father waked me up hollering up the stairs.

he sed come down here quick so i piled out of bed

and put on my close as lifely as i cood and went

down 3 steps at a time. when i got there father

told me to come out in front of the house and to

look and i done it and there on old J. Alberts side

of the house was a sine whitch sed

J. Albert Clark we have broak your win-

ders. this is jest a beginning, moar anon.

bewair. bewair the Terible 3.

i looked as sirprised as i cood and sed gosh father

then it was the Terible 3 and they was trying to get

even with J. Albert insted of you. i wunder what

he has did to them. but father sed i dont cair what

he has did to them it cant go on this way verry

long befoar sumone will be in jale. when he sed

that i felt as if i dident have enny stomack. then he

hollered for J. Albert and old J. Albert come down

and when he saw the sine and father had told him

about the broaken winder he sed he shood go down

town to the polise stasion and make a complaint and

see if innosent peeple aint going to have enny pertection

under the law.

then father sed have you did ennything rong to

ennyone Albert whitch mite want to get even with

you and old J. Albert he sed he hadent done rong

to a living sole as far as he gnew and he sed i

gess George they must have got in the rong side

of the house and they ment it for you insted of me

and father sed that may be so Albert but it is almity

quear that they shood call me J. Albert Clark and

hang the sine on your side of the house and J.

Albert dident know what to say to this and so he

sed i gess that is quear but peeple do quear things

sumtimes. then father sed have you heard how

they hung a snaping tirtle on old man Tiltons doorgnob

and rung his bell and he went to the door and

got so badly bit that it took 3 docters to sow him

up. and old J. Albert sed no i dident hear of it

George. is it trew? and father sed i was told

so last nite and i understand other peeple has been

warned and assaulted, and in evry case it has been

a prety meen man. and J. Albert sed well i dont

know what ennyone has got agenst me and if necesery

i shall have a poliseman stay here nites and

father sed it looks to as if it was only the beginning

of sum prety desperit work but if ennything happens

jest gnock on the wall and i will come in on

the gump.

and old J. Albert sed thank you George i know

i can alwys relie on you and father sed you can

Albert you can but i am afrade you are in for sumthing

verry serius but we must hoap for the best.

so then we went in to breckfast and when we got in

father began to laff and sed there i have give miss

Nancy sumthing to wurry about to pay him for

rasing my rent last month. he wont dass to go

down town nites enny moar than old Ike Shute.

i sed to father dont you think the Terible 3 will

do sumthing feerful to him and father sed no they

may roten eg him or sumthing like that but they

wont hirt him. i sed do you supose it is big fellers

or little fellers and father sed it must be big fellers

becaus little fellers coodent ty up a snaping tirtles

mouth and coodent ty him to a doorgnob. i figger

it is sum big rowdys that want to be smart. it

must be sum fellers that aint been to school mutch

for that sine is spelt rong in 2 or 3 plaices. so i

dident say enny moar and the hack come for father

and he got in and went to the trane and i felt better.

After breckfast i went up to Pewts and he and

Beany sed to me gosh Plupy we broak a lot of

winders in old J. Albert Clarks house and put up

a sine and when i told them what they had did they

were suprised as time and they sed well all rite for

you old J. Albert your tirn will come. so i asted

Pewts father to come down and put in a new pane

of glass. and he came down before i went to school.

he sed that peeple were talking about the rain of

lawlissness and that sumthing was going to be did

about it. he sed it probly was being did by sumone

we hadent the leestest idea of, most always when

sum verry unusuel crime is comitted the pirpitraiter

is found to be one of the most respective citisens

of the town. Pewts father sed he callated it wood

be so in this case. he sed he was satisfide it wasent

boys or rowdys but the last pirson we wood suspeck.

the Exeter Newsleter had a peace in it today.

Beany read it to me and i cpppied it down for the

record. this was what the peace in the Newsleter

sed.

crime rammpent

The waive of crime that has broaken out in our

comunety is one that deserves the repribation of

every wirthy citisen haveing the welfair of our town

at hart. the unpreceedented boldness of the miss

creants is sutch as reminds one verry forceably of

the why ohs of New York that infaimus band of

ruffans that plunged the city of New York into a

riot of criminality that bid fair to rival the orgies

of Roam under the rane of Nero.

we have jest been regoiceing in the convicksion

of the ring leeders of the band of garrotters that

has terrorfide the naboring city of Boston when

we are confrunted with a serious of crimes in our

own town that bid fair to rival the wirst of the

above mensioned atrosities.

the cowerdly assault upon our wirthy sittizen mister

William Hobbs a man whose mennifoaled and

sterling trates of carackter intitle him to a very

high rank as a cittisen. the dasterdly attact up on

mister Biley J. Tilton whose open handed jennorosity

has done so mutch to maik his naim ornnered

in this community. the repperhensibel nature of

their warning to mister Isak Shute a man whose

jenerous wirth and moddist life has indeered him

to evryone, the coarse thret to mister J. Albert

Clark whose kinliness and good deads are as well

knone as his finanshal ability and probbity, are sutch

as maik the blud of evry onnest man boil in their

vanes.

it is indeed time that the ofisers of the law take

the most astringint measures to deteck and stamp

out the hoal infernal brood.

when father come hoam tonite he redd it and

laffed and sed i wunder what dam fool rote that.

ennyone with branes enuf to fill a thimbel had augt

to know that nobudy is going to be hirt. the fellers

that tide up that mud tirtles mouth aint going to

hirt ennyone. the moar the fools talk about it the

moar the fellers that are doing it are going to do

it sum moar.

i bet old Hobbs and Ike and old Biley Tilton and

J. Albert bougt 100 Exeter Newsleters apeace to

send round to their friends if they have got enny.

October 25, 186---clowdy and cold. i dident

get licked today in school whitch was a releef. last

nite i woak up and got thinking about the Terible 3

and what wood hapen if we got cougt and i coodent

go to sleep for moar than 2 hours. i gess the

peace in the Newsleters wurrid me. i wundered

if i had augt to have got up the Terible 3. i had

sevveral narow escaips from the reform school so

father had sed and this was wirse if i got cougt.

so i desided me and Pewt and Beany must be verry

cairful and not leeve enny trase of our dedly wirk.

bimeby i got to sleap and dident get up this morning

untill mother come up and shook me. i hardly

had time to get in my wood and water and eet my

breckfast and hiper to school. i got there jest in

time whitch was probably one reason why i dident

get licked. i tell you when a feller knows his teecher

is watching for a chanct to snach him balheaded

he has to wauk pretty strate.

this afternoon Pewt had to help his father paint

a fense and Beany went down to Ed Toles and

when Beany is down there i dont go becaus it is ap

to lead to trubble between me and Beany on acount

of Lizzie Tole Eds sister. so when father come

home early on the 2 oh clock trane he had a lait dinner

and we went down to see about getting my boat

up for the winter. so we rew up river to the Eddy

and then rew back. we had to row hard to keep

warm. well when we got back to the worf father

sed less pull the old boat out and we got hold and

pulled her haff way out on the worf and then father

swang her round to get the stirn out and gnocked

me rite into the river with my close on.

gosh it was as cold as a ice and i swum to the

worf and father the pulled me out and jawed me

for being a fool to get in the way when he hadent

told me what he was going to do. aint that jest

like him. well he made me run all the way home

and then took off my close and he rubed me with

a ruf towel that neerly took my hide off. it was

almost as tuf as when they rubed the black off of

me with bristol brick and seesand when i thougt

i was always going to be a niger.

then he give me a glass of hot lemonaid and maid

me go to bed. the lemonaid was all rite but i

haited to go to bed. we was going to have a meating

of the Terible 3 and then we was going down

on the square to hear a peddler sell stuff from a

wagon and a big torchlite. but father woodent let

me go. but he brougt me up a new novil. it was

a ripper. the naim of it is Rattlesnaik Redhead the

Red Handed. we will have to have the meating

of the Terible 3 tomorrow after chirch.

October 26, 186---sunday again and raning hard.

it has raned hard all day. it always ranes sunday

when a feller wants to do sumthing.

none of the folks went to chirch xcept Cele who

is verry religus. she is throug with the palsams

and is reading the provirbs. father asted me if i

gnew what a provirb was and i sed yes it was a

part of speach that modifide virbs ajectives and

other advirbs. then he begun to laff and they all

laffed. ennyway i bet evrybody but father and

mother and Aunt Sarah and Cele dident know. he

sed the provirbs was the wize sayings of old king

Sollerman whitch was suposed to be the wizest man

in the wirld.

father sed he coodent quite beleeve that for he

sed enny man whitch had as many wifes as Sollerman

coodent have had horse sence or been a repsective

cittisen. ennyway he sed he was wizer

than old man Purington Pewts grandfather who

rew out to sea 10 miles in a storm one day and

when he got to the shoals where the litehouse and

the big hotels was he landed and clim up the rocks

and when they asted him where he come from he

sed he come from America.

last nite father went to hear the peddler on the

square. father got a gold stem winder wach for

2 dollers. when he got home he tride to wind it

up and he cood wind it for 15 minutes and it

woodent be enny nearer wound up. so father looked

into it and there wasent ennything in it but the

winder. so father was mad and sed if the Terible 3

wood roten eg that pedler he gessed evrybody wood

be glad of it

gosh i dident say nothing but you bet the Terible

3 will have a meating tomorrow erly and they is

going to be sum fun tomorrow nite.

October 27, 186---this has been a grate day

for te Terible 3. this time we have did sumthing

that evrybody is glad of. xcept jest a few

fellers and sum wimen whitch aint willing to maik

enny sackrifise for the good of the town. bimeby

peeple will see that the Terible 3 is able to do sum

things that the poliseman cant do.

father sed tonite after he got home that it sirved

old Swane the poliseman and old Mizzery Dirgin

the poliseman that throwed me out of the hall that

time that father was going to make a speech but

dident dass to jest rite. that it was the law that

a pedler coodent pedle things without a license and

old Swane and old Mizzery Dirgin knowed it and

hadent augt to have aloud him to do it and if they

had did their duty father woodnt have lost 2 dollers

in bying a tin wach without enny wirks in it.

father sed he woodent have missed it for 10 dollers

and he wood like to know who done it. i sed

peraps it was the Terible 3 and he sed if it is peeple

had augt to forgive them for what they had did to

old Biley and old Bill and old Ike and old Ward

and old J. Albert. i wanted to tell him but of

coarse my othe woodent alow me to tell. i bet

father wood make a awful good member. if he

was a member we wood have to call it the Terible

4 and then peraps Beany and Pwet wood have to

have there fathers in it and we wood have to call it

the Terible 6.

So i gess it is all rite to leeve it as it is, but if

we ever get up another one father will have to join.

jest imagine ennyone ketching us and triing to lick

us when father was round.

i havent stoped laffing yet over it. if enny of

the peeple whitch got pluged ever find out who done

it they will kill us dead. but they wont never find

it out.

well this morning i got up and et my breckfast

and done my choars and went over to Beanys and

got him and we went up to Pewts and had a meating

of the Terible 3 and i told them what father

sed and what the pedler done to hime and that the

pedler was going to pedle there tonite and that it

was our chanct to do good wirk and to maik a naim

for ourselfs. so Pewt took us out to where his

father had set a lot of hens and there was lots of

hens and there was lots of egs that dident hach.

sum of them was so lite that you coodent plug them

verry far and sum of them whitch were heavy had

ded chickings in them. we broke 1 of eech kind

to see whitch smelt the wirst and we coodent tell.

both smelt so bad that we had to go out of the coop

and wait till it aird out. then we pluged 1 of eech

kind agenst the fense. the lits one popped the loudest

and the chicking one spatered the most. they

was 36 left.

Well Beany sed his father was papering sum

rooms in Masonick block in the 2th story for General

Maston and that he was going to Portsmuth

tonite to a masonick meating. so Beany sed he

wood get the kee of the office and we wood go up

there and lock the door and open the windows easy

and not have enny lite birning and we cood see

evrybody in the square and nobody cood see us

and he gessed mister pedler wood think sumbody

had throwed a skunk at him.

well i have forgoten wether i got licked in school

today or not. i dont think i did but i aint sure. i

dident think of ennything but what we was to do

to the pedler and old Francis grabed me and

shook me up and give me 2 or 3 bats and stood

me on the platform for a hour. so i dident get

licked after all. i thougt i wood remember it if

i was licked.

well after supper i studded until haff past seven

and Cele done all of my xamples if i wood let her

read Ratlesnaik Red Head the red Handed after

she had read 2 provirbs. so i let her have it and

after i had coppied the xamples i hipered over to

Beanys. he and Pewt were ready. we devided the

egs and filled our pockets with them and then we

went down town.

when we got there the pedler was standing in his

wagon in the square. and he had a big torchlite and

he was hollering and holding up things to sell. they

was a crowd of peeple round him men and wimmen

and boys and girls. we went down to masonick

block and went up stairs. we dident meat ennybody

and the stairs were pich dark. we unlocked the door

of the office and went in and opened the winders

eesy. it was lucky we did becaus Beany run into

a table in the dark and broak 2 egs in his pocket.

murder how they smelt. we had to stick our heads

out of the window to breeth. Beany sed what am

i to say to father and mother when they smell me

and find i have got roten eg on my close and Pewt

sed we fill say we were in the crowd and got hit and

nobody will think we pluged ourselfs. i tell you

Pewt is awful smart to think up things. that is

why he gits so few lickings in school and me and

Beany get so menny. so after we had got all the

egs out of our pockets and in litle piles ready and

cood breeth inside we all got ready. the old pedler

had a bottle in his hand and sed now ladies and

gentlemen i have here a bottel of my selibrated

panyseer compounded by the most destinkwished

chemists in Europe and of the purist and most

xpensive drugs and warranted to cure headake, earake,

backake, bellyake, hartake, rumatism, growing

panes, varicose vanes, bunions, corns, ingrowing tonales,

scroffuler, siattikeer, lung fevers, scarlet

feever, meezles, hooping coff mumps and croop.

children cry for it, old maids sy for it, you must

have it. waulk up, run up, gump up, tumble up

ennyway to get up only fetch your money up and

all for 1 doller.

jest as he sed that Pewt let ding with a chicking

eg as hard as he cood. it wood have took old mister

pedler square in the head but jest then he leened

down to take a doller and it went over his head and

took old Mizzery Dirgin who was standing facing

towerds us rite square in the mouth and spatered

all over him. i bet he gumped 9 feet in the air

and then begun to hoop and gag and rushed for the

horse troth and put his head in and soused it round

and the peeple all begun to laff and holler and old

Mizzery gumped up all driping and arested Mike

Prescot for being drunk and begun to drag him off

and Mike held back and fit and old Swane grabed

him to help old Mizzery and we let ding as fast

as we cood and old Swane got one rite between the

sholders and one rite in the back of his head that

popped like a pistol and he let go of Mike and

rushed for the troth and put his head in and while

the old pedler was laffing his head off he got 2

chicking egs 1 in his shert bosum and one rite

square in the eye and i never heard sutch swaring

and hooping and gaging in my life and and sheriff

Odlin who was standing on the curbstone got one

in his stovepipe hat and of coarse he had to arest

sumone and he took Bill Hartnitt and waulked him

off and as soon as the old pedler got enuf of the eg

out of his ey so he cood see and breeth he grabed

the ranes and liked his horse round the corner.

peeple were rushing round and triing to get out of

the way and sum were hollering murder what a

stink and sum were hollering hell what a stink and

sum were laffing their heads off and bending over

and slaping their gnees and leening agenst trees

and holding their sides and sum were swaring and

getting the polisemen to arest inosent peeple whitch

hadent done nothing and one man with a streek of

yellow down his back where he had got a popper

was offering 500 dollers for the man whitch wood

tell him who throwed them rotten egs. i see father

there talking with old Swane and old Mizzery and

shaking his head. father dident get hit but Pewts

father did. he got a popper in the coat tale and he

was mad. he wood have been madder if he had

gnew it was his eg.

of coarse we hit a good many peeple that we

dident meen to hit. they shoodent have been in

the way and they coodent blaim ennybody but themselfs.

but i supose they wood about kill us if they

gnew who done it. peeple is prety unreesonable

sumtimes. but we drove the old pedler away and

saved a grate del of money for the peeple and we

pluged old Swane and old Mizzery Dirgin and

evrybody was glad of that. of coarse when a feller

gets a roten eg in the ey or in the middle of his

vest when he has got his best close on he dont feel

xacly plesant towerds ennybody. after tonite i

gess evrybody will ware their old close when they

go out to hear a pedler pedle.

well while the peeple was hollering and swaring

and holding their nose and being arested for being

drunk by old Swane and old Mizzery and Sheriff

Odlin and being draged into the lockup me and

Beany and Pewt shet the winders of the office and

we come down stairs and went home. when we

got to my house we all went in. mother and Aunt

Sarah and Keene and Cele was setting up. well

when he went in and begun to talk mother and

Aunt Sarah begun to maik awful faces and Keene

and Cele sed phew what a awful smell and mother

sed Keene open the windows quick and sumone birn

a rag. what in the wirld have you stepped in boys,

go out and scrape your feet on the scraper and wipe

them on the mat. you had augt to be moar cairful

where you step and Beany he sed it aint that misses

Shute i got hit with a roten eg when sumone roten

eged the pedled and mother sed i dont want to be

unpolite Elbrige, Elbrige is Beany you know, but i

think you had better stand in teh doorway while

you xplain. so Beany stood there and we were telling

about it while Keene leened out of the window

and hollered phew and mother and Aunt Sarah held

their nose when father come in and the minit he

come in he sed Geerusalem the golden naim ever

dear to me will that smell folow me all the days of

my life till i dwell in the house of the lord forever,

and mother sed George i realy wish you woodent

talk so befoar the children and father sed all rite

Joey, he calls mother Joey you know, i wont, but

it is verry triiing to a man of my partickuler disposision

to return to the buzum of his familiy to

find the intire homested smeling like a combineasion

of a glu factory, a fertilizer factory and a ded horse

whitch has been left 3 weaks in a hot July sun.

and mother sed for heavens saik George dont say

enny more. it is bad enuf without thinking of

sutch dredful things. and father sed i wont Joey

only you shood not have interrupted me and tirned

me from my religious medditasions. i was doing

prety well. then Aunt Sarah sed if you aint moar

choise in your langage you never will dwell in the

house of the Lord but sumwhere elce, and father

sed tell me sumthing new and dont scair me to deth

Sarah. but how in the wirld did that smell get

here, and me and Beany and Pewt all hollered

Beany got a eg in the side and father sed i shood

think he did and the best thing Beany can do is to

go home and chainge his close. it is neerly 10 oh

clock and we have got to go to bed sumtime tonite.

so Pewet and Beany went home and father set down

and mother shet the winders and father told us

about it and how meny got hit and what they sed

and we all nearly dide laffing as we always do when

father tells stories, and father sed Gim Ellison got

hit in the middle of his vest and went home holding

his nose up in the air so high that he run bang into

a tree and broak his speckticles, and old Bradbiry

Purington, Pewts father went home holding his

coat tale up like a woman holds up her trane. he

sed that old Mag Mackflannery got hit and went

rite down to old Bill Morrils house and maid so

mutch fuss that Bill promised her a new dress if

she wood shet up and go home. he sed Bill sed he

will never run for selickman again. it keeps him

in hot water all the time. he sed Bill sed if he

hadent agreed to by her a new dress she wood have

drove him into a loonitick assilem.

father he sed it was wirth 25 dollers of enny

mans money to see old Swane and old Dirgin get

it and they hadent enny rite to arest Mike and Bill

and Gimmy Josy whitch wasent doing nothing but

standing round, and wasent drunk enuf to be arested,

and he sed he and Amos Tuck went in and baled

them all out and that was why he was lait. father

sed he wished moar egs had hit the polisemen and

he wished he gnew the fellers whitch throwed the

egs he wood give them 5 dollars.

gosh i wanted to tell him but my othe forbid but

i wish we cood get that 5 dolers. father sed if the

Terible 3 done it they hadent augt to be blaimed

for ennything they had done to old Biley and the

others. then he told me and Keene and Cele to go

to bed and we done it. while i was wrighting i

remembered what father sed about baling out old

Mike and Gimmy Josy and Bill Hartnitt and i hollered

down stairs and sed father how did you go

to wirk to bale out them fellers. and father sed i

used a stomack pump of coarse. how did you

supose i done it, with a dipper. now you go to

bed. so i went back and shet my door.

i tell you father knows how to do things. he

pumped all the rumm out of them fellers and when

they are tride in coart tomorrow and old Swane and

old Mizzery sware that they was drunk the jug will

tell them they is dam liers and a disgraice to the

perfession. i wish i cood go to coart and hear the

jug say that but i supose i have got to go to school.

tomorrow i will wright the report for Pewt to copy

becaus i can spel so mutch beter than Pewt.

October 28, 186---brite and fair. gosh the funniest

thing happened to Pewt and to Beany. when

Pewt got home his father was there and auful mad

because he had got a poper on the coat tale becaus

he was going to a temprunce meating tonite and

was going to set on the platform and Pewts mother

sed it wood be a weak befoar he cood ware that

coat again becaus she wood have to boil it in 2

waters and rince it in and 3 and then dry it and ion

it. so Pewts father coodent set on the platform

at the temprunce meating and he was mad enuf

to lick his grate granfather.

if Pewt had gnew enuf to keep still he wood have

been all rite but he wanted to be funy and he sed

that is a funy way to boil egs and old man Purinton

grabed him and lambasted him with his ratan can

till you cood have heard Pewt holler down town.

it was tuf on Pewt but he dident get a lot of lickings

he ougt to have got and i gess he cant complane.

and Beany had tuf luck two for when he went

into the house they maid him go out and take off

his jaket and his father licked him for spoling his

close and maiking sutch a smell until Beany hollered

as loud as Pewt. for onct in my life i had sum

good luck for i got up the hoal thing and they got

licked for it. i supose it aint rite for 1 of the

Terible 3 to laff when the other 2 gets licked but

i cant help it.

tonite we dident do nothing but put up another

sine on old Ikes house it sed.

bewair Isak the hour of retrobusion is at hand.

the Terible 3

i xpect to hear sumthing from Ike tomorrow.

October 29, 186---today neither Pewt nor Beany

cood go out of the yard xcept to go to school. they

boath sed they wood be willing to stay in the yard

the hoal day if they cood stay away from school

but they thougt it was tuf to have to go to school

and run the risk of being licked and then stay in

the yard when the other fellers was having a good time.

but i done the best i cood to help them out.

after school this morning i got a croud of fellers

to go up to Pewts. they was Pop Clark and Hunny

Donovan and Ham Welsh and Skinny Bruce and

Jack and Gim Melvin and we staid there until Pewts

father drove us out and after school this afternoon

i got the saim croud to go over to Beanys so he

woodent be loansum and we staid there till Beanys

father drove us out. Beanys father told my father

that it was more punishment for his family when

he kep Beany in the yard than it was to Beany becaus

evry time he kept Beany in the yard all his

frends come in and rased particklar hell.

tonite old Ike sent for father and wanted to know

if he wood come up and stay with him until nine

oh clock when he was going to have a poliseman

stay all nite to perteck him from the Terrible 3.

father he sent him word that he wood be up after

supper. he had to go down town a few minits and

he sent me up to tell him and to say that he had

better stay in and keep the doors locked. he told

me to tell him he wood give 3 gnocks but not to

open the doer for enyone elce.

Aunt Sarah sed George do you really think they

is enny dainger. and father sed not a bit. sumone

is having fun with Ike and Aunt Sarah sed

why do you want to scare him to deth and father

sed sister mine our gentle cussin Isak has had far

two easy a life and it is a good thing to instil into

his mind the idea that moths and rust do corrup

and theeves braik throug and steel. then aunt Sarah

tride not to laff and sed i think it is a shaim to

wurry so good a man as he is and father sed.

sister thou wast mild and luvly

gentle as the summer breaz.

but it is hard to convinse you that desperrit cases

need desperrit remmedies. now this is a desperrit

case. verry desperrit. supose the Terible 3 shood

kidnap Ike and hold him for ransum. who wood

give 5 cents for Ike? who wood give ten, have

i enny offers. maik it 7 1/2 cents. no offers maik

it six. do i have enny offers. no by saint bride of

Bothwel no let the portculis fall. and i wood have

to go throug life uncheered by the companonship

of Ike.

then aunt Sarah sed George do be sensible for

onct in your life. jest onct. are you going to

scare that poor man to deth or not? and father

he sed far from it sweet sister. i shall be kindness

itself. is it kindness in the docter when he

conceles the faital naiture of a diseeze from a diing

man and alows him to go whooping into the vast

beyond without a chanct to repent. is that kindnes

sister? ecco answers not by a dam site sister.

it aint kindnes. it wood have been kindnes to tell

him the gig was up and give him a chanct to maik

his will and pay a few notes and by sum paper

with black eges and 40 or 50 yards of craip for a

fale for his wife.

so it will be my duty, sister, in spite of your

prairs and teers, not to concele from Isak the seerius

nature of the thret maid by the Terible 3. have you

ever reelized how my boyhood was blited by the

thrashings it received becaus i was a bit rude to my

gentle cussen Ike. and do you reelize how many

hundred times he was held up to me as a moddle and

how i was erged sumtimes prairfuly by mother and

moar often strapfuly by father to emulait his vertus.

and do you think, sweet but earring sister that i will

alow sutch a opertunity of asureing him of my pertecksion

and simpathy to pass.

o the demon and his bride

and the grate grate owl

by all his curage tride

in the popes sanbowl

i gess not, Sarah mine. i shall go up and convinse

Isak that the wicked stand in slepery plaices and

that the way of the transgresor is hard. Isak has

called upon his cussen for pertecksion. wood you

have me fale him, speek woman.

then aunt Sarah began to laff and sed there is no

use in talking to you when you are fealing like that

and i shall not say enny moar and she went off.

i gnew there wood be sum fun for they always is

when father talks like that and so i asted father if

i cood go up to Ikes with him. he sed i cood go

but i must let him do the talking and not say a word

unless i was asted to. so i sed i wood be cairful

and we went up. it was not quite dark and when

we got up there father gnocked 3 gnocks and we

heard sumone say who is there, and father sed it

is me George and then Ike unlocked 3 or 4 locks

and opened it about 5 inchs and it was held by a

chane. then he peeped out and sed is it you George.

who have you got with you and father sed this is

my boy Harry. then he sed to me this is cussen

Isak and i sed how do you do cussen Isak and he

sed how do you do and i sed i spoke to you one day

and you dident know me and so i told father if he

ever got a chanct to interduce me.

the Ike sed i am a little neer sited and i sed i

see you are cussen Isak and then father nugged me

with his elbo and i dident say enything moar.

then father sed you havent heard enything moar of

the kidnapers and Ike he give a sort of gump and

sed do you think cussen George that they is kidnapers

and father sed i have thought so from sum

things i have heard. and old Ike sed what have you

heard and father sed well Isak i dont want to friten

you but you had augt to know this. jist then Ikes

wife Mary come in. we call her Mary Isak becaus

they is so mutch alike and never goes enywhere

and jest sets and rocks in rocking chairs and looks

at each other.

when she come in father got up and shook hands

with Mary Isak and interduced me and she asted

him if he thougt they was verry daingerous men

and father laffed and sed no cussen Mary there

isent the leest dainger in the wirld. it is only sum

smart fellers that wants to have a little fun with

sum of our best cittisens and they isent the leest

need of wurrying. so you go to bed and i will set

up and talk with Isak until the poliseman comes up.

so Mary Isak went up stairs and Isak begun to

perk up quite a lots until father sed as i was saying

Isak when cussen Mary come in, i have read

the papers cairfuly and there has been quite a number

of cases cimmiler to this. 1 in Milton masschusetts

and 1 in Lewiston maine and 2 in new

york State. in eech case warnings was hung up

like these and in each case a verry ritch and promminent

cittisen was kidnaped and held for ransum.

the man in Milton had to pay 35 hundred dollars

and the man in Lewiston paid i think 48 hundred

dollars they wanted 5 thousand dollars but all he

cood rase was 48 hundred and the 2 in New York

had to pay 9 thousand apeace. but you know prises

is higher in New York. probly you woodent have

to pay moar than 5 thousand.

well all this time old Ike had been setting ferst

in one chair and then in another chair and puling his

wiskers and when father sed this he gave a grone

and sed aint there no pertection under the law? and

father sed the matter is being vestigated and persecution

will folow enny falce step that the villins

make. the trubble is they are verry hard to ketch

then Ike sed isent there sum way out of it and

father sed i have been thinking Isak why dont you

and J. Albert Clark and Biley Tilton and the other

fellers whitch has been warned make up a purce

like you and sum of the fellers done when they was

afrade of being draffed in the civil war to hire

substitoots. then if the scoundrils get one of you

the others will help pay his ransum. well Ike he

thought that mite be a good idea and he sed he wood

see sum of them tomorrow if the Terible 3 dident

get him befoar morning. then father sed dont wurry

a bit Isak while i am here they will have to get you

over my ded body and Ike sed thank you George

you were always a kind frend and father sed yes Isak

we was frends but not xactly Damin and Pithius.

well bimeby the poliseman come up and it was

old Filander Kize and he was smoaking a old black

pipe that smelled wirse than one of our poppers

that we pluged at the pedler and old Ike sed have

you got to smoak that mister Kize and old Filander

sed yes it is the only thing that will keep me awake

and so Ike sed well i supose i shall have to stand

it. so me and father come away after shaking

hands with old Ike and father told him to go to bed

and to get a good nites rest and not to wurry and

then we come away and we cood hear him locking

all the locks and bolting all the bolts and puting up

the chane so the Terible 3 coodent kidnap him.

when we was going home father began to laff and

sed i supose i was a meen cus to wurry cussen Isak

like that but all my life he has been held up to me

as a moddle and if i thougt you wood tirn out like

him i shood feal like throwing you over the brige

in a bag with rocks in it. think of living a life

without fun. gosh he mite have been a useful cittizen

if he hadent been so cussed good. how ever

i will go up tomorow and chirk him up a little.

when we got home mother and Sarah was setting

up and darning stockings and Sarah sed well George

did you wurry the poar man out of his wits and

father sed piece woman i treeted him with the uttmost

kindness and was a grate cumfort to him.

of coarse i was cairful not to under estimait the

dainger for feer that Ike mite be bold to rashniss

and xpose himself needlessly to dainger. it wasent

verry hard to perswuade him to stay in the house

for a weak or 2. indeed i think i wood have had

to fite hard to get him out. but when i left him i

asured him taht if wirst come to wirst he cood

probly be able to pay his ransum if it wasent moar

than 20 thousand dollers. i thougt he was going

to faint ded away then and i told him with

me and Melander Kize and old Swane and Mizzery

Dugin and old Brown willing ot sackrifise our lifes

for him he needent wurry.

then Aunt Sarah sed and she coodent talk verry

well because she was triing to bite a thred off, i

think i shall go up and tell cussen Isak that you

are jest stirring him up and father sed he will not

beleeve you for i told him the hoal family but me

had tirned agenst him straingly becaus they thougt

he has did sum dredfill thing that wont see the lite

of day and that Harry and I are the only ones

that stand up for him and Aunt Sarah bit off the

thred with a snap and sed George Shute if i cood

beleeve a single wird you say i shood be verry indignent,

and father sed it is harroing to be so

douted and missunderstood by them whitch is deer

to you and he pertended to burst into teers and sed

he wood go to bed and weap his piller sopping wet

and he made up a auful face and winked at mother

and went up stairs and Aunt Sarah sed to mother

what a man he wood have been on the staige. he

wood have beet comical Brown and Artimus Ward

and Joshua Billings all to peaces, and mother she sed

yes he wood but i prefir him jest as he is.

October 29, 186---rany again. it hasent done

enything but rane for 3 weaks. it was so rany

that we coodent put up eny sines or comit eny

crimes. i saw old Filander coming down from Ikes

this morning and when i went to school i say Mary

Isak with all the winders open airing out the house.

October 30, 186---cold and windy. all the horse

chesnuts in frunt of Sheriff Odlins place has fell

down and all the fellers is stringing them on strings

and pluging them over the telligraf wires. of coarse

me and Beany and Pewt does it to pass away the

time and devert suspishons. we have got moar

serius things to think about. saw old Filander come

down from Ikes again today and saw Mary Isak

airing out the house again. tonite father went up

again to cumfort Ike. father says that he dont

think Ike cood et along without his sunny precence.

every time father comes home from Ikes he says

Ike sends down town for a man to put on a new

chane or a new lock on the door. father says if he

goes a few moar times he will get him to put iron bars

in the winders. old mother Moulton stays there

days. father says he hasent had so mutch fun sence

he took laffin gas and cleened out docter Johnsons

ofice and throwed docter Johnson out of one winder

and docter Prey out of the other and Gim Melcher

down stairs.

October 31, 186---Hork and Spit both dide today.

give them a big ded rat that old mis Dire

give me. they toar it into bits and et it fir and

all and when i come home from school they was

both ded and all curled up. i asted old mis Dire

how she cougt the rat and she sed she poizened it

with rat poisen only she called it rat poizen. i

told her it killed my horks and she sed she was sorry

but she forgot to tell me. i thougt at ferst that

she done it perpose to pay me for sending her old

cat to Haverhill but i gess she dident. we had a

meating of the Terible 3 today and if she had done

it a perpose we wood have atended to her case even

if she was a woman. while the Terible 3 dont maik

war on wimmen, we dont perpose to have wimmin

maik war on us.

Filander is still at Ikes. tonite we drawed lots

to see witch shood go up with a sine to Biley Tiltons.

i got the shortest straw and had to go. Pewt

had printed a sine whitch sed.

Bewaire the vengunce of the Terible 3

it spairith not the wicked man.

but it strikith in darkniss. Bewair.

when i got up there old Biley was setting by his

door with a gun over his gnees. i sed how do you

do mister Tilton and he sed how do how do. i pertended

i come up to see Luke Mannix but he wasent

to home and i come back. i dident leeve the sine

you bet.

November 1. J. Albert Clark has got a bull dog.

he bougt it of old Mike Casidy. he keeps it to

perteck him from the Terible 3. father thougt

he had augt to have moar pertecksion and told him

so. father is verry kind to J. Albert and to Ike.

we have maid father a onery member of the Terible

3. woodent he be surprised if he gnew it. of

coarse we cant tell him he is a onery member but

he is. i asted Pewt and Beany if they dident want

their fathers to be maid onery members and they

sed no, that their fathers had licked them for nothing

the nite we roten eged the pedler and they wood

voat agenst it. so that is what they get for not

helping the Terible 3.

well tonite when J. Albert come home and tride to

go into the house the bull dog grabed him by the

hine leg and nearly toar his britches off and he

slamed the door on his hed before he wood let go

and J. Albert had to set in the barn while he sent

down to old Mikes to get him to come up and make

the bull dog let him in. so after a while old Mike

come up and maid the dog let him in. then he maid

J. Albert feed the dog and pat him and he told the

dog J. Albert was his frend and he sed the dog

gnew moar than a man and they woodent be eny

moar trubble with him after this. and he maid

J. Albert pay him anuther doller for coming up

and maiking the dog mind J. Albert. it was lucky

J. Albert had on his second best close and it wasent

his best lavender britches that the dog toar. after

supper tonite J. Albert took the bull dog out for a

walk hiched to him with a chane and a coller round

his neck and ferst the dog chased a cat and draged

old J. Albert about 10 rods befoar he cood stop him

and the woman whitch oaned the cat come out and

told J. Albert he wasent eny gentleman for keaping

a feerosius dog and J. Albert was bowing and taiking

off his hat and asting her parden when the ferosius

dog started after another cat and J. Albert

lost his hat and had to hiper a long distence holding

back with his hine legs sticking out in front

and triing to stop him and hollering whoa.

well when J. Albert got him stoped he got a

stick and was going to lick him but the dog grouled

and J. Albert thougt he woodent lick him after all

so he went back after his hat puling the bull dog

along and stoping evry time he come to a tree or

a post, then he got his hat whitch had been run

over by a dingle cart with a lode of hay. well J.

Albert got his hat and pushed it into shaip and

brushed it and put it on and started off again with

the dog. and when he was going by old Si Smith

store old Sis big white dog come out and piched

into J. Albert dog and you had augt to have saw

that fite. it was a ripper. they stood up and toar

at each others gozzles and rassled and rolled over

in the dirt and bit and shook and knawed each

other. and old Si come out and lammed then with

his cain and swoar at J. Albert and old Shep Hogden

and Gimmy Bedell pulled their tales and hine

legs and throwed water on them and hit them with

brickbats and J. Albert pulled at the chane and

hollered and Lamp Flood was a going to lick J.

Albert who hadent done nothing to him when father

grabed him by the neck and neerly yanked his head

off and throwed him in the guter. bimeby a feller

from Mager Blakes stable told Shep to pull on one

dogs hine leg and Gimmy to pull on the other and

when they had the dogs rite out strate the feller lit

a sulfer match rite under their noses and they let

go prety quick and Shep and Gimmy pulled them

apart. the sulfer maid them choak and they had

to let go to breeth. it was a buly fite and old J.

Albert done well.

i wish you cood have saw old Lamp Flood go

fluking into the guter.

November 2, 186---sunday again. it comes round

prety often i think. Saturday dont seam to come

round as often as sunday. today there was a little. this

morning old J. Albert started to go down stairs

and the bull dog woodent let him. i ges in the

xcitement of the fite and chaising the cats he had

forgot that J. Albert was his master. J. Albert

gnocked on the wall and wanted father to take the

kee and open the door and get the bull dog out,

and father sed are you saif J. Albert where you are

and J. Albert sed yes he cant get me up here but i

dont want to stay here the rest of my life, and father

sed if you are saif you will have to stay there till i

can send down for old Mike to come up. i dont

have eny grate hankering to have a bull dog hanging

to me for the rest of my life eether. so maik yourself

to home and reed a few chapters of the bible for

this is sunday and i gess towerds supper time old

Mike will come up. then J. Albert sed cant you get

a gun and shoot him throug the winder and father

sed it is sunday Albert and i am verry perticler

about using fire arms on this sacrid day but if you

will posess your sole in pashents i will see what can

be did.

So J. Albert shet the window and father told me

to go down and get old Mike and i done it and

Mike come up with me and J. Albert throwed out

the kee and old Mike opened the door and the bull

dog waged his tale when he saw old Mike and

wigled round jist like a puppy, he was so glad to

see him, and J. Albert come down and told Mike

he had ruther be kidnaped than et by a bull dog

and he sed Mike had got to taik back the dog and

give back his 10 dollers whitch J. Albert had gave

him and Mike sed not by a dom site a bargin was

a bargin and J. Albert sed he dident bargin for a

dog to eet breckfast dinner and supper off of him

and old Mike sed he asted for a dog that woodent

let enybody into the house and he got one. and

J. Albert sed he xpected to be able to get into his

oan house and old Mike sed he dident say enything

about that when they traded and after they had

talked and jawed about it J. Albert sed Mike cood

have the bull dog if he wood taik him off to onct

and Mike he done it and went off smoaking his old

pipe and the bull dog gumped up on him and wigling

his tale.

enyway aunt Clark J. Alberts mother is coming

home tomorow and i wood like to see enyone kidnap

J. Albert when she is around. Filander is still at Ikes.

November 3, 186---cold as time this morning. i

saw a flock of robins eeting sum red berrys on a

tree. the blackberds has all gone 2 weaks ago.

Potter Gorham says they follow the cost line down

south stoping evry day somewhere to eet. the robins

goes last and sumtimes stays here all winter. i

have never saw a robin in winter but Potter sed he

see one onct.

Potter knows all about birds and animals and

insex and things. he is going to be a natturalist

sum day. i wood ruther be a natturalist than enything

in this wirld xcept a band player. so i am

going to be a band player and play the e flatulent

cornet becaus that is the highest and the loudest

and the eesiest to carry round.

the trumboan is pretty good and if i cant play

the cornet i shood like to play the trumboan. if

sum feller wood maik a trumboan that wood have

the 2 parts slip into eech other so far that there

woodent be enything left then a feller cood put

in into his vest poket when he wasent playing it

and nobody wood know he had it. it wood be grate

fun to taik your trumboan sliped together in your

vest poket to chirch and when the old minister was

preeching auful tiresum and old mister Blake and

old Han. Dow and old Steve Gail and all the other

men in the chirch are sleeping and injoying the

sirmon verry mutch indeed thank you to taik the

trumboan out of your vest poket and put it together

and blow a auful toot ratetatoot as loud as

you can and see all the old pods gump up and sum

of them hit their heads on the phew in frunt of

them where they has been leening their heads in an

atitood of prair and the old minister loose his plaice

and gump ten paiges to 7thly insted of 4thly. and

when old C. Lovell 2th whitch is sumtimes sexton

and sumtimes suprintendent of the sunday school

comes round to see who blowed the horn and to

put him out they aint no horn enywhere and sum

folks think it may be the last trump of Gabril. if i

ever get time i am going to try to maik a trumboan

like that but i am so bizzy with the afairs of the

Terible 3 that i cant spend eny time in sutch things

as them.

Tonite we put the sine Pewt rote for old Biley

Tilton on Ikes house. we had a meating of the

Terible 3 and we desided that we woodent do eny

moar at present to old Biley becaus when a man

sets in his garden with a shot gun on his gnees

and dont ast the polise to help him they aint mutch

use to do enything to him. bimeby peraps we may

have a chanct. we also desided not to do eny moar

to J. Albert becaus he done so well in the dog fite

and was so perlite to the woman when she sed he

was no gentlemen when it wasent his falt becaus

he coodent stop the dog from chaising her cat the

ferst yank but done the best he cood. so we aint

ging to bother him eny moar. so we put up a sine on

his house and neerly got cougt but dident quite. it sed

J. Albert Clark. the Terible 3 has desided that

they has maid a mistaik in your case. you done

splended in the dog fite and you hung on to the

chane and dident let go when Lamp Flood was going

to lick you whitch took grate curage. The

Terible 3 think you are a good feller and are your

frends for life. The Terible 3.

November 4, 186---Today Ike got old Swane to

stay there. he smoaks a wirse smeling pipe than old

Filander. Filander stays nites and old Swane daytimes.

Ike sent for father and father advised him

to have sumbody round all the time. it costs a lot

of money but father says nobudy wood know the

vallue of money unless they spends it. Ike thinks

sumthing is going to hapen prety soon.

November 5, 186---rany today. i gess it was

lucky it was for if it hadent been for the rane Ikes

house wood have birne down. gosh the Terible 3

is fealing prety wurried. last nite at 3 oh clock

the bells begun to ring and in heard peeple hollering

fire. i gumped up prety lifely and i cood hear

father yelling for his britches. we got to the frunt

door together and we cood see a big blaiz up towards

Ikes. gosh i was scart. when father sed them

devils has did it at last i thougt it was all boys

play but i gess it was real. it means stait prizon for

life for sombudy. i was so scart that i cood hardly

maik my hine legs go but i kep up. all the bells

was ringing and evrybudy was hollering fire. when

we got there Pewts father and Beanys father and

old Filander and old Nat Weaks and old Bill Greanleef

and old printer Smith and old Parry Moulton

and old Gus Brown and Pewt and Beany and evryone

were pumping water into lether buckets and

pales and hollering where in hell is the ingines and

this is a hell of a fire dipartment and rushing round

and getting in each others way and swaring and

luging out the firniture and throwing crockery

through the windows. old Bill Greanleaf lowered

his wife out of her chamber by tying her to a sheet

and then clim down hisself when all he had to do

was to go down stares and out of the door. and

it was only 10 feet high and they cood have gumped

if necesary. old Mrs. Sawyer fainted ded away

and sumbudy throwed a pale of water on her and

she gumped up and called him all the naims she

cood think of.

jest then the Torent No 2 come down the strete

with the men on the roap running on the cleen

gump. they stoped by the reservor and run out the

hoze and let down the pipe and then found that they

had left the nozzle at the ingine house upon the

plains and they sent a feller up there on horseback

and all they cood do was to pump water into pales

whitch helped sum but not mutch. then the fellers

formed bucket lines and kep a pumping and pouring

and wondering where the Union No 1 and

Fountain No 3 were.

it tirned out after the fire was over that the moon

was rising in Hamton Falls and that they saw the

lite and went down there as fast as they cood hiper

thinking there was a big fire and when they got way

up to Isiar Hanes house the moon was up so that

they cood see what it was and they was so tuckered

out runing a mile and a haff up hill that they

coodent do a single thing but set down and sware

and call each other dam fools. they was even two

tuckered out to fite and most always firemen is ready

to fite and so they must have been prety well used

up.

well we fellers whitch was at the fire wirking our

heads off and triing to save old Bill Greanleef and

his wife and Ike and his wife and old Bill Morill

was getting prety tuckered with pumping and hollering

and throwing water on the flaims and throwing

firniture throug the winders and runing ladders

agenst peeples heads and saving hens by the hine

legs squorking and flaping feerful and wondering

where the Union No 2 and the Fountain No 3 was

and what had become of the feller whitch had went

for the nozzle and hadent come back when it begun

to pour rane and i never gnew it to rane faster and

in a few minits the fire was out. then we was

going to move the thing back but we found that

sum of the firemen had choped hoals in the roof of

the house. the fire hadent got to the house but they

thougt they wood have the hoals reddy for the Union

No 1 and Fountain No 3 and the feller whitch had

went for the nozzle and hadent got back when they

got there. so the house was full of water and sum

of the plastering had fell down on the heads of

the fellers whitch were throwing things throug the

winders and covered them with plaster.

well after the fire was over we went home. father

says they is going to have the best detecktives in

Boston to find out who the Terible 3 is. evrybuddy

says they done it to get even with Ike. father says

they is jest as sure to go stait prizon as he is to get

his breckfast tomorow. i went to bed but dident

sleap a wink i coodent eet eny breckfast this morning.

mother says i must be sick. gosh it is wirse

than being sick.

this morning the Terible 3 had a meating. we desided

to give up the asociasion and to burn the records.

it is a auful thing to have stait prizon stairing

you in the face when you havent done nothing.

we havent done nothing rong but if they find out

who the Terible 3 is we will have to go to stait

prizon. sumbuddy set fire to Ikes house sure. they

wasent eny stove in the barn. if it had started in

the house it mite have cougt from the chimny.

November 6, 186--- things is getting wirse evry

day. i have lost the record of the Terible 3. Pewt

sed he give it to me all rite but when i went to my

desk it was gone. i know it was there 2 days ago.

i hunted evrywhere for it. i asted mother and

aunt Sarah and all of them if enyone had been in

my desk and they all sed no. mother asted me what

i had lost and i told her i had lost a story i had rote

and she sed well you can remember it cant you and

i sed yes but i dont want to wright it again. i have

hunted evrywhere and so has Beany and Pewt. if

enyone has found it our goos is cooked and we go

to stait prizen. i have looked forward moar than

oncet to going to the reform school or to jale but

i never gnew what it was to xpect to go to stait

prizon for sumthing you never have did. i cant

eet and cant sleap. it is wirse than being ded. a

grate deel wirse.

November 7, 186---the insurance men come and

xamined the fire and took measurements. they desided

it wasent Ikes falt or Bills falt and so they

pade them. father sed Ike and Bill maid moar

money than they had for six months. but he sed

that the insurance companies was going to find out

who done it and it looked to him that the Terible 3

would be looking throug bars before long. i cant

hardly breeth when i think of it. i saw Beany and

Pewt today and they are so scart that they cant

eet or sleap just like me. of coarse we have got

to laff and holler at fellers and play football but

we only laff to concele a braking hart. i wood give

a milion dollers to know what has become of them

records. if i had birnt them we wood have had

sum chanct. and if we had the sence to put sum

other fellers naims in it peraps we mite escaip but

i dont see enny hope.

November 8, 186---brite and fair. i wish i felt

as good as the wether. it seams as if evrybody

was looking at me and saying he done it. he is 1

of the Terible 3. evrytime i see a strainge man i

think he is a detecktive and evrytime i see old Swane

or old Mizzery or old Filander or old Brown i wunder

if they is going to grab me and put the handcufs

on my rists and drag me to the lockup. mother

says she is going to see docter Perry about me

but i laff and say i am all rite. peraps she wood tirn

from me with lothing like Dolly Bidwell done in

East Linn when she plaid it in the town hall last

winter, if she gnew. jest think less than a year ago

i was going to shows and having a good time and

now i am wateing to be sent to stait prizen. i have

often wundered how fellers felt whitch have to go

to stait prizen but now i know.

November 9, 186---sunday again. it mite as well

be sunday as eny other day. perhaps they woodent

arest a feller on sunday. Beany had the docter today.

i asted Lucy Watson what was the matter

with him and she sed Docter Perry sed he was in

a low nervus stait. she sed Docter Perry sed if

Beany had eny mind he shood say sumthing was

praying on it. the minister preeched on the wicked

whitch fleas when no man persuith. that wood be

all rite but detecktives is pursuing us. i wish he

hadent sed enything about it. i wish i cood be let

alone in chirch.

November 10, 186---Pewt had the docter today.

he had docter Swet. docter Swet thinks Pewt is

thretened with brane feever. father says that cant

be. he sed he shood as soon xpect me to have brane

feever as Pewt. i think peraps we will all feal

better when it is over. what i am afrade of is that

Pewt and Beany may go crasy and say i done it

all. what if they shood. i wood give a milion dollers

if i gnew where them records have went to.

November 11, 186---Beany aint eny better. i went

over today to see him and see what cood be did and

he sed he dident want to see enybudy. i went up to

see Pewt and asted old man Purinton how he was

and he sed he was getting no better verry fast. i

wunder if he has heard enything.

November 12, 186---Pewt aint enny better. Beany

aint et ennything but broth for 2 days. i still eet

to keep up my strenth. i am wurried about them.

if they get two week peraps they will comfes and

say i done it. i hoap they is man enuf to keep

their othes. i am going to keep mine.

i forgot to say wether it was brite or fair or

rainy or enything fer a weak. i dont remember

and i dont cair a dam. there i have sed it.

November 13, 186---father keeps looking at me

quear. i wunder if he suspecks ennything. if i

had only told him he was a onery member peraps

i cood tell him about things without braking my

othe. i bet he wood help us. we have got to have

sum help. it wont do to let Pewt and Beany dy

and leeve me to go to stait prizon alone. if 1 of

has got to go to stait prizon the hoal 3 of us has

got to go. Beany and Pewt aint going to sneek out

of it by dying. that woodent be fair.

November 14, 186---i have gave up haop and

dont cair now. i am only wateing till a poliseman

grabs me. i got licked in school. it dident even

hirt me. it maid me think of sumthing elce but

stait prizon for a few minits. old Francis says i

am getting nummer evry day. he says if i dont

waik up he will have to waik me.

what is the use enyway. last Sunday the minister

sed evrybudy cood get the gratest cumfort from

the bible whatever his truble was. he sed open the

bible and reed the first virse you see and it will

comfort you. so today i saw Celes bible open where

she had left it. she is reeding Isiar. i dident know

eny part of the bible was rote by Isiar. Isiar Hanes

was probably naimed after him, well i thougt i

wood do as the minster sed. so i shet up the bible

and then opened it and the ferst virse i saw was

this.

by these 3 was the third part of men

killed, by the fire and by the smoak

it was in chapter 9 virse 18 of Revellasions. you

cood have gnocked me down with a fether. i shet

up the book and set down. then i got out the

dicksionery and looked up Revellasions and it sed

revellasions---the ack of disclosing to others

that whitch was ungnew to them.

so what is the use. i wish i was ded.

November 15, 186---the gratest thing has happened.

i feel as if i cood fli to the moon. jest

think i am in my room wateing for father to come

and lick me and i aint wurrid a bit. i have et haff

a mince pye and i never taisted enything so good

in my life befoar. i feel so good that i wood like

to holler. jest think i aint got to go to stait prizon

nor Beany nor Pewt. this morning Pewt and Beany

were faleing verry fast and the last i heard of them

they was setting up in their shirt tales eeting meet

and potatoes and pye and evrything.

well tonite father went out and mother asted

him where he was going and he sed low so i woodent

hear him up to Brads. i heard him and i thougt

sumthing was up. so after he had went out i

folowed on and saw him go into the paint shop.

Pewts father and Beanys father and General Mastin

were there. so i crep up where there was a broaken

winder and lissened. father set down and took out

of his poket, what do you think, the records of

the Terible 3. i was so sirprized that i neerly hollered

but dident. then father sed well gentlemen

i have the infirnalist record of yuthfull depravity i

ever read in my life. and then he read it and evry

time he stoped to breeth old General Mastin wood

slap his gnee and holler god did you ever hear the

like of that, the little devils. and father wood holler

and laff and Pewts father and Beanys father wood

two. then father wood read sum moar and then

he sed i wish i had been a member and i almost sed

you was an onery member but i gnew enuf not to.

bimeby he finished and sed there General did you

ever hear enything like that in your life and General

sed he never did. then father sed he suspecked

us from the ferst and peraps he was as mutch to

blaim as we was becaus he stirred up old Ike and

J. Albert but when the fire come he was wurrid as

the devil althoug he felt sure we hadent done it

he was afrade sum dam fool wood try to lay it

onto us. and the very day of the fire he found the

records where i had droped them. he told Pewts

father and Beanys father and they thougt it

woodent hirt us to wurry and they told the 2 docters

and the docters sed they was all rite and it woodent

hirt them.

then father sed it was only fair that he and Pewts

father and Beanys father shood pay for eny damige

we had did. and Pewts father sed as long as i got

it up father had augt to pay. and father sed why

do you say that and Pewts father sed becaus he

always does get the other boys into truble and father

kind of smiled and handed the records to him

and sed whose writing is that.

and Pewts father looked at it and sed hum haw

and that was all he cood say. Father dident know

that i rote them becaus i cood spel so mutch better

than Pewt and Pewt coppid them.

then General Mastin sed Ike and Bill has maid

money by the fire and these little devils dident have

enything to do with that and that it cougt from hot

ashes enyway. now i am counsil for the boys and

i aint obliged to tell a thing about them or who they

are. a lawyer aint obliged to. i will put a peace in

the paper saying enyone whitch has sustaned eny

damige from the so called Terible 3 can by proving

there damige under othe to me will be pade. and

you may be sure that they aint a man living that

will be willing to sine the kind of a staitment i will

draw up for him, and General laffed and they all

did two.

then father asted General what his bill was and

General sed hell the only thing he wished was that

he cood have been a member of the Terible 3 and

if father wood give him that record to keep to look

at when things was going rong to cheer him up he

wood call it square. so father give them to him.

then i started to creap away and i cougt my foot

and come down with a bang and in a moment father

come out on the cleen gump and grabed me. then

he sed well sir what have you been doing lissening

and i sed yes sir and he sed you start yourself for

home and after Clarence and Elbrige, they is Pewt

and Beany you know, have had there supper i will

come hoam and atend to your case. so i come home

and i am wateing for him to come and lick me and

i dont cair. enybody whitch cant stand a licking

when he knows he has escaiped stait prizon aint

mutch of a feller. gosh aint it good to feel good.

November 16, 186---brite and fair. father dident

lick me. it is fun to be alive.

November 17, 186---Beany and Pewt has got well

again and has come to school today. we have been

wundering if a onery member had eny rite to give

them records to enybudy. of coarse we dont cair

but we have been wundering.

November 18, 186---brite and fair.