Chapter 4

Mar. 10. brite and fair. i got fiting with Beany today in his yard. he chased me over to my yard and i turned round suddin and stuck out my arm and my fist hit Beany rite in the eye. you had aught to herd him howl. then mother called me in and sent me to bed. it is prety tuf when a feller cant hit another feller in the eye whitch is chasing him. well ennyway i stamped upstairs to bed and when father came home i knew i shood get a licking. so when father came home i lissened and herd them eating super, and i herd father say where is that boy and mother said i sent him to bed for striking Elly Watson. Elly is Beany you know. and father said whitch licked. and mother said Elly was crying very loud and holding on to his eye, and so i sent Harry to bed and father said if he dident do ennything wirse than licking that Watson boy i wont complane and if he will get up spunk enuf to lick that boy of Brad Puringtons, he ment Pewt, i will give him a treet. then mother said i dont know what is the matter with Harry this vacation. he is cross and impident, and then Keene said i slaped her face yesterday and Cele told Keene it was her falt and she hadent aught to have plaged me, and Keene said she dident and Cele said she did and father said you girls shet up when your mother is talking. then someone shet the door and i dident hear enny more. after super Cele come up in my room with a tray with my super and i set up in bed and et my super and Keene looked into the room and made up a face. after super i heard father talking again and he said i needed a good licking and mother said something was the matter with me and she never knew me to keep cross for a hole week, and father said he wood take it out of me in 2 minits and mother said no she wood talk to me. So bimeby mother come up and i made beleeve i was asleep and mother set down by the bed and said are you asleep Harry, and i said yes before i thought, and then she sorter laffed and began to talk to me and told me how sory it made her feel to see me so cross and doing bad things and she wanted me to be better and not wurry her for she dident feel very well and gosh before i knew it i was balling rite out. well i balled good and she rubed my head and got me a drink of water and i said i wood do beter. then she kissed me and went down and after a while i went to sleep. gosh i maid up my mind if father licked me that i woodent ball and i wood do something auful the next day, i wont say what it was but it was something auful. i have been a prety mean feller.

Mar. 11, 186- when i got up this morning i felt buly, and i got a pail of water and brogt in wood enuf to fill the woodbox way over the top. it is warm and the snow is all gone xcept in the corners where the drifts were. i saw a robin today and i wished on it but i cant tell what i wished becaus if i did it woodent come true. it is something i have been wanting auful for a long time, but i havent had money enuf to buy it.

Mar. 12. rany. i went to church. the minister said it was esy to be good if you tride. i gess ministers dont know much ennyway.

Mar. 13. me and Beany is going to keep store in my shed. today we made the counter of 2 barils and a board and we made a lot of flyboxes and jacobs laders and tonite we made a lot of sweet firn cigars, and hayseed and mulen leaf and cornsilk. this afternoon we went out picking up bones in a baskit. most every yard had a lot of bones in it xcept where the fellers had been. we got most a buchel. we get half a cent a pound for them down to old Gechels store they make nife handels of them and perl buttons.

Mar. 14. Beany got mad today and says he wont keep store with me. we got our flyboxes all pined up and our boxes of cigars all ready and mother said she wood give me some molases for sweatened water. so we was all ready when Beany got mad about the sine. he wanted it to be Watson and Shute becaus he is older then me, but it was my shed and my sweatened water and my board and my barils and so i said my name shood come ferst and he got mad and took half of the things and went home. i dident let him have a bit of the sweatened water. Lucy Watson was mad two and woodent speek to Keene and Cele.

Mar. 15, 186- i opened my store today and nailed up my sine fancy goods and sweatened water H. Shute. Potter and Whack and Fatty and Boog and Puzzy and all the fellers come round and i sold lots of stuff. i charge 10 nails for a sweet firn cigar, 5 nails for a rattan or grape vine cigar and 3 nails for hayseed cornsilk and mullen leaf. 3 nails for white jacobs ladders and 5 for gilt, 10 nails for flyboxes made of writing book paper, and 15 and 20 nails for gilt and silver and red paper. 15 nails for snappers that will snap good, and 15 nails for a glass of sweatened water. i had a big trade and i cood see Beany out in frunt of his house looking over. bimeby he came over and i said hullo Beany come and have a drink and a cigar. so Beany he took a glass and drunk it and lit a cigar, a sweet firn one and said how is trade, and i said they is quite a little stiring, and he said have you got mutch stock and i said most sold out but they is plenty more where that come from and Beany he said dont you want to by my stuff and i said no i gess not. bimeby Beany he said less make up Plupy and i said i aint mad and Beany he said well let the old sine rip and so he went over and got his stuff and pinned it up and we had a good trade all the afternoon. tonite we made cigars and flyboxes and snappers. Beany is a prety good feller to have a store with only he smokes and drinks two mutch.

Mar. 16. Brite and fair. i saw a blewbird today. Beany come over erly and we had a good trade. Beany smoked so many sweet firn cigars and drank so mutch sweatened water that i told him he coodent be my pardner unless he smoked cheeper cigars and only drank 4 glasses a day. 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. that is enuf for enny man.

Mar. 17. Rany today. not mutch trade. Pewt and Nipper has got a store in Pewts shed. Tomtit says he has got beter things than we have and he got all the fellers to go up there. Tomtit was mad becaus we woodent take sheet iron for pay. you cant get ennything for sheet iron down to old Getchels and if we took it for pay enny feller cood go out and pick up a old stove pipe and buy out your store.

Mar. 18. brite and fair. no i mean it is clowdy. Beany is acting prety queer. he has been talking with Pewt, and last nite he promised to come over and make cigars and he dident come and Nipper said Beany was over to Pewts. today he was prety sassy and said he would drink all the sweatened water he wanted. he was away all the afternoon.

Mar. 19. Beany dident make up enny faces behind the organ today. after church i holered at him and he woodent look round. i bet he is going to keep store with Pewt. i dont care.

Mar. 20. Beany came over this morning and said he was going to be pardner with Pewt and he wanted his stuff and his half of the iron and nails. I told him he was a mean cuss and he said he woodent be pardner with a feller whitch woodent let him drink and smoke out of the store. he said Pewt wasent so mean as all that. so we divided the stuff and Beany wanted half of what nails and iron i had taken before we were pardners. he dident get it you bet, and he dident get enny sweatened water neether.

Mar. 21. brite and fair. Medo Thirsten came up today and wanted to buy my stuff and i sold it all to him. i am glad to get out of the store so i can go of with Potter and Chick Chickering. we went up to the Eddy today. we saw some blackbirds and some robins and 3 blewbirds, and got 2 last years nests. it is almost time for flying squerels. we saw a redder today.

Mar. 22. I saw Beany today and he run out his tung at me. all rite for you Beany.

Mar. 23. it raned and was auful windy today. i sold my iron and bones today to old Getchel for 42 cents. i took out 12 cents to treet the fellers and put 30 cents with my cornet money.

Mar. 24. it was warm today and fine. I saw some wild geese flying over today. it made me feel funny to hear them holler. me and Potter and Chick went out in the woods today with our bows and arrows and bilt a fire and fride some potatose.

Mar. 25. this is the last day of vacation. Beany and Pewt have had a auful row, Beany says Pewt sold all the iron and nails and kept most of the money. Pewt says Beany drank up more then the moneys wirth of sweatened water and smoked all the best cigars i am glad of it. i gess the next time Beany will know more.

Mar. 26. sunday. nothing to do but go to church and think of going to school tomorow. i wonder if i shall get a licking this tirm.

Mar. 27. i went to school today. they isent much fun now. it is two muddy to play ennything. so the fellers all have clappers and we clap all the time. Skinny Bruce is the best one. he has some bone clappers that jest ring. Fatty Gilman has got some made of black walnut.

Mar. 28. we plaid ball a little today. it is geting prety dry in the school yard now.

Mar. 29. it snowed a little today and then melted. they wasent enuf for snow balling. my hens has begun to lay.

Mar. 30. the top of my roosters comb whitch was frose last winter when i was sick has come of and his comb is all smooth and shiny and hasent got enny picks on it.

Mar. 31. brite and fair tomorow is april fool day. i am going to get one on Beany.

Apr. 1. today i had a good one to get on Beany. i rung the doorbell of our house and mother came to the door and i stood there laffin and she laffed and said i am glad to see you sir because i want you to fill the woodbox and get me 5 pails of water. gosh i dident think it was so funny. at school old Francis woodent let us play april fools on each other but in the afternoon i went over to get Beany to come with me to get a 4 foot yardstick down to Lyfords. i was going to get Beany to ask for it and then they wood lam him, becaus they isent enny 4 foot yardstick. i jest laffed to think of Beany getting licked. well when i asked Beany he said he wood go only his father wanted him to go down to old Kellogs harness shop to get a pint of strap oil to oil some harnes, and if i wood go with him ferst he would go with me. so i said yes and we went. jest before we got there Beany said you go in and ask for it, and i will wait becaus old Kellog dont like me very well. so i went in and old Kellog was sitting straddle of a seet with big wooden nippers on it and he was sowing on a harness and he said cross like what do you want and i said i want a pint of strap oil and he said o yes i have got some good strap oil and he got down and grabed me by the coller and took down a strap and licked me till i hollered. then he let me go and when i went out rubing my legs Beany was jest laffing fit to die and he said you thought you was prety smart old Plupy to get me to go down for a 4 foot yard stick dident you. and then he ran his tung out and run of down town. i will pay Beany for that.

Apr. 2. brite and fair. i went to church.

Apr. 3. Father is going to have a garden and i have got to dig it up. Father says he is going to help me but i know how it will be. he will dig about ten minits and then he will go over to see Beanys father. i dont see why it is that jest as soon as it is time for fishing father wants to make me wirk. Pewt cought 3 pirch today.

Apr. 4. Brite and fair. last nite we went diging up the garden. father began to dig and dug about a minit and then he stoped and went in the house to change his shues, and then he come out and took of his coat and then he dug a nother minit and then he went to the fence and talked with Sam Dire and then he took of his vest and took up his spade and then he said i was doing splendid and he wanted to see Wats a minit and he went over to see Beanys father jest as i said he wood and dident come back. well i dug until mother called me in to go to bed and i got about a pan full of wirms. tonite me and father are going to dig some more. my back is lame.

Apr. 5. Brite and fair. last nite father told me to cut the eyes out of a lot of potatose to plant. so this noon and after school me and Keene and Cele cut out the eyes of the potatose. we raced to see which wood beet, i had a sharp spoon handel, Keene a darning needle, and Cele a pen-nife. we had 3 cups to put the eyes in and when we got the eyes all dug out we counted the eyes. Cele had 176 Keene 158 and i had 143. jest as we got done father came home, so we showed him the eyes and i wish you cood see him. i woodent dare to wright what he said. if i talked like he did he wood have sent me to bed for a year. i gess he wood have licked us all but mother laffed and laffed and said we dident know enuf about farming. so we only got sent to bed.

Apr. 6. brite and fair. i hoped it wood rane today so we coodent dig. but it dident. if they had been a circus it wood have raned like time. last nite we dug some more. father started all rite but jest then he said he had got to go down town with mother. so i dug until Beany and Pewt came over and then we begun to plug peaces of dirt at Charly Dire and after a while somebody broke a window in Sam Dires house. Pewt said it was me and Beany said it was Pewt. father came home and sent me to bed. he give Sam Dire 25 cents for the window. ennyway Pewt broke it.

Apr. 7. brite and fair.

Apr. 8, 186- it raned today. i am glad of it.

Apr. 9. it raned today. i am glad of it. i went to church.

Apr. 10. tonite me and Beany and Whack finished diging all the rest of the garden. when father came home he went out and steped on a rake that was lying down with the sharp points up and ran it into his foot and he came limping into the house swaring auful, but he wasent much hurt and isent going to have enny garden. ennyway he left the rake there himself.

Apr. 11, 186- Brite and fair. father is going to have some geese. he went to Dal Gilmors and Dal said you cood keep geese for nothing becaus all they et was grass and father says he can raise geese on grass until October and then kill them and sell them and make lots of money. ennyway they was grass enuf becaus we want going to have enny garden since father steped on the rake. Dal Gilmor has got a old goose whitch is more then 30 years old. i bet he is tuf.

Apr. 12. Brite and fair. father came home tonite erly and we begun to make a geese pond. we took a baril and cut it in 2 and made 2 tubs. then we dug a hole in the garden and put in 1 tub and filled it with water. it made a buly pond. next saterday father is coming home erly and we are going to hampton falls to get sum geese eggs.

Apr. 13. Rany Franky fell out of bed last nite. father said it was my falt. the baby had the crupe. father says something is always the matter.

Apr. 14. clowdy but no rane. beany has got a dog, it is black and tan, not 2 dogs but jest 1. his name is Gip and he can fite.

Apr. 15. still clowdy. Frank Hanes has got a dog like Beanys. his name is Dime, i bet he can fite.

Apr. 16. brite and fair. i put some minnies in the geese pond today. it was after church and i got them yesterday. they wood have dide in the tin pail, so it wasent rong to put them in Sunday. tomorow we are going down to get the geese eggs.

Apr. 17. brite and fair. i am wrighting this in bed. it has been a prety tuf day i tell you. father coodent come home erly becaus he had to wirk, so he give me fifty cents and me and Beany went down to hampton falls after the geese eggs. well we got them and started home. we had Beanys fathers horse and we saw a old black horse by the side of the road and Beany said i wood like to plug him with a geese egg, i said praps they is a roten egg there. so we shook the eggs till by and by they was one whitch ratled. then Beany choze to plug him and he let ding at him and the egg hit him a paister rite in the side and broak and spatered him all over with yellow, and he kicked up and ran away before i cood get a nother egg. then we went on till we saw 2 cows and we shook the eggs again till we got 2 whitch ratled and when we went by we stood up in the wagon and let ding at the cows. i hit one rite in the frunt of her head and the yellow ran down over her nose and Beany hit the other in the side and then a man holered at us and we licked the horse and drove of lively. then we saw a cat sitting in a barn door and we both let ding at her but dident hit her and both eggs smached agenst the barn and the cat ran into the barn and a man came out with a tin pail in his hand and a little stool in the other and holered at us and we licked up the horse again. after that we dident plug enny more for they was only 7 eggs left and they only ratled a little. when we got home Beany let me out and i told father about the eggs being roten, he was prety mad and said i had aught to have shook them before i took them. he asked me what i did with the roten eggs and i said i threw them away and jest then Mister Watson Beanys father came over with Beany and 2 men and it was the same man whose horse we pluged with roten eggs, and the man who holered at us when we plugged the old cows. the man grabed me by the coller and told father i was the wirst boy in the town and if father dident lick me out of my skin he wood, and father said hold on there, they aint nobody going to lick my boy unless he licks me ferst, and he walked up to the man prety quick, and the man let go my coller and father said if they is any licking to be done i can do all that is necesary, and the man said we are going to have him arested, and father said what has he done and the man said these two boys have been throwing rocks at my horse and have cut a big gash in his side and he is all over blud, and the other man said we had been pluging rocks at his cows and had cut one on the head and one on the side well me and Beany said we only threw geese eggs at them and the blud was the runny part of the eggs and we crossed our throtes and hoped to die if it wasent so, and father said to the man did you xamine the gash and he said he was so mad when he see the horse that he hitched up the other horse and followed us and told his hired man to look after the horse and brogt the other man to. so father said to Beanys father to hich up his horse and we wood go down and see if we had lied to him and he said if i had lied to him he wood give me the wirst licking i ever had. well jest as we were going to get in the wagon the man whitch had the tin pail and the stool in his hand come driving up and said we had been pluging roten eggs at his barn and father said he wood be cussed if he ever saw such boys, and me and Beany said we dident mean to hit the barn but we pluged at the cat and dident hit her. then the other men told him about the horse and cows and he said it was only roten eggs and then they felt beter, and they said they was willing to let us of with a good licking, but father said he woodent lick me for ennybody else, but he wood pay them for their truble and they said they wood settle for fifty cents each and i had to pay it out of my cornet money. i only had one dollar and 30 cents but Aunt Sarah give me 20 cents. i beleive i had rather got a licking for it will take me 6 weaks to ern so much money and i wood have got over a licking as soon as i got to sleep. then father sent me to bed. i wonder if Beanys father licked him. i shall know tomorow.

Apr. 18. Brite and fair. Beany dident get licked.

Apr. 19. Brite and fair. i bet father cood have licked those 3 hampton falls men together easy.

Apr. 20. Brite and fair. i shall never get that cornet.

Apr. 21. i had some fun today. they wasent enny school today becaus old Francis had to go to a funeral or something. so i bilt a nest for my hens.

Apr. 22. Brite and fair. father aint going to have enny geese. tonite we got a old yellow hen of Sam Dire and set her on 7 eggs in the horse-stal, and then we had super. nothing hapened at super xcept that Keene got sent to bed for sticking out her tung at father when she thought he wasent looking but he was, becaus he woodent let her go over to see Lucy Watson Beanys sisters new hat. well after it was dark father said i forgot to pay Sam for his hen and he started rite acros the garden to go over to Sam Diars and it was dark and i herd a auful splash and thumping round and feerful swaring and i knew father was in the geese pond. i woodent dass to wright down what he said, if i had said what he did he wood have sent me to bed for a year. well he came limping home and swaring into the house and he made me get a lanten and we went out to the barn and he took the old hen by her hind legs and swung her round jest as we fellers do when we plug apples on a stick and pluged her way over in Sam Diars yard and then he took the eggs and pluged them as far as he cood and told me to fill up the pond tomorow or he wood lick me. then we went in and mother and aunt Sarah nearly killed themselves laffin and father said i spose you wood laff if i killed myself and when i went up to bed i laffed easy and Keene and Cele were laffing under the bed close. bimeby i herd father laffin and then we all laffed loud. jest think i had to pay a dollar and a half of my cornet money for pluging 5 eggs and father pluged 7 eggs and a old hen and dident have to pay ennything, ennyway it was fun to see him.

Apr. 23. Brite and fair. i filled up the geese pond. it was sunday but it was after dark.

Apr. 24. Brite and fair. when father came home i told him i had filled up the geese pond and he asked me where the tub was and when i said i had filled it up he said i was a loonatic and dident know enuf to go in when it raned. so he made me dig out the tub and fill in the hole. i tell you i have to wirk prety hard.

Apr. 25. Brite and fair. today old man Thirsten Medos father came to the house and told mother someone had pluged roten eggs at his barn. mother dident know what to say for a minit for she dident want to tell about fathers falling into the geese pond, so she said she was very sure i hadent done it but she wood speak to father about it, so when father got home old man Thirsten came up to the house and said George that cussid boy of yours has been pluging roten eggs at my barn and father said this time Kimball, his name is Kimball, he dident do it for he was with me all the evening til he went to bed. so father and old man Thirsten went down to see the barn and it was all spatered with yellow. then old man Thirsten said he wood give a dolar to know who the scowndril was whitch pluged those eggs, and father said i wish you cood Kimball, it is a outrage, and father looked auful funny, jest as he did when he scart old Ike Shute that time on the high school steps. when we went home father kept laffing, and when he told mother she said it was a shame and he aught to make it rite with him, and so father bought a sawhoss of him, he sells sawhosses, and i have got to use it. somehow i always get the wirst of it.

Apr. 26, 186- it raned like time last nite but it was brite and fair when i got up. what do you think, me and Beany are going to by a horse of old Nat Mason. he lives down Stratam road and he has a old troter that can go like time.

Apr. 27. brite and fair. me and Beany saw old Nat today. we aint got enny chink. if i hadent paid that money to those hampton falls men for pluging roten eggs at there cows i should have sum. all i can rase is thirty five cents and Beany can rase fifteen cents. Fatty Gilman most always has lots of chink.

Apr. 28. me and Beany saw Fatty today. he wants to go in with us becaus he says his folks want to use old Chub so mutch that he dont get enny chance to use him. but Fatty he hasent got enny chink eether. enny way we are going to see old Nat tomorrow and peraps he will let us have it on tick.