Chapter 7

Aug. 2. big thunder shower last nite. we all got up and lit lamps and set round in our nite sherts. we lit all the lamps we cood find so we coodent see the litening. father kept telling funny stories, but mother and Aunt Sarah was scart and told him he hadent aught to joke when enny minit he mite be struck by litening. father he said he dident beleave the litening wood strike him enny quicker for not being scart of it then it wood if he gumped and holered o lord every time it litened. well after a while it only litened way of and we went to bed.

Aug. 3. i havent spoke to Beany yet or to Pewt eether.

Aug. 4. this morning it was Friday. we have fish chowder Fridays. i dont like it and so i drink milk and father wanted the milkman to go down celler to try some of his vinegar. mother hangs the wash boiler and the tin pans and iron kittles in the celler way and when ennyone whitch is tall goes down celler he has to stupe down so not to nock down the pans and kittles. so father he was down celler and he holered for the milkman to come down and when he went down he hit his head aginst the boiler and nocked it down and all the kittles and pans tumbled down on his head and went banging down into the celler and you never heard such a feerful noise. father was mad as time, but after the milkman was gone we all laffed as if we wood die. mother and Aunt Sarah had to set down they laffed so. mother said it made more noise then the thunder did last nite.

Aug. 5. me and Cawcaw Harding has got a new way of fishing for pikeril when we are in a bote. one of us padles the bote and the other skips for pikeril. when you try to pull a pikeril into a bote most half of the time he goes over the bote into the water, so when me and Cawcaw fishes when the feller which is skiping gets a bite he lets him have it a minit and the feller whitch is padling the bote padles towards the shore and then the feller whitch is skiping gumps rite out as soon as the water aint over his head and gives a big yank, and the pikeril goes saling into the field. sumtimes when it is woods the line gets tangled all up in a tree and we have to shin up the tree or cut it down to get the pikeril. we get prety wet but we dont cair. we always ring out our close when we get done fishing and they is most dry when we get home. today the bigest pikeril we caugt got up in a tree and we coodent shin up the tree and we coodent plug him down with rocks so we had to leeve him there. we got 12 pikeril. we are going monday.

Aug. 6. brite and fair. today after sunday school Beany he came over and we made up. this was the longest time i ever was mad with Beany. i am glad we aint mad enny more. father let me go to ride with Mister Watson and Beany this afternoon. we went down to the beach and took our lunchun. when we was coming home me and Beany got most asleep and our legs got asleep two, so Mister Watson he told us to get out and walk a little and we wood be all rite and when we got out he whiped up his horse and drove of lively and made me and Beany walk most a mile. we kep awake after that you bet. i had a good time.

Aug. 7, 186- clowdy but no rane. me and Cawcaw went fishing agen today in the bote ferst i padled and he skiped and then he padeled and i skiped. when we got up by the cove i got a bite and Cawcaw he padled the bote towards the shore and i gumped out lively and gumped into a deep place and went down way under. when i came up Cawcaw was nearly ded he laffed so. well i held onto my pole and swum to the shore it was only 3 stroaks and i sloshed up the bank and yanked that pikeril way into the buches. he was a big one. Cawcaw did it purpose. sumtime i am going to rock the bote sudding when Cawcaw is standing up skiping and he will go into the river kerswash.

Aug. 8. hot as time. me and Beany rung sum more doorbells tonite. we dident get cougt.

Aug. 9. brite and fair. Potter Goram can stuf birds, so they look jest like they was alive. he stufed a red winged blackbird so good that the cat et it and dide. and then Potter he skun the cat and stufed her. i can skin the cat on the horizondle bar, that is another way.

Aug. 10. me and Beany rung sum more doorbells tonite. we rung old Heads doorbell and then we tiptode round by the side of his house into Gim Ellersons yard and laid down behind the current bushes. well jest as old Head come piling out mad as time Pewt and Fatty Melcher come rite by and old Head grabed for them and Fatty he run and Pewt got cougt and old Head he jest lammed Pewt with his cain and Pewt holered he dident do it and old Head said he did and then he give Pewt sum good bats and sent him home balling. me and Beany most dide only we dident dass to laff out loud. jest then father come out to see what Pewt was holering about and he said what is the matter Orrin and Mister Head he said sum cussid boy has been ringing my door bell most every nite and i cougt him tonite and licked him good. and father he said who was it, and Mister Head he said it was Brad Puringtons boy, and father said i am glad it wasent my boy and mister Head he said i am glad two but i gess your boy woodent be meen enuf to ring doorbells and father he said i gess he woodent eether and then they went in and me and Beany we tiptode up Maple street and down town and then back home jest as if we had been down town all the time. that was a good one on Pewt. it made me think of the time Mister Watson Beanys father licked Beany when we rung his doorbell and he came to the door with a lamp and the wind blowed the lamp out and Mister Watson he bumped his head on the door.

Aug. 11. brite and fair. i cant help laffing every time i think of Pewt getting licked. it is a good one on Pewt.

Aug. 12. brite and fair. tonite me and Beany tride the same trick on Nipper. we saw Nip go down town and we rung Bill Greenleefs bell 2 times before Nip come back. we hid in old Ike Shutes porch and peeked out of a little window. Bill he come out and run round the side of the house and then he run up street and looked behind trees and fences and swoar terible. me and Beany near dide. he was so mad that he staid up til nearly 10 oh clock waching. we cood see him peeking out of the window and we dident dass to go home til after 10 oh clock and i got licked for being late. if Nipper had only come home when he had aught to Bill wood have cougt him and licked him and we wood have got home all rite. we will pay Nip for this.

Aug. 13. brite and fair. nothing but church today.

Aug. 14. brite and fair. i coodent go out of the yard today. Beany he come over and we are going to ring old man Hobbses door bell tomorow nite. old man Hobbs is Prisils uncle.

Aug. 15. brite and fair, and hot as time. tonite we rung old man Hobbses door bell 2 times. it was auful funny. the ferst time he come out kind of slow with a lamp. me and Beany were rite on the other side of the street laying down in the long grass. well he looked all round and walked out to the end of the piaza and then he went in mutering. bimeby we rung it agen and out he come prety lively but he dident catch us. if he was as lively as Bill Greenleef he wood have cougt us. well he went round the house and then old Missis Hobbs she came to the door and said what is it William, and he said it is some more of that Purington boys deviltry, and she said i wood speek to his father and old Hobbs he said he wood and then they went in. jest as we was going to ring the bell agen a man come walking quick down the street and went up to the door and rung the bell and jest as the bell rung old Hobbs opened the door quick and gumped out and grabed the man and said you rascul i have got you and the man said you old fool are you crasy and then old Hobbs he said i thougt it was that Purinton boy ringing my door bell and then the man went in the house and we wated til they had shet the door and we put for home and made sum sweet firn segars. tomorow old Hobbs is going to tell Pewts father. i never had so much fun in my life.

Aug. 16. brite and fair. today Pewt come down to the house and said where was you last nite and i said me and Beany was making sweet firn segars over to Beanys and i gave him 2 segars. then Pewt he said that old Hobbs come down to his house today and told his father he rung his doorbell 2 times and Pewt said he dident and his father said he dident beleeve him and was going to lick time out of him if he had and he did it. Pewt was prety mad and i was prety surprized you bet. this afternoon they was a thunder storm. after it was over we went fishing but dident get a bite.

Aug. 17. brite and fair. went up to Whacks this morning and Boog and Puzzy had 2 fites. neether licked becaus old miss Finton come out and stoped them. Boog got a bludy nose the second fite. in the afternoon i went fishing with Cawcaw. i dident get a chance to tip him over but we cougt 5 pikeril. tomorow nite me and Beany are going to ring sum doorbells.

Aug. 18. clowdy but no rane. jest the rite day to go fishing. i was going with Cawcaw but he was sick becaus he et to many apples up to Whacks. tonite Beany coodent go out of the yard becaus he dident split sum kindlings so we dident ring enny doorbells. it was a prety meen day. all the fun i had was going in swiming.

Aug. 19. prety hot today. i went in swiming 5 times. sumthing is the matter with my eyes i keep winking them all the time. father keeps saying stop batting your eyes. i gess it is becaus i keep opening my eyes under water to see things on bottum. father says if i dont stop it i shant go in swiming enny more.

Aug. 20. it raned this morning so hard that i dident have to go to church. buly.

Aug. 21. brite and fair. tonite me and Beany rung old Missis Sawyers bell. when she come out with the lamp we run into Pewts yard and then into Nat Weeks. she went in and come out agen with a shorl on and went rite over to mister Purintons and nocked at the door. we was near enuf to hear evrything. when Pewts father come to the door she said i think things has come to a prety pass if peeple cant keep there boy from trubling there nabors. and then Mr. Purinton Pewts father said what is the matter and Missis Sawyer she said your boy has been ringing my doorbell and Pewts father he said how do you know he did it and Missis Sawyer she said i see him run rite into your yard. and so Pewts father he come out and went round the yard but coodent find ennybody. so he said praps it was the Watson boy or the Shute boy and she said praps it was becaus she had heard they was prety bad boys. then Pewts father said it was a mersy if they dident both get into jale and she said she gessed the Shute boy was a trial to his father and mother and Pewts father he said he gessed the Watson boy was two. then he said if he was her he wood go rite down and see there fathers. when me and Beany heard that we clim over Nat Weeks fence esy and put for home. when we got there they was nobody in Beanys kichen and we went in esy and got the sweet firn and begun to make sweet firn segars. bimeby we heard old Missis Sawyer blabing to Beanys mother and she said she wood go in and see if Elly was in and when she come in Beany said mother jest see how many segars me and Plupy has made and he held up a lot that we made last week and she said you boys must have wirked a long time and Beany he said it takes a good deal of time to make so many and she went back looking prety pleased becaus she thougt Beany dident ring the old doorbell and she told old Missis Sawyer that we had been making sweet firn segars all the evening in the kitchin. so old Missis Sawyer went home kind of mad becaus it wasent me and Beany whitch rung her doorbell ennyway she thougt it wasent.

Aug. 22. brite and fair.

Aug. 23. brite and fair. tonite me and Pewt and Beany and Fatty Gilman and Fatty Melcher and Billy Swett and Gim Erly and lots of the fellers come up and plaid i spy the bull. one feller lays it and he shets his eyes at the gool and counts fifty and the rest of the fellers go and hide and when he has counted fifty he trys to find the fellers and tag his gool before they do. they is a stick leening agenst the gool and if one of the fellers can get to the gool ferst he can plug the stick as far as he can and the feller whitch is laying it has to run and get the stick and go back to the gool and leeve the stick there before he can find enny more fellers and if enny fellers has been cougt they can hide agen. so tonite we plaid it til nine oh clock and i had laid it most an hour when Pewt pluged the stick and hit old Bill Morril rite in the head jest as he came round the corner and he was mad as time and we put for home jest lively. Pewt dident meen to do it. Bill hadent aught to have been coming round the corner jest then ennyway. Bill told father they was the tufest set of boys in the naborhood he ever see. i was behind the current buches when Bill told father this and he showed father his old plug hat whitch was all dented in. father he said well Bill we usted to make things prety lively when we was boys. then he told Bill that he usted to ask his father if he cood go over and sleep with Gim Melcher and his father wood say yes, and Gim Melcher he wood ask his father if he cood go over and sleep with father and Gims father wood say yes, and they wood stay out all nite and raise time, and Gims father he wood think Gim was over to fathers house, and fathers father wood think father was over to Gims house and so they woodent get cougt. that wood be a prety good trick for me and Beany to try only father wood know two mutch. i gess that is the reason father finds out so mutch about me becaus he was prety tuf when he was a boy. i gess that is the reson why ministers boys is most always tuf becaus there fathers dont know how to find out what tuf things they do. i wish i was a ministers son so i cood be tuf and not get found out, only i wood have to go to church 3 times evry sunday.

Aug. 25. brite and fair. i wish i was ded. a feller might as well be ded as to be getting licked all time for nuthing. tonite me and Beany wated till it was dark and we saw Bill Greenlef go down town. then we tide a string to his doorbell and hiched the other end to old printer Smiths door on the other side of the street and hauled it tite. bimeby Bill he come back and went in the side door. then a man came by driving a horse and when the horse run agenst the string both doorbells rung before the string broak and out come Bill and old printer Smith. when they found they wasent ennyone there they was prety mad. Bill he run round looking behind fences and trees and old printer he swoar terible and went through Miss Sulivans and over to Nipper Browns and all round. me and Beany was hiding in Ike Shutes porch. bimeby they come back and talked. Bill said they must be 2 of them and old printer he said it was about time this thing was stoped and he was going to find out who did it if it took him all summer. well bimeby they went in to wate and see if ennyone rung there doorbells sum more. Bill he said he wood leeve his door open jest a little and old printer Smith he said he wood leeve his open jest a little two so he cood gump out and lam time out of the feller whitch rung his bell. well bimeby me and Beany crep out esy and hunted round til we found the string and we tide it agen as tite as we cood and then we crep back into the porch and peeked through the window. bimeby old mister Lyford come up the sidewalk and when he come to the string it gerked his old plug hat of and he picked it up and brushed it and then went of. bimeby a hack came by and when it hit the string both door bells gingled feerful and Bill and old printer Smith came hipering out as if they was hiched to the string. Bill went to gump of the side of the steps and he got the string round his leg and went fluking and then holered to old printer Smith that they was a string tide to his door bell and printer he holered back that they was one tide to his two. then they swoar and talked sum and jest then Pewts father come out and they said it was Pewt and old Missis Sawyer she come out and she said it was Pewt two. well then they begun to hunt and look behind trees and into doorways and me and Beany got prety scart and bimeby we opened the door esy and hipered round Ikes house and ran rite into old printer and he grabed us both by the neck and holered i have got the misable cusses and he draged us out to the lite and Bill and Brad said it is George Shutes boy and Irv Watsons boy and they shook us up lively. well old Missis Sawyer wanted them to take us to jale but Pewts father and Bill and printer said to take us down to our fathers and so printer held us by the neck and marched us down the street and Pewts father and Bill come along two and old Missis Sawyer she came taging along talking all the time that we was the wirst boys in town. we went down to fathers ferst and he come out and Bill he went over and called mister Watson. well he come over and they all went into the back yard and they told father about it and Missis Sawyer said she was going to have us arested and father he said if she wanted to arest me all rite but he wood get a lawyer and carry the case to the circus coart if it took evry cent he had and Mister Watson he said so two. and father he said he woodent have his boy distirbing his nabors and he wood lick me and make me beg evrybodys pardon, but it wasent merder or hyway robery to ring doorbells and if they wanted to arest me to sale rite in, and Mister Watson he said so two. then father and Mister Watson marched us up to old Hobbs and made us beg his pardon and old Hobbs told father we was the wirst boys in town and father aught to whale the life out of us, and then we went down to Pewts and had to beg his pardon for getting him a licking and then we went over to mister Heads and begged his pardon two. then father took me into the kichin and give me a licking for eech doorbell that we rung. he give me a good one for Missis Sawyer becaus she was a woman and he said we dident have enny bizness to plage a woman, and he give me a prety good one for Bill becaus Bill was a prety good feller, and he only hit me one lick for old Hobbs becaus he was mad at what old Hobbs said and he dident hit me a lick for mister Head becaus Pewt got licked for it and he said Pewt had aught to have been licked so many times when he dident that one licking one way or the other woodent make much diference. the wirst was when i had to beg Pewts pardon. i wood rather get 2 lickings.

Aug. 26, 186- Brite and fair. tonite i asked father about him and Gim Melcher staying out all nite and he laffed and said it was trew. then i asked him how menny times he did it and he said all the times he wanted to becaus his father thougt he was a beter boy then he was. well i asked him if i cood stay out all nite sum time and he said no. then he said i woodent dass to and i said i bet i wood. then he said i cood if i wanted to and then mother she said George are you crasy and he said no but he gessed after i had been out a while i wood be homesick. so after super i asked Beany and Beany he asked his father and he told his father what father said and bimeby Mister Watson Beanys father he said Beany cood stay out if i cood. so we are going to stay out Monday nite.

Aug. 27. brite and fair. nothing but church.

Aug. 28. rany as time. jest the luck. i coodent sleep enny last nite thinking about staying out all nite. ennyway i dident go to sleep til most morning and when i woke up it was raning hard, and it raned hard all day. it has stoped now. they wasent enny fun today.

Aug. 29. brite and fair. i am wrighting this in the morning becaus i shall be to bizzy tonite to wright ennything. i bet me and Beany will have sum fun. last nite father said they was a tiger got out of a circus and he kind of thougt it was somewhere in the Eddy woods. i aint afrade. Beany aint neether.

Aug. 30. brite and fair. i gess i wont try to stay out all nite agen. it aint enny fun. yesterday afternoon mother made me go to bed so i woodent be sleepy at nite and Beanys mother she did two. i coodent sleep and bimeby i got up and stuck my head out of the window and looked over to Beanys house and Beany he was looking out of his window and bimeby Potter and Cawcaw went by with their fish poles and you bet i wanted to go two, but i had to stay in my room. so Beany and i begun to holler acrost to each other and i made up this poitry about Beany,

fat pork and beens thats what it meens that Beanys got the belyake from fat pork and beens.

and then Beany he made up this poitry about me,

Plupy Shute is meener than Pewt and he is a prety meen galoot.