Brite and Fair

by Henry A. Shute

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.