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.