cat. Pewt can make bully box traps. if he ketches the cat i am going to give him my collexion of birds egs. it is werth it. i aint got menny chickings left.

June 16, 186—-brite and fair of course. it always is sunday. i went to chirch sunday and to sunday school. i wanted to go to the Unitarial but father he sed no i wood go where he told me to or i coodent go at all. i thought i had got him there and i sed all rite i will stay to home and he sed all rite you can stay to home and stay in bed. so i thougt i had better go to chirch and i sed all rite i will go to chirch. i told him as long as we had got a phew in both chirches someone augt to set in it once in a while. the minister is going to get up a club to study insex throug the telescope and to lern us about their ways. he said beas have queans and droans and aunts have a government and keeps cows. i wonder if he xpects us to beleeve that. and flees can be traned to ride a vellosipede but he dident know that if you ketch a big grashoper and say grashoper gashoper gray give me sum molasses and then fli away the grashoper will give you some molasses. just think he dident know that and he dident know that ef you squashed a caterpiller it would rane before nite. we have all got to join the club. i wish i had staid in bed.

tonite Pewt come over with a big box trap and we set it in the hen coop and left the dore open. i bet we will ketch her. we bated it with a peace of pikerel.

June 17, 186—-Gosh what do you think. we have caugt that cat. this morning i went to the hencoop and the trap was sprung. when i shook it a little i cood hear the old cat growl and spitt. so i nailed the cover down so he coodent get out and gess what we done with him. tonite after dark we carried the box to the deepo and put him on the nite fraight trane for Haverhill. nobody see us. we wated till the trane started and then went home. Pewt wanted to drownd the old cat but i thougt if we did i wood have to lie about it and while i can lie good if i have to i had ruther not. and it wood be eesier to say i dident know ehere the cat was peraps it wood be in Haverhill and peraps in Boston.

June 18, 186—-brite and fair. Gosh what do you think. the first thing i see this morning was that old cat setting on Mis Dires steps. i thougt she must have comeway back from Haverhill but after breckfast old mother Moulton come over and asted me if i had seen her cat. she was terrible xcited and asted me more than 40 questions but i dident know ennything. Pewt come down and sed she had been to his house and to Beanys and all over the naborhood. gosh i bet we caugt her cat and sent it away. ennyway what rite had her old cat in my hencoop.

tonite me and Pewt set a new trap and bated it with a fresh sucker. i have got to get the old yeller cat. one more chickling disapeared to day.

June 19, 186—-it raned hard last nite. i gess cats staid to home and dident go out. this morning the trap wasent spring. had to ho in the garden after it dride up. toniet we put a big shiner in the trap for bate.

June 20, 186—-we cogt that old cat today. i know it was her this time becaus when the cover come down it pinched her tale and there was a bunch of yeller hair in front of the trap. tonite we put the trap on the fraight trane and that is the last of that old cat. old mother Moulton is still hunting for her cat. i wonder if the 2 cats will know eech other when they meet in Haverhill. i xpect mis Dire will be over tomorrow to find out where her old cat is. i dont know where she is. i havent hit her or killed her and i dont know what has become of her.

June 21, 186—-brite and fair. today i saw that old cat again. i wonder whose cat we cought. i had to pay Pewt 10 cents for his traps. we set another for tonite.

June 22, 186—-awful hot today. i dident ketch that cat. i went fishing today for some cat bate. went in swimming 5 times. got some good shiners. i have found out whose cat we sent to Haverhill the last time. there was a peace in the Exeter News-Letter whitch sed. lost a valuble black and yeller striped tiger cat. a grate pet. had on a red satin bow. a suteable reward will be paid for infirmation as to whareabouts. A. P. Blake. gosh A. P. Blake is Mager Blake who owns the Squamscot Hotel. I know that cat. i wish me and Pewt gnew some peeple in Haverhill peraps we cood get the reward. tonite i paid Pewt another ten cents and we set another trap. i wonder whose cat we will get nex time.

June 23, 186—-brite and fair, i never knew it to rane sunday. cougt another, dont know whose cat it is. if we open the cover the cat will gump out and if we dont sum body elces cat may get sent Haverhill. ennyway enny cat whitch is cougt in my hencoop has got to take chances.

tonite we sent it away on the trane. we almost got cougt putting it on. went to chirch and sunday school. Beany has got his gob back at the unitarial and has went back there, so there wasent enny fun. i heard old Mis Dire calling her cat tonite for most an hour. i guess we got that old cat at last.

June 24, 186—-Mis Dire was calling her cat this morning. she come and did the washing today but she dident say ennything about her cat but i think she was uneezy and she looked at me sort of hard. i bet she thinks i have killed her cat.

June 25, 186— today old Mis Dire come over. i was in the shed and i saw her go waulking stiflegged. after a minit or too mother called me. i pertended i dident hear her and kept on spliting wood, then she come out and told me old Mis Dire sed i killed her cat and wanted to ast me some questions and mother sed now if you have killed her cat tell the truth. i sed i anit killed it or hit it or drowneded it and i dont know where it is. so we went in. old Mis Dire was there mad as time and she sed now Harry Shute i want to know what you have did with my cat and if you lie to me, then mother sed quick ome moment Misses Dire if you are going to ast him enny questions you have got to do it in a different way if you xpect enny anser. mother she looked at old Mis Dire and old Mis Dire looked at mother mad as time but mother had a kind of funny look in her eyes not a mad look but a kind of look that made old Mis Dire back water prety quick. then old Mis Dire sed you throwed a rock at my cat last week and i sed yes i did and i wish i had hit hir and killed her but i dident. then she said you and that misable Watson boy and that jalebird of a Purinton boy have drowned my cat and i sed i dont know about them but i dont beleve they done it becaus they dident have enny chickings but hope to die and cross my throte i havent seen your cat or hit your cat or drowned your cat and i dont know where she is i honest dont. old Mis Dire asted me more than 40 questions and after a while she went home. she was pretty grumpy and sed sumbody had got to pay for her cat but i guess she desided i dident know ennything about it. she went over to Pewts and to Beanys but dident find out ennything.

Mother she was glad i told the truth and i did dident i? i dident hit her old cat, or killed it or drowned it or see it and i dont know where it is. mother told father about it when he come home from Boston and father sed dam her old cat. i wont have you bothered about her old cat. i wood have told her to go to the devel. mother laffed and sed no you woodent George you wood have felt bad and pitted her as i did. she is a poar old woman and it is two bad for ennyone to kill her pet cat. ennyway that is over and i aint got to wurry over my chickings enny more. i wish i dassed tell father about it but i am afraid father wood tell mother for a goke and if mother dident think it was rite she wood make me go to Haverhill or Boston and hunt for them 3 old cats. father i know wood laff his head off but i dassent tell him. 3 old cats sounds like a base ball game dont it. ennyway me and Pewt made 3 home runs