April 11. 1777
This morning more items were found to be missing. Our young thief was accused again and again he denied it. Captain Johnston decided that his earlier punishment was not so severe as to dissuade him from thieving again so his new punishment was increased to that of a grown man. His back was laid bare and he was tied to the mast while the boatswain applied two dozen lashes with the cat. He was in a very poor condition after this treatment. I am not so sure the lad is responsible for these most recent thefts and I am suspicious that someone else is taking advantage of the boy’s poor reputation, but I cannot prove it.
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