many, first and last, to
answer for--he never kicked either of the children. They all loved
him, in fact; and many is the dainty morsel he received from their
hands.

Well, to go on with the story of Mike's piece of mischief. The dog,
as he had expected, trotted along after the pieces of meat, and
commenced eating, without any suspicions of harm, right under the
_battery_ of the old horse. There he remained for some moments, as
Mike says, taking as much comfort eating his dinner, as if he were
dining on one of his father's sheep.

[Illustration: OLD IRONSIDES AND THE CHILDREN.]

Old Ironsides took no notice of the dog. Indeed, he rather appeared
half asleep. He often shut his eyes, by the way, as he was standing at
a post, and dosed, and nodded, much after the fashion of some men,
when they set out to listen to a sermon on Sunday. All the time,
however, Mike had a crotchet in his head.

"Halloo, old fellow!" he shouted, "what are you about there?"

In an instant Old Ironsides was wide awake, and, seeing at a glance
what was going on behind, he pricked up his ears, uttered one brief
snort, and away went his heels like lightning. Poor Caesar! When he
touched this planet again--for Old Ironsides had sent him up towards
the moon, much farther than I should want to go, in that style--he was
a lost dog. Old Ironsides, who proved to be as great a hero, in his
way, as Caesar was, had killed him. The great enemy of sheepdom had
ceased to breathe.

[Illustration]

CHAP. VI

"PAYING HIM OFF;"

OR, AN ODD WAY OF SHOWING REVENGE.

Jacob Grumley, who was sometimes nicknamed _Grumble_, on account of a
habit he had of finding fault with every thing and every body, went to
the same school with Mike Marble. Now Mike was as remarkable for his
cheerful and amiable disposition, as Jacob was for his ill nature. In
half of the cases where the latter would get angry, and storm, and
rage, and fret, and foam, like a hyena, or a Bengal tiger, the other
would remain as cool as a cucumber, or, perhaps, burst out into a
hearty laugh.

One day, when several of the schoolboys, including Michael and Jacob,
were playing ball on the fine lawn in front of the school house, a
dispute occurred between the young grumbler and another boy, and Mike
ventured to suggest to Jacob, as kindly as he could, that he was in
the wrong.

"You little meddlesome dunce!" said Jacob, all in a blaze of anger,
"I'll teach you to mind your own busi