ing
at every leap.

"Help! Save me!" cried Simon, as Dick ran out to see what the end would
be. He was fearful that Grit would get one of the fleeing ones down and
set his teeth into his throat.

"Grit! Grit!" he called, frantically, but the bulldog never heeded.

Simon turned, hoping to get out of the path of the maddened beast, but
he did not reckon on Grit's quickness. The dog made a grab for Simon's
trousers and caught them at the seat. There was a ripping sound, a
frantic yell from Simon, and he fell, rolling over and over in a cloud
of dust.

"Grit! Don't bite him!" shouted Dick, fearful of what might happen.

CHAPTER XVIII.

UNCLE EZRA'S VISIT.

But Grit had no intentions of wasting time on Simon when his revenge was
not complete. He dropped the large piece of cloth he had torn from
Simon's trousers and kept on after the two other fleeing individuals.

The ragged youth was the faster runner, and the man, lagging behind,
turned as if to beat off the dog. But Grit was fearless. Right at the
man he sprang, and the fellow gave a yell of agony as he saw the brute
launched at his throat. But Grit was not blood-thirsty. He caught the
man by the lapel of his ragged coat, and, in an instant, had pulled him
to the ground. Then, having worried him until the thief must have
thought he was being eaten alive, Grit left him and set off after the
third of the trio.

The youth was becoming exhausted, but Grit was as fresh as ever. There
was no give-up to him. He caught the ragged lad before he had gone a
hundred feet farther and soon had him down. He fairly tore the coat off
his back, and, after standing over him a few seconds, growling as though
he was about to tear him into little pieces, Grit, with a satisfied
shake of his head, started back on the run toward Dick.

"Grit! Grit, old boy! So they tried to steal you, did they?" murmured
Dick, as the dog bounded up on him and frantically licked his face.
"Well, I guess they wish they hadn't."

Grit nearly shook himself apart trying to wag his stump of a tail to
show his delight at again being with his master. Dick fairly hugged his
pet, but the tears almost came to his eyes as he saw several cruel welts
on the dog's satin-like coat, where he had been beaten.

"So they struck you, eh?" asked Dick, a fierce light coming into his
brown eyes. "I don't blame you for taking after them as soon as you
broke loose. I guess I'll have a score to settle with Simon and