It took all Ready’s courage, but it must be done. It was against his bringing up, against his highest principles, against good taste in dogs’ circles, but it must be done. He ran barking at the two boys. He did not wait for them to protect themselves with sticks and stones, but growling and showing his teeth, he made a spring towards them. The boys ran off, with Ready close upon them. He must finish up the work now and get them really out of the way.
On and on ran the boys, on and on went Ready, growling and barking savagely all the time. You would have thought he was the most snappy, vicious little dog in the world if you had heard and seen him then, but all the time he was running, his heart was growing heavier and heavier.
Something seemed to be saying to him, “You will lose the way, go back, go back.”
And then something else seemed to be answering, “But every dog must do his duty.”
On and on ran the boys, and on and on went Ready
At last they came to a rather rocky part of the beach. There was one very high queerly shaped rock, and the boys quickly climbed over it and tried to hide behind it.
“Here is a good place to turn around,” Ready decided. “I’ll pretend to have lost them and run back now.”
But just as he turned and started on the backward stretch, he felt a sharp stinging pain in one of his legs. A horrid little sharp stone had hit him, and then came another, almost touching him.
The boys were now taking their revenge.