Billy Bunter's Benefit By Frank Richards - Friardale

Billy Bunter’s Benefit
By Frank Richards
Virgil’s pen had traced twenty centuries earlier!
Satisfied with the result, he screwed up Wharton’s paper and disposed of
it in the study chimney! That was that!
“He, he, he!” chuckled Bunter.
He left the study with that precious composition in his pocket. He bent
his steps in the direction of the Shell studies, to look for Stewart of the
Shell. Bunter was fairly satisfied that the verses were pretty good—but
he was anxious to get a second opinion! Stewart of the Shell was wellknown
to be a whale at Latin, and if he pronounced in favour of those
verses, all was plain sailing—the three guineas as good as in Bunter’s
pocket!
He found Stewart in his study. The Shell fellow stared at him as he rolled
in, apparently not particularly pleased to see a fat Removite.
“What the thump do you want?” he asked.
“I say. will you look at those verses, old chap, and tell me what you think
of them?” asked Bunter. “I think they’re pretty good, but you know more
about it than I do.”
“I hope so,” assented Stewart.
Bunter laid his scrawl on the table, and Stewart looked at it. Being quite
well acquainted with the seventh eclogue of Virgil, he naturally recognised
the verses at a glance.
“Think they’re good?” asked Bunter.
“Of course they are, ass,” answered Stewart. “What about it?”
“Oh, you think they’re really good?”
“I should be rather an ass if I didn’t! What are you driving at?” asked the
puzzled Shell fellow.
“Oh! Nothing! But, I say, Linley of our form is pretty good at Latin. Think
he could do anything as good as that?”
“Not in a dozen lifetimes, fathead.”
“Oh! Thanks!” gasped Bunter.
And he rolled out of Stewart’s study with his precious paper, leaving the
Shell fellow quite perplexed.
Bunter was completely satisfied now. Stewart, a dab at Latin, had passed
the verses as really good, and pronounced that Linley of the Remove
couldn’t equal them! That was more than enough for Billy Bunter! The Old
Boy’s three guineas were as good as his: and his financial troubles were
solved. And as he wanted only two pounds fifteen to make up Mr. Parker’s
account, and as he was going to get three guineas beyond a shadow of a
doubt, that left a balance of eight shillings that could be safely expended
on tuck! So Billy Bunter’s next proceeding was to roll away to the tuck-
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