Billy Bunter's Benefit By Frank Richards - Friardale

Billy Bunter’s Benefit
By Frank Richards
shop, and expend the precise sum of eight shillings on refreshments,
liquid and solid!
CHAPTER XXVI
CATASTROPHIC FOR COKER!
HORACE COKFR breathed hard.
He breathed deep.
His feelings, indeed, were deep.
It was Saturday afternoon. That was a half-holiday at Greyfriars, and the
Greyfriars men had been enjoying it in their various ways—with the
exception of Coker of the Fifth!
Coker was not enjoying life these days.
There had been cricket that afternoon, on Big Side and on Little Side.
But Coker had no time for cricket. Many fellows had gone out on their
jiggers—but Coker had no time for biking. Others had pushed out boats
on the Sark— but Coker had no time for boating. Coker’s leisure hours
these days, were wholly occupied in transcribing Latin -- that awful book
Prout had given him. Every day, since Prout had given him that book,
Coker had had a shot. at it, and lines were growing into quite a heap in his
study. That afternoon he had laboured long and hard, till he was fed up to
the back teeth with the masterpiece of the great Mantuan: and would
have given a term’s pocket money to step back to 20 B.C. and punch Virgil
in the eye.
Now he was taking a stroll in the quad, to refresh himself, before going
back to his study to get on once more with that interminable task.
His stroll took him past the windows of the Rag: and from these windows,
which were open, voices floated out. He paused to listen to Wibley’s
“To be or not to be, that is the question
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them.”
Wherefore did Coker breathe hard and deep. They were rehearsing
“Hamlet” again: those cheeky fags—regardless of Coker, indeed forgetful
of his existence.
Coker tramped on with knitted brows.
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