Billy Bunter's Benefit By Frank Richards - Friardale

Billy Bunter’s Benefit
By Frank Richards
Singh.
“You howling ass,” said Johnny Bull. “You picked out one of the best-known
of Virgil’s eclogues. Did you think Quelch had never read Virgil?”
“How was I to know?” hooted Bunter. “Wharton was going to put it in, so
of course I thought it was all right, I didn’t know he’d prigged it from
Virgil.”
Harry Wharton jumped.
“You benighted ass, what do you mean—if you mean anything?” he
exclaimed.
“It was your paper, wasn’t it?” howled Bunter.
“My paper?” stuttered Wharton.
“Yes, yours! I asked you to let me have your Latin paper, as you didn’t
want it, and you refused—selfish, as usual. Dog-in-the-manger, I call it—
you didn’t want it yourself, and you wouldn’t let me have it—.”
“Oh, crumbs!”
“Well, I wasn’t going to let it be wasted, so I got it out of this study—”
“What?” yelled Bob Cherry.
“But I never wrote a Latin paper at all,” shrieked Wharton. “I told you so
when you asked me, you fat chump.”
“You jolly well did, because I found it in your study, See? and copied it
out for Quelch—.”
Harry Wharton stared blankly at the fat Owl.
“You found a Latin paper in this study, and copied it out!” he articulated.
“Yes, I did! I wasn’t going to waste it! Why should I, when you didn’t want
it? Of course, I didn’t know you’d prigged it from Virgil—.”
“Wh-a-a-at?”
“But you had, and now it’s landed on me,” groaned Bunter. “I’ve had a
fearful whopping—wow!—and I shan’t get the prize, and it’s all your fault.”
The Famous Five gazed at Billy Bunter.
“What on earth is the fat chump driving at?” asked Bob. “He couldn’t have
found a Latin paper in this study if you never did one.”
“Oh, my hat!” exclaimed Wharton. “I wondered what had become of that
exercise—but I never bothered, as I didn’t want it. Bunter, you blithering
bandersnatch, if you found that paper—.”
“I jolly well did! Your Latin paper, and it turns out that you prigged it
from Virgil—.”
“You dithering dunderhead!” yelled Wharton. “It wasn’t a Latin paper! It
was lines copied from a book Quelch lent me. I was going to copy out the
whole eclogue, only Smithy interrupted me. I was going to mug it up to get
in trim for doing the paper! It was just an exercise.”
“Oh!” gasped Bunter.
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