Billy Bunter's Benefit By Frank Richards - Friardale

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Billy Bunter’s Benefit By Frank Richards Coker frowned, remembering Prout. Coker had many spots of trouble with Mr. Prout, the master of the Fifth. Only that morning Prout had rated Coker, before all the Fifth, for spelling “occiput” “oxyput.” Not, of course, that Coker was going to change his orthographical methods to please Prout. When a fellow knew best, he knew best, and that was that. Still, it was annoying. However, he dismissed Prout from mind as he caught the angry scowl on the face of Herbert Vernon-Smith. The “dirty little tick” was not only walking abroad in a state calculated to bring disgrace upon the school to which Horace Coker belonged: but he had the cheek to scowl at Coker—a mere junior of the Lower School, scowling at a senior—and that senior Coker of the Fifth! “I’ll speak to him,” said Coker, grimly. He stopped, and landed two large feet on Redclyffe Hill, “I say, what about the Arcade?” asked Potter. Potter did not want to be late for the picture, while Coker kicked up one of his innumerable shindies. “I say, keep on, you know,” added Greene. “I said I’d speak to him,” said Coker, coldly. “I generally mean what I say. You two keep on—I’ll catch you up easily enough—you look like crawling before you get to the top.” Potter and Greene kept on. It was true that they were finding the hill steep, and that Coker, with his powerful legs. would be able to overtake them easily enough. Still, Coker’s way of putting it was not tactful. Potter and Greene, as they pedalled onward and upward, wondered once more whether the Arcade and the feed were really worth Coker. They passed Vernon-Smith, who walked onward and downward towards Coker. Why Coker had dismounted, Vernon-Smith neither knew nor cared: it did not dawn on him for the moment that he was the object of Coker’s particular attention. But as he reached the spot where Coker stood with his hand on his bike, he was called to a halt. “Here, you dirty little tick!” exclaimed Coker, shifting himself and his bike to block Smithy’s further progress, “what does this mean, eh?” Vernon-Smith looked at him. He was in no mood to tolerate the lofty manners and customs of Coker of the Fifth. He was in a mood to give Coker, or anybody else, the sharpest edge of his tongue. “Talking to me, fathead?” he snapped. “I’m talking to you, and I don’t want any cheek,” said Coker, warningly. “What do you mean by going about out of gates looking like a tramp? Don’t you ever wash in the Remove? Never use a clothes-brush? What? Dirty little tick! If I were a prefect I’d turn you up and give you six for showing Page 18 of 161
Billy Bunter’s Benefit By Frank Richards up in public looking as if you’d just sneaked out of the casual ward.” “Will you get out of the way?” asked Smithy. “Not till I’ve finished,” answered Coker. “Ain’t you ashamed of yourself, you dirty little tick, going about like a ragged robin? Nice for me, if anybody knew you belonged to my school.” “Nice for me, if anybody knew you belonged to mine,” retorted Smithy. “They’d think I’d gone to school at a home for idiots.” Coker reddened with wrath. Smithy’s retort did it! Coker had intended only admonition. But cheek like this called for something more drastic. Holding his bike with his left hand, Coker reached out with his right and smacked Smithy’s head. That should have ended the matter. Coker was generously prepared to leave it at that, remount his bike, and ride on after his friends, leaving Smithy to rub his head and realise that it did not pay to cheek the Fifth. But although it should have ended the matter, if didn’t! Instead of the end, it proved to be merely the beginning. So far from taking that smack quietly, Vernon-Smith uttered a yell of fury, and hurled himself recklessly at Coker, hitting out with both fists at once. No Remove junior, however sturdy, had a chance against a big Fifth-form man. But Coker was rather at a disadvantage, at the moment, holding his bike, and Smithy’s prompt retaliation being quite unexpected—by Coker. Coker received Smithy’s right, on his waistcoat, and Smithy’s left under his chin. He staggered. He would have recovered in a moment but for the bike. But he staggered into the bike. There was a loud clang as the bike went over on the ground, and a louder yell from Coker, as he tripped over it and went over also. The bike rolled to the right, Coker rolled to the left, and Vernon-Smith stared at both of them extended on the slope of Redclyffe Hill. It was fortunate for the Bounder that he was quick upon the uptake. He had, half by accident, though wholly by intention, knocked the Fifth-form man down. What would happen to him when the Fifth-form man got up again was awful to contemplate. Smithy had a few seconds. He made the most of them. Hardly one second after Coker had rolled, Smithy jumped at the sprawling bike. He whirled it up from the ground, whirled it round, and flung himself into the saddle. He did not even trouble to find the pedals. They were rather far off for him, anyway: as Coker’s big machine was to Smithy rather like Smithy’s own machine to Bunter. The hill was steep, and the Bounder’s way lay downhill to Courtfield. He shot away, bunched on the bike: and was Page 19 of 161
Page 1 and 2: Billy Bunter’s Benefit By Frank R
Page 17: Billy Bunter’s Benefit By Frank R
Page 69 and 70:
Billy Bunter’s Benefit By Frank R
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161:
show all

Billy Bunter's Benefit By Frank Richards - Friardale

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?