Bunter the Caravanner - Friardale

CHAPTER 27
CALLED BACK
'HALLO, hallo, hallo!' murmured Bob Cherry.
'What—?'
'Jolly old Quelch!'
'Oh!'
It was a glorious spring morning. Harry Wharton and Co. were
looking as bright as the morning: none the less so because they
were no longer enjoying the fascinating company of William
George Bunter.
Tatham was a pleasant little village, and it had a very pleasant
inn at which the juniors had put up, after walking over from the
caravan-camp the previous night. There was a very pleasant
garden to the Coach and Horses Inn, bright with daffodils and
shaded by trees, under one of which a table was set for
breakfast in the open air. No snore from a caravan greeted their
ears when they turned out that morning. They strolled out
cheerfully into the inn garden. What other guests might be
putting up at the Coach and Horses they did not know, till Bob
Cherry spotted a familiar face looking from an open window, near
the shady beech under which they were about to sit down to
breakfast.
That their Greyfriars form-master, Henry Samuel Quelch, was
somewhere in the neighbourhood, they were aware from the back
view they had had of him the previous day. They had rather
forgotten him since. Now they could guess that Mr. Quelch had
been heading for this village, for here he was. He was sitting
at the open window of his room, with a newspaper in his hands,
but he was not reading at the moment. He was looking out into
the sunny garden, no doubt enjoying the sunshine and the balmy
air of spring.
He caught sight of the juniors at the same moment that Bob
murmured to his friends. His somewhat severe countenance melted
into a pleasant smile, as the Famous Five capped him
respectfully.
'Good morning, my boys!' said Mr. Quelch, quite graciously.
'Good morning, sir!'
'Top of a beautiful morning, esteemed sir!' added Hurree Jamset
Ram Singh.
'Quite an unexpected meeting,' said Mr. Quelch. 'Are you
spending your holidays in Hampshire?'
'We've been caravanning, sir,' answered Harry Wharton.
'Caravanning?' repeated Mr. Quelch. He glanced round. as if
expecting to see some sign of a caravan.
'Not our van,' added Harry. 'Bunter had a caravan for the hols,
and we joined up, but—but—but we decided to go on from here on
our own.'
Probably Mr. Quelch could surmise, from that reply, that there
had been a spot of bother in the caravanning party. But Quelch