Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School and Billy Bunter's ... Read Online Free PDF Page B

detention tasks were like! Why Quelch had
picked on him, he did not know. It seemed like magic to Bunter. It was one more
proof that Quelch was a “beest”.
    CHAPTER VI
    NOT WANTED!
    “HARRY, old chap—!”
Harry Wharton shook his head.
“Sorry!” he said.
“Eh!” Billy Bunter blinked at the captain of the Remove, in the doorway of the
changing-room, in surprise. “What are you sorry about?”
“Shortage of cash,” explained Wharton. “Nothing doing! Try Smithy.”
“If you think I want to borrow anything from you, Wharton—!” said William
George Bunter, with a great deal of dignity.
“Don’t you?”
“No!” roared Bunter. “I don’t!”
“Then why did you call me old chap?’ inquired the captain of the Remove.
“Beast! I—I mean, dear old fellow—!” said Bunter, hastily.
“Ha, ha, ha!”
“I say, I’m booked for this afternoon,” said Bunter, dismally. “I’ve got to go
into the form-room at two, and Quelch is going to give me a paper to do—I
shouldn’t wonder if it’s deponent verbs—it would be like him! And you fellows
are going to play cricket! Now look here, Harry, old chap, we’ve always been
pals, haven’t we?”
“Have we?” asked Harry Wharton, in surprise. “First I’ve heard of it.”
“Oh, really, Wharton! Who was it stood by you, and helped you through, and all
that, when you were a new fellow here?” demanded Bunter.
“Nugent!” answered Harry, laughing.
“You don’t remember what I did for you?” asked Bunter, sarcastically.
“Yes, I do. You borrowed half-a-crown the first day. And that reminds me that
you’ve never squared. What about it?”
“I wish you wouldn’t talk rot,” said Bunter, peevishly. “After all I’ve done
for you, you might do a little thing for me. I want to play cricket this
afternoon. You know how keen I am on the game—.”
“Oh, quite!” agreed Harry. “Very keen, when you want other fellows to do your
lines. Not at other times.”
“Well, I’m frightfully keen now,” declared Bunter. “I suppose you’ve made up
the eleven to play the Fourth this afternoon?”
“Sort of,” said Harry, laughing. “As we’re due on Little Side in ten minutes, I
shouldn’t be likely to leave it very much later.”
“Well it’s not too late to make a change in the team!” suggested Bunter.
“You’re not much of a judge of a man’s form, old fellow, and I’m blessed if I
know why the fellows made you skipper: but you’ve got sense enough to leave out
a dud and put in a better man if you can get one, what?”
“Oh, quite. Where’s the better man?”
“Here! Now, if you go to Quelch and explain that you simply can’t leave me out,
because it’s a pretty tough match, Quelch will let me off detention, see? I
specially want to go down to Friardale this afternoon—I mean, I specially want
to play cricket—being awfully keen on the game, you know. I don’t want to go
down to Friardale because Uncle Clegg’s got jolly good ices—nothing of the
kind. I’m fearfully keen on cricket. Easy enough to make room for me in the
team—you can leave out Cherry— he’s not much good.”
“Hallo, hallo, hallo! Who’s not much good?” roared Bob Cherry.
“You, old chap! Look at the way you bat!” argued Bunter. “Or there’s Toddy—no
good at all, if you don’t mind my mentioning it, Toddy.”
Peter Todd gave his fat study-mate an expressive look, but no other reply.
“Or there’s Squiff—or Browney—or Inky—or Nugent—or Bull—or Smithy,” went on
Bunter. “What about dropping Smithy? I daresay he’d rather hike along to the
Cross Keys for a smoke, than play cricket, if you come to that. Wouldn’t you,
Smithy?”
“Ha, ha, ha!”
“The fact is, I don’t care whom you leave out, so long as you put me in, Harry,
old chap. That’s the important point. Quelch will be sure to let me off, if you
tell him I’m wanted—he wouldn’t spoil a Form game by detaining the best
cricketer in the Remove—!”
“Ha, ha,