it rose and it fell, and every time it fell there was a terrific howl from Billy Bunter. Certainly Bunter deserved to be whopped for lying; and perhaps Prout remembered, too, that Bunter had called him a pompous old ass! Anyhow he laid it on hard and fast; and it was a groaning Bunter that tottered at last to this place. After which the Remove and Prout got on with deponent verbs. THE EIGHTH CHAPTER. Bunter Knows How! “SMITHY, old chap!” “Ask next door!” suggested the Bounder. “Oh, really, Smithy——” “Bow wow!” “I was going to ask you——” “I know! And I was goin’ to say no.” “You don’t know what I was going to ask you yet, fathead!” hooted Billy Bunter. “I can guess!” he answered. The Bounder was sauntering in the quad with Tom Redwing, after class, when Bunter rolled up and addressed him affectionately as “old chap.” Evidently Bunter wanted something. Generally it was easy to guess what Bunter wanted, especially when he addressed a fellow as “old chap” in affectionate tones. But for once Bunter was not in search of a small loan to tide him over till his celebrated postal order came. Deeper and darker thoughts were working in the fat brain of William George Bunter. “If you think I want to borrow anything——” he grunted disdainfully. “Don’t you?” asked the Bounder, in surprise. “No!” roared Bunter. “Then what did you call me ’old chap’ for?” “Beast!” Smithy and Redwing, laughing, walked on. Bunter rolled after them. “I say, Smithy! Hold on a minute, old chap! I want to ask you something. I am speaking to you, old fellow, because you’re the pluckiest chap in the Remove.” “Eh? What?”
He rolled up to the American junior and clutched him by a bony arm. “I say, Fishy——” “Aw, git!” grunted Fisher T. Fish, jerking the bony arm away. “You being the pluckiest chap in the Remove, Fishy—” “Can it!” said Fishy, who had no use for soft sawder. “And you’re up against that pompous old ass “I’ve got a wheeze for making him sit up, Fishy! The fact is, I thought of it entirely on your account—” “Give us a rest, you fat clam.” “He’s got that book of yours, you know.” said Bunter. “You’ll be flogged or sacked, once the Head sees it. Serve you right, of course—-” “You pie-faced gink—” “But what about paying him out in advance?” urged Bunter. “What about getting behind a tree when he takes his trot on the Elm walk tonight and letting him have Gosling’s squirt full of ink, what?” “Jumpin’ snakes!” ejaculated Fisher T. Fish. “You’ll be jolly glad you’ve made him sit up, you know, when you’re kicked out of the school for your filthy money lending.” urged Bunter. It was not a tactful way of putting it. Billy Bunter did not know why Fishy suddenly grasped him by the collar and sat him down in the quad with a terrific bump. But he knew that Fishy did! He smote the quadrangle with a heavy bump, and a loud roar. “Whoop! Beast! Wow! Yooop!” Fisher T, Fish jerked on, his cute, keen eyes on Prout. Billy Bunter sat and roared. THE NINTH CHAPTER. Bunter the Bold! AFTER tea that day Billy Bunter as fat face wore a morose expression. Nearly every other face in the Remove wore a grin. All the Greyfriars Remove, by that time, had heard of Bunter’s wonderful stunt for punishing Prout. Plenty of fellows declared that it was a jolly good idea! Almost all agreed that Prout had asked for it, in fact, begged for it!
“You mean to make out that you inked Prout, when you did nothin’ of the kind.” said the Bounder. “I’d like to know who did, though. Some lad!” “I guess it was some Fifth Form guy.” said Fisher T Fish. “I’ll say they’d better look in the Fifth.” “Shouldn’t wonder.” assented Bob, happily unconscious of Fish’s excellent reason for desiring to divert suspicion to another Form. “That ass Coker is ass enough for such a game, and he’s always rowing with Prout. I wonder if it was Coker?” “Coker’s idiot enough.” said Harry. And there was a murmur of assent. It was common knowledge of Greyfriars that Coker of the Fifh was idiot enough for anything. “I say, you fellows——” squeaked Bunter. “Oh, shut up, Bunter!” “But I tell you——” “Rats!” “Hallo, hallo, hallo! There’s the bell!” The Remove went in to Form, convinced by this time that whoever the mysterious inker was, it wasn’t Billy Bunter. Now that Bunter asserverated that it was, they all knew that it wasn’t, and the fat Owl of the Remove was shorn of his brief glory. And had he been aware of what was coming, Billy Bunter could have asked for nothing better than to remain shorn of it. THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER. Sacked! “THE Head!” breathed Nugent Dr. Locke was in the Remove Form-room when the juniors arrived there for first school. Rather a hush fell on the Remove as they saw him. According to the timetable on the board, Mr. Lascelles was to take the Remove in first school that morning. As Dr. Locke was there instead of the maths master, it was clear that something was going to happen. Anb all the Form could guess that that “something” was in connection with the affair of Prout. Very quietly the juniors went to their places. Fisher T. Fish felt an inward tremor. He had been in danger of the “sack” so long as his business book was in Prout’s hands; but the method by which he had recaptured it made a