No 93 THE FIRST CHAPTER. The Limit. ‘I SAY, you fellows, there’s news!” Billy Bunter made that announcement at the top of his voice, as he rushed into No. 1 Study, in the Remove passage. Billy Bunter was excited, and he apparently expected his announcement to cause equal excitement in No. I Study. But, if so, he was disappointed. Harry Wharton, Frank Nugent, and Hurree Jamset Ram Singh were there, and they were talking football. Not one of them turned his head, or looked at Bunter, or gave any outward and visible sign of having heard the fat junior’s exclamation. Billy Bunter blinked at them through his big spectacles, and repeated his words, crescendo. ‘ I say, you fellows, there’s news !“ “About the inside-right,” said Harry Wharton, continuing his remarks to Nugent and Hurree Singh. “I was thinking of Desmond. What do you fellows think?” “I say, give him a trial,” said Nugent. “The trialfulness,” said Hurree Singh, in his elegant English, “appears to my esteemed self to be the proper caper.’ ‘ I say, you fellows—” “I was thinking of putting Tom Brown in the forward line, too, on Saturday. He’s picked up Soccer wonderfully for a chap who’s played Rugger all his life till he came to England.’ “Good idea.” “I say, Wharton—” “There’s not much doubt about Morgan and Ogilvy for the backs.” “The doubtfulness is nil.” “Look here, you fellows—” “As for the halves—”
“I say, you fellows,” shrieked Bunter, “don’t you pretend you can’t hear me! You can hear me jolly well! ” “As for the halves, what about giving Hazeldene a chance at centre? He——” Billy Bunter rushed up to Wharton, caught him by the sleeve, and gave him a wrench. Harry, with his attention thus forcibly drawn to the fat junior, looked down at him. Bunter blinked at him with almost speechless indignation. “You--you—you——” he stuttered. Nugent pointed to the door. Bunter blinked in the direction of the outstretched finger, and then blinked at Nugent. “What do you mean, Nugent? ” “Outside! ” “ But—” “Outside !“ “I say, you fellows—” spluttered Bunter. “Look here, Bunter,” said Harry Wharton seriously, “you’d better travel. I suppose you must dig in this study, but the less we see of you, the better we shall like it. You’ve passed the limit at last, and we can’t stand you.” “That’s it,” said Frank Nugent. “You were always a worm, Bunter; but you’ve passed the worm limit, and we’re done with you.” “The wormfulness of the esteemed Bunter is great, and the donefulness is terrific,” remarked the dusky junior from ’s palmy shores, Bunter blinked at them, “ What’s the matter? ” “You know jolly well what’s the matter! ” said Wharton warmly. “You have always been the biggest fool in the Remove, and the worst rotter, except Snoop——” “Oh, really, Wharton———” But so long as you kept within the limit we stood you. We put up with your silly hobbies—your rotten hypnotism, your silly photography, and your bothersome ventriloquism —but when you took to playing the amateur detective, that was too much, Of
It was a strange voice, and the juniors of Greyfriars looked out into the dusky close in surprise. They were standing in the open doorway. The early evening had fallen, but there were still a good many fellows out in the quadrangle. It was a fine, clear, starlit evening, and not much past six o’clock. “Hallo, hallo, hallo !What’s that—ahem—I mean, who’s that ?“ exclaimed Bob Cherry. A fat figure had loomed up in the dusk before them. They saw a good-natured, jolly face, which showed plentiful traces of paint and chalk, as if the fat individual were accustomed to making up for the ring, and did not always succeed in getting the make up quite off afterwards. The stranger bowed to the Greyfriars juniors, so low that his head touched the ground, and then, to their utter amazement, he turned right over, executing a somersault without an effort, and landing right end up again before their bewildered gaze. “My only hat !“ gasped Wharton. “The chap must be made of indiarubber.” “The indiarubberfulness is terrific.” The stranger took off his hat, “Gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. If you have a wide acquaintance with the crowned heads of Europe, you must have heard of their special chum, Joseph Montgomery Pye—known to his intimates as Monty.” “Never!” said Harry.& Mr. Pye looked sad. You pain me,” he said, “I had no idea that such a depth of ignorance could exist in a public school. You have heard of Julius Caesar?’ “Oh, yes.’ “And Napoleon Bonaparte?” “Certainly!” And not of Montgomery Pye? ” ‘No “ The stranger shook his head sadly.
“Such is fame! ” he said. “The lesser lights are seen, and the greater ones—ahem! But I will not repine. I will introduce myself. I am Joseph Montgomery Pye.” ‘ Glad to meet you,” said Bob Cherry affably. You belong to a very extensive family, sir. There are some connections of yours at this school.” “ Indeed “ said Mr. Pye. “Yes: not in the school exactly, but in the tuckshop, you know. There is Beefsteak Pie, and Apple Pie, and Plum Pie, and several others.” Mr. Pye burst into a chuckle. “Good !“ he said. “Distinctly good! You are a youth after my own heart. What a clown you would make!’ “Ha, ha, ha !“ roared Nugent. “That’s one for you, Bob.” Bob turned pink. “ Oh, draw it mild !“ he exclaimed. “Come to my arms! ” said Mr. Pye. “Let me welcome a to my heart. Let me fold you to my bosom and weep.” “ No fear !“ “How the dickens did you get here ?“ asked Harry Wharton, guessing by this time that Mr. Pye belonged to the circus camped on the common. “Walked,” said Mr. Pye. “I left my motor-car at home on the grand piano—a moment’s absent-mindedness—so I had to walk. I have come to do you young gents a favour. No, don’t thank me. It’s my way—pretty Joey’s way! I was afraid some of you might miss the performance of Tomsonio’s World Famous Circus and Hippodrome.” “ Oh !‘‘ “Hence these tears—I mean, hence these handbills,” said Mr. Pye, producing a pack of small pink bills from under his arm. “ I have given you a look-in to acquaint you with the fact that you simply must not miss this chance. Tomsonio’s World-Famous is camping here probably for one night only. It. is the chance of a lifetime. If
looked into. Ionides, who prided himself upon being fast, was smoking a cigarette, in company with Carberry, the prefect. They started up guiltily a Bob Cherry looked in, and, relieved to see that it was not a master, they scowled at Bob for startling them. “ You rat “ growled Carberry. “ Get out !“ “I’ve brought, you news.” “ Outside, you whelp !“ “But there’s a circus,” said Bob Cherry, in an injured tone. “ Among other attractions, Count Smelowiski’s performing monkeys. I thought Ionides and you might like to run across and see your relations.” The two seniors started up. Bob Cherry hurled a handful of bills into the room, and fled. The pink handbills scattered over the floor, and Carberry and Ionides said things, not loud but deep. Bob Cherry rejoined the chums of the Remove in a cheery temper. “I’ve ruffled up the Fifth and Sixth,” he announced cheerfully. “ And there’s no chance of their not knowing what’s going on at Tomsonio’s Circus this evening. You fellows can come into my study to tea before we start, if you like. Brown’s coming, too.” “ Right you are! ” ‘‘ The rightfulness is terrific, my worthy chum’’ The handbills stated that the circus performance commenced at seven, and it was fifteen minutes’ walk to the common, as the juniors knew. There was no time to waste. The tea was a cold one in Bob Cherry’s study—the tea was hot, but the more solid portion cold—ham and hard boiled eggs from Mrs. Mimble’s little shop. As the juniors sat down to the table, a large pair of spectacles blinked in at the door. “I say, you fellows—” Bob Cherry seized a loaf. “ Get out, Bunter !“ “Oh, really, Cherry ?” “Are you going? ” “I’m hungry,” said Bunter indignantly. “ Go and have tea in Hall, then!“
“ I—I’ve had it, but I’m still hungry.” “I hear he wants more,” grinned Nugent. “ You’re paying the penalty of being a cad. Bunter. You’re barred till the end of the week, as we told you.” “But, really—” “ Get out “ “I_--“ Bob Cherry poised the loaf. “I give you two seconds to travel !“ he said. “Hold on, Cherry !“ said Bunter, hurriedly dodging behind the half open door, and peering round the edge of it. “ Hold on! I—— Oh!” Crash! He popped back behind the door in time. The loaf flew out of the doorway, crashed on the opposite wall of the passage, and rolled on the linoleum. Billy Bunter peered round again cautiously. “Oh, really. Cherry—” “Get out !“ roared Bob Cherry. “ Bring me that loaf back, and I’ll take better aim next time.” “ Ha, ha, ha !“ “I say, you fellows, I’m sincerely sorry you’re jealous about my being a detective.” “Bump him !” There was a rush at Bunter, and before he could escape he was seized, and down he went, bumped heartily on the carpet. He gave a breathless roar. “Ow! Yow! Leggo! ” “Ha, ha, ha “ They left him sitting there, gasping, and went back to the tea-table. Bunter picked himself up slowly, and blinked at them furiously. “You—you rotters! I’ll—I’ll make you sit up for this! ” he exclaimed. “I’ll jolly well show you! Am I to have tea here or not?” “ Not !“ said Bob Cherry promptly. “Who’s going to stand me a bob for the circus, then ?“
Wun Lung, the Chinese junior, looked up. “Me standee bob already, Buntel.” “I’ve spent that,” said hunter aggressively. “1 meant to pay for admission to the circus with it, but I was famished. I’ve got a delicate constitution, and I can only keep it going by constant nourishment. I spent the bob at Mrs. Mimble’s. If you like to lend me another—” “No savvy.” “You can lend me another nine, if you like, and have my for ten bob. It’s coming by the first post in the “No savvy,” “Look here, make it five, and you can have the postal-order That’s cent. per cent. interest for a single day’s loan.” “No savvy” “Will you lend me a bob, then ?” roared Bunter. “No savvy.” Mark Linley put his hand into his pocket. The Lancashire lad was poor, and his shillings were not numerous, but he didn’t want Bunter to miss the circus. “Here you are!” he said, tossing a silver coin over to Bunter. The fat junior caught it greedily. “Thank you, Linley! You’re better than these sweeps, though you’re only the son of a workman, or street-sweeper, or whatever it is. If you can lend me another bob—” “ I’ll lend you a thick ear if you don’t get out of this study,” said Mark. “Well, you blessed cheeky, mill-working, machine-minding waster—” Mark Linley rose from his chair, and the fat junior left his remarks unfinished, and scuttled down the passage. “Nice animal, ain’t he? ” said Bob Cherry. “I really wonder they didn’t drown him, and keep one of the others, you know.’ “Ha, ha, ha !” THE FOURTH CHAPTER,
the chums of the Remove. Miss Clara’s eyes twinkled. “Isn’t Bunter with you ?“ she asked. Harry looked round. “Not with us,” he said; “but he was coming. He doesn’t seem to be here, though.” Bob Cherry chuckled. “He’s blued the tin again in the tuckshop, I’ll bet my hat.” “Ach !“ said Miss Limburger. “Der tuckshop is goot, ain’t it, but der circus is petter pefore.” Marjorie laughed. “I’m sorry if Bunter misses it. Perhaps he will come in later. What a curious fellow that clown is.” The curious fellow was the original Joey Pye. He was turning somersaults in the ring at present, to the accompaniment of the braying of the band. Signor Tomsonio—known in private as Dick Thompson— was in the ring, too, in a silk hat and a wonderful waistcoat, with a whip in his hand. He cracked the whip. and Joey Pye straightened up. “Bless my heart. if my young friends ain’t here !“ Exclaimed Mr. Pye, taking off his paper cap with a bow to the Removites. Nugent waved his hand, laughing. “I like that chap! ” he remarked. “What a jolly chivvy he has! I’ve heard all, his blessed wheezes before, but he has a funny way with him.” “I want to see the tigers,” remarked Bob Cherry. “Is it one of he early turns?” “No; there’s bareback riding first.” “Ah! The Queen of the Ring,” grinned Nugent. “The first of the Royal family. My hat! Here she comes. What a stunning girl!” “What-ho !“ said Tom Brown. Miss Clotilde, the girl rider, came into the ring mounted upon a big black Arab. She was a girl of Marjorie’s age, as supple and graceful as she was beautiful, and that was saying a good deal. Her riding was perfection itself, and Harry Wharton, who knew
the King of the Tigers. “Well done, Clotilde !“ he exclaimed. “Bravo !“ thundered the audience. Then there was a murmur as a huge iron cage was trundled into the arena. “The tigers !“ said Bob Cherry. The boy tiger-tamer walked in beside the cage. The juniors looked admiringly at his well-set-up figure, his splendidly developed limbs. “My hat !“ said Harry Wharton. “That chap’s fit, if you like. Look at him.” “Fit as a fiddle !“ said Tom Brown. “He can’t be much older than we are, either.” “Give him a cheer to start with,” said Nugent. “ Hurray! ” Jack Talbot looked round with a smile as the schoolboys cheered. He saw their Greyfriars caps, and a curious look came over his face. Joey Pye nudged him in the ribs. “I’ve told ‘em all about you, Jacky!“ he remarked. “I went up to the school, you know, and talked ‘em over.” “Like your cheek, Joey.” “Well, the original Joey Pye never did want for cheek.” remarked the clown complacently; “If cheek could make a chap rich, I should be rolling in golden coin now.” “It’s curious to see Greyfriars’ fellows here,” said Jack abruptly. “Why! They’ve come to see me.” “I mean—it’s curious. You remember I told you once, Joey, that I came near getting a scholarship for a public school—before I joined the circus?” said Jack thoughtfully. “Yes?” “Well, the school was Greyfriars.” The clown whistled. “I might have been a spectator here,” said Jack, “instead of—hum !“ “My hat!” said the original Mr. Pye, in surprise. Jack walked to the
Julius was accustomed to carry Talbot round the cage, holding the by tamer’s belt in his teeth. Some reminiscence of his arena performance seemed to be in the tiger’s mind now. His jaws gripped, not upon Bunter, but upon Bunter’s clothing, and the fat junior was dragged from the floor in the tiger’s teeth. “Good heavens !“ gasped Mr. Quelch. He did not stir. He could not hurt the tiger with bare hands, and any hostile movement now might be instantly fatal to Bunter. The good-humour of a tiger is always uncertain. Julius trotted round the room with Bunter. The juniors watched him with fascinated eyes. “My hat !“ said Wharton. “He’s going through the circus tricks, with Bunter instead of that chap Talbot. Do you see?” “He—he can’t be so savage, then,” said Nugent, with a gasp of relief. “Not now—he’s all right—but goodness knows how long it will last. One of us ought to slip out and warn them at the circus. I’ll go.” Wharton was near the door. He exchanged a glance with Mr. Quelch, who nodded. Harry rose from his place and quietly slipped from the room. He darted down the passage and out into the sunny close. “Talbot !“ The circus lad was running towards him from the direction of the gates. Wharton looked at him in amazement. “How did you get in!” Jack laughed. “Climbed the gates. We learn to climb in the circus. you know. No one came to the gate when I rang. Has the tiger been here ?“ “ Yes—yes “ “I thought so. I tracked him in the wood as far as the school, and lost him on the road. I was afraid he was here.” “He’s in our Form-room.” “By George !“