Bunter the Ventriloquist by Frank Richards

Author:Frank Richards [Richards, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0100-12-31T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

BALLOONS FOR QUELCH

'BALLOONS!'

'Oh, my hat!'

'Great pip!'

'He, he, he!'

'Top hats – spuds - toy balloons - is Quelch off his chump?'

'Has he gone crackers?'

'The crackerfulness must be terrific.'

For once, Quelch was deaf to whispering in his form.

Most of the juniors were whispering: all of them staring. It was quite an amazing occurrence in a Greyfriars form-room. Some of the Remove seemed to think it amusing, too! Quelch, evidently, did not!

But he did not heed the buzz of whispering voices. His eyes - as well as all other eyes - were fixed on the man from Chunkley's, as he came back into the form-room. Having delivered a cargo of top hats and a sack of potatoes, the carman was now delivering goods which were, if possible, still more surprising. He tramped into the form-room with a huge bunch of inflated coloured balloons floating from a string. Two dozen toy balloons, blown up ready for use, made quite an imposing bunch. They bobbed and fluttered round the man from ChunkIey's as he tramped in.

''Ere you are, sir!' grunted the man from ChunkIey's. He extended the bunch to Mr. Quelch. The Remove master made no motion to take it. Quelch, certainly, had no use for a bunch of toy balloons. The time was long, long past, when Quelch had perhaps found such things entertaining.

''Ere you are!' repeated the carman, impatiently.

''Ere's your balloons. You taking these 'ere balloons?'

'Certainly not!' Quelch almost roared.

'Where do you want me to put them, then?' snapped the man from Chunkley's. 'I ain't standing 'ere 'olding them.'

'Take them away! Take them away at once! Go, and take all these ridiculous things with you!'

'My orders is to deliver these 'ere goods, not to take them away. If you've changed your mind, you silly old gentleman - you can settle that with the Stores. 'Ere you are!'

The bunch of balloons bobbed fairly under Mr. Quelch's nose. He smacked them angrily away.

Pop! pop! pop! pop! pop! pop!

Toy balloons were not built to resist vigorous smacks.

Half-a-dozen of them burst, popping and popping, as Quelch smacked them away.

'Oh, my hat" murmured Bob Cherry.

'What larks!' chuckled the Bounder.

'He, he, he!' gurgled Billy Bunter.

'Oh, my eye!' exclaimed the carman. 'If that's the way you 'andles your balloons, sir, they won't last you long.'

'They are not my balloons!' shrieked Mr. Quelch. 'I repeat—'

'Look 'ere, sir, I got to get orf - you taking these 'ere balloons or not?' The carman thrust the remainder of the bunch under Quelch's nose again.

Smack! smack!

Pop! pop! pop! Pop!

Four more of the balloons disintegrated, popping. Evidently, Quelch was not taking delivery of those goods. 'Take them away!' thundered Mr. Quelch. 'Do you hear me? Take your rubbish out of this form-room! Do you hear?'

'I ain't deaf!' retorted the carman. 'I 'ear you all right, old gentleman— I could 'ear you as fur off as Courtfield, if you come to that. I can see myself taking back a lot of busted balloons, and telling the boss that the old gentleman has changed his mind

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