Extract: The Making of Harry Wharton

Let me take you back to 1908 and the first edition of the Magnet and the birth of Greyfriars, the school that would become internationally famous as the setting for the Billy Bunter stories.

Before Bunter took centre stage Harry Wharton was the star of the show, eventually becoming the leader of a group of boys known as the Famous Five.  Wharton had been sent off to Greyfriars by his father Colonel Wharton because the lad’s behaviour was getting out of hand. Harry resented being sent away and was determined not to fit in to school life.

You can find the full first edition of the Magnet on the Friardale website here.

The First Licking

 

  THE Remove at Greyfriars usually had tea in their studies—at least, when they were in funds—and very cosy some of meals were.  Seldom more than half the Form turned up for tea in the hall.

  After the trial in the Form-room, Billy Bunter went straight to No. 1.  It was his turn to got tea, and he proceeded to the duty at once.  Nugent looked out for Wharton, and found him staring out of one of the tall windows in the hall.  He tapped the new boy on the shoulder.

  Harry turned round his head, and looked at him.  The expression of his face was not pleasant.  The scene in the Form-room had left him in a state of smouldering fury, and be was in a mood for a quarrel.

  “What do you want ?” he asked abruptly.

  “Nothing; only it’s tea-time.”

  “Is it ?  Where do you have tea in this rotten place ?”

  “That’s according.” said Nugent, pretending not to hear the disparaging epithet applied to Greyfriars.  “Fellows who have the tin generally have tea in their studies—you can get tuck from the school shop.  You’ll fall into that later.  At present, I’ll be pleased if you’ll come to tea in the study.”

  “I suppose I can have my tea in the hall ?”

 “You can if you like, of course: but if you’d rather go co in the study, we can make an arrangement.  But for this evening, you will be a guest.”

  “Thanks; I’ll go to the hall.”

  Nugent’s eyes glinted.  Wharton had saved his life, and Nugent was grateful, and he had a patient temper and a real compassion for a boy who was the victim of a bad training.  But patience had its limit, and he felt that he was reaching it.

  “You might be a little more civil about it, at all events,” said Nugent angrily; “it isn’t every fellow who would take any trouble over you !”

  “I don’t want you to take any trouble over me,” said Harry sullenly.  “Why can’t you let me alone ?  I haven’t asked any favours at your hands, or anybody else’s here.  I hate the place and the people.  Let me alone, then !”

  “I’ll take you at your word,” said Nugent, between his teeth.  “I wanted to make things a bit easier for you, because—”

  “Because I pulled you out of the river,” snapped Wharton.  “Can’t you let that rest ?  I was a fool to do it, and I wouldn’t, if it happened again !”

  “Very well,” said Nugent, compressing his lips hard;  “I’ll leave you alone, as you wish.  You won’t be troubled by me any more.  But, by George,” he added, his anger breaking out in spite of himself, “if it wasn’t that you ran that risk for me, I’d—”

  “Well, what would you do? sneered Wharton, as he paused.

  “I’d give you such a licking, that you wouldn’t be able to crawl for a week afterwards !” exclaimed Nugent, with flashing eyes.

  “Would you ?  Suppose you do it now ?”

  “No, I won’t !  I could if I liked, and you know it.”

  Harry bit his lip.  The experience in the train had showed him that he was no match for Nugent.  It was useless to blink at a fact like that.

  Nugent looked at him bitterly for a moment, and then turned and walked away.  Harry stared out of the window gloomily.  There was something like remorse in his heart.  He knew that Nugent meant well by him, and he knew that he had thrown away a friendship that might have been priceless to him.  His solitude in the midst of the great, busy school was bitter to him, and Nugent, at least, was willing to be his friend.  But the sullen obstinacy which had always been his curse was not so easily cured.

  The sound of a bell ringing came to his ear, and he guessed that it was the signal for tea in the hall.  He made his way thither, and found the Remove coming in; not more then half the Form.  He went to the same table and sat down, but no one spoke to him.  Curious glances were thrown at him, a good deal as if he were a peculiar animal, but he kept his eyes upon his plate as he ate.

  Alter tea there was the usual preparation to do, which the Remove had the privilege of doing in their own studies, instead of in a class-room under the eye of a master.  Harry Wharton made his way to No. 1 Study, and, as he opened the door, a scene of extreme cosiness broke upon his view.

  The fire was burning brightly, and the light glimmered upon a white cloth and gleaming crockery.  The juniors were finishing their tea, and Billy Bunter was refilling his cup.  The kettle was singing away in the grate with a cheery, homely sound.

  The scene was very cosy—very different from the chilly great hall.  At that moment, more than any other, a sense of his isolation smote upon Harry.

  Billy Bunter looked up as the door opened.

  “Hallo, who’s that ?” he said, blinking.  “Is it you, Skinner ?  Have you seen that new cad ?  He hasn’t condescended to have his tea with us !”

  Before Harry could speak, Bulstrode gave a yell.  The short-sighted Owl was pouring out the tea as he talked, and he had sent a stream of it into Bulstrode’s plate.

  “You ass !” shouted Bulstrode.  “Look what you’re doing ?  You’ve flooded my sardines !”

  Bunter blinked at the plate.

  “I’m sincerely sorry,” he exclaimed;  “I didn’t see—”

  “Well, you’d better look next time, ass !  Give me some more sardines !”

  “I’m sincerely sor—”

  “Hang all that !  Give me some more sardines !”

  “I’m sinc—”

  “Ass !  Sardines !  Sardines !  Ass !” roared Bulstrode.

  “I’m sincerely sorry, but there aren’t any more !” gasped Bunter.

  “You—you villain, you’ve spoiled my last sardines !”

  “It was all Skinners fault for coming in so suddenly !”

  “That isn’t Skinner, ass; it’s the outsider !”

  “Oh, is it ?   Then why don’t you give him a licking for coming in so suddenly ?” said the Owl.

  “I want to do my preparation,” said Wharton.

  Bulstrode grinned ill-naturedly.

  “Then you can wait till we’ve done with the table, or you can take your books on your knees,” he said.

  Harry looked dubiously round the study.  There was not much room in the little apartment for four people, at the best of times, and for tea and preparation to run on simultaneously was rather an impossibility.  He instinctively looked at Nugent for advice, but Nugent did not look at him.

  “I don’t see how you can do your prep here at all, either,” said Bulstrode.  “There isn’t room in one of these studies for four fellows.  I don't see why we should be bothered with you !  Go and do it in the Form-room !”

  “I’d rather do it there than in your company !” said Wharton.

  “Well, go and do it, then !”

  Harry Wharton gave another glance round, and took his books and left the study.  The bully of the Remove grinned.

  “We’ve got rid of that rotter !” he exclaimed.  “If we stick together over it, we can keep him out of the study altogether.  I don’t see why we should be troubled by him.  The Form-room is a great deal too good for the cad !  I wonder how he’ll like it !”

  Harry Wharton did not like it at all.

  There were several other youngsters of the Remove in the Form-room, as well as most of the Third Form, doing their preparation.  The room was in a buzz, excepting when a master was there, and it was chilly and cheerless.  The fire in the grate was not near the desks, and it burned very low, and the boys did not dare to make it up too high.  Harry Wharton thought of the cosy study with something like a sigh.

  When bed-time came, Wharton joined the rest of the Form going up.  No one spoke to him, but a good many of the Remove talked “at” him, in a way that showed how extreme was his unpopularity.

  “Lights out in ten minutes !” said Wingate, looking into the dormitory.

  The Remove began to undress.  Bulstrode came over to Harry’s bed.

  “I say, cad,” he remarked politely, “you haven’t told me when I am to expect the cash for that camera !”

  Harry Wharton looked at him steadily.

  “You will never get it from me !” he said.

  “You refuse to pay up ?”

  “Yes; it was your own fault it was broken.”

“By George, if you don’t pay up, I’ll make you smart for it; and I think you’d better have your first lesson to-night !  Hallo !”

  The door opened, and Mr. Quelch, the master of the Remove came in.

  “I have a word to say to you, boys,” he said, as the buzz of voices died away.  “There has been too much noise in the dormitory of late and it must cease.  I shall be specially attentive to-night for any disturbance, and I warn you that none had better take place. The offenders will be severely punished !”

  “Yes, sir !” said Bulstrode.

  “Good-night, my boys !”

And the Form master retired. Bulstrode scowled after him savagely.

  “What the dickens does that mean ?” he exclaimed

  “It’s the first time Quelchy has been so beastly particular about a little noise.”

  “Oh, I know what it means !” said Skinner, grinning.  “He thinks we’re going to rag the new fellow, and he doesn’t want us to do it.”

  “So we were !  Well, that’s what I call rotten !  Fancy a master stepping in to save mammy’s boy from being put through it !  I suppose Wharton has been sucking up to him !”

  “That’s a lie !” said Wharton.

  “Oh, it’s a lie, is it ?” said Bulstrode, turning upon him.  “Well, Quelch or no Quelch, I’ll make you eat those words !”

  “Shut up now, Bulstrode” said Nugent.  “Let him alone !  A row after what Quelchy said means a half-holiday’s detention for the whole form, and I’m not going to stand that on your account !”

  “Right-ho !” said a dozen voices.  “Shut up, Bulstrode !”

  The bully of the Remove scowled, but he gave in.  He strode back to his own bed, and Harry Wharton was left alone.

  Wingate found the Remove dormitory in a state of unusual quietness when he came in to turn the light out.  And he left it so.  After the Form master’s warning, the boys of the Remove did not leave their beds, and the new boy at Greyfriars escaped what would probably have been the severest ordeal of his experience at the school.

  Harry slept pretty soundly, and did not wake till the rising-bell went.  It was a crisp, cold morning, and the Remove turned out into the quadrangle for a run before breakfast.

  Harry Wharton went out also, and even he felt the influence of the crisp air and the bright sunshine, and his face was cheerful for the first time since he had arrived at Greyfriars.

  The Remove were warming themselves with a game of leap-frog, and Harry looked on, thinking that he would willingly join in if he were asked.  But he was “the outsider,” and no one looked at him.  He had made a bad start at Greyfriars, and a bad start was not easily retrieved.

  “Get out of the way !” shouted Bulstrode.

  “Harry looked round quickly, but not in time.  Bulstrode came rushing by to take his leap, and shouldered the new boy roughly aside.  Harry staggered and felt at full length on the ground.

  Bulstrode laughed jeeringly as he went on.  The new boy sprang to his feet, his face dark with passion.

  But Bulstrode was gone.  He was almost at the end of the line by this time, and as Harry ran towards him, he was bending to make a back in his turn.  Before Harry could reach him, be was hustled back by three or four fellows.

  “Get out !” cried Skinner angrily.  “What are you trying to do ?  Get out of the way !”

  “I—”

  “Shut up !  Get aside !”

  Half a dozen fellows hustled Wharton away, and he had to retreat.  Sore and savage, he walked away, and was first in to breakfast.  Bulstrode sat opposite to him at the breakfast-table, and grinned at him across the board.

  Harry scowled in reply; but his scowl only drew upon him derisive glances and muttered gibes.  Sulky looks were about the worst thing for anybody at Greyfriars, as Harry was slowly discovering.

  “What is going on down there ?” exclaimed Mr. Quelch, from the head of the table.  “What is all that laughing and muttering about ?”

  “It’s only the new kid, sir !”  said Bulstrode.  “He’s looking as if he would like to murder somebody !”

  “Bulstrode, how dare you use such an expression ?”

  “Well, he is, sir !  Look at him !”

  The Form master looked at Harry, and the new boy’s sullen face grew more sullen as he felt Mr. Quelch’s eye fixed upon him.

  “What is the matter with you, Wharton ?”

  “Nothing !”

  “Nothing what ?” exclaimed the Remove master angrily.

  “Nothing, sir !” said Harry unwillingly.

  “You had better not forget to address me in a respectful manner the next time you speak,” said Mr. Quelch.  “And now, take that scowl off your face instantly !  You are among civilised people here, and I object to your sitting down to table scowling like a hooligan !  You hear me ?”

  The Form master’s words were not likely to remove the sullenness from the new boy’s face.  Every eye at the table was fixed upon him, and his ears were beginning to burn.   He felt that he looked foolish, and the tears of utter vexation started to his eyes.

  “He’s snivelling !” muttered Bulstrode, loudly enough for the whole table to hear.  “Poor little thing !  He missed his mammy, you know !  Diddums !”

  Harry’s sullen face blazed out into wrath.

  He could not reach his taunting enemy with his hands, but he caught up his teacup, and, without stopping to think, he flung the contents full in the face of the bully of the Remove.

  Bulstrode started to his feet with a yell.  The hot tea smothered his face and hair, and drenched his shirt and waistcoat.  He reached over the table towards Harry, in a mad rage; but the Form master was on his feet now.

  “Wharton,” he thundered, “leave the room instantly !  Go and wait for me in my study !  I will deal with you there !”

  Harry hesitated a moment.  He was in a humour to disobey even a Form-master.  But he turned and went, and a muttered hiss followed him.

  In the Form master’s study he waited, like a wild animal in a cage.  He could not keep still, but walked to and fro while he waited for Mr. Quelch to come.  His cup of bitterness seemed to be full now.

  It was a quarter of an hour before Mr. Quelch entered.  His face was very grave and stern.  He fixed his eyes upon the boy’s sullen, savage face.

  “Wharton,” he said quietly, “you have not done well since you came to this school.  You seem to have done everything you can think of to make the Form you belong to dislike and despise you.”

  “I hate them !” muttered Harry.

  “Silence, sir !  You must not speak like that.  You should be ashamed to use such an expression.  Mark me, if I did not know that there were certain peculiarities in your training which formed some excuse for you, I should send you in to the Head to be severely flogged for your conduct this morning !”

  Wharton set his teeth, but did not speak.

  “As it is,” went on the Remove master, “I shall not do so.  I shall see whether a caning will have any effect upon you before I try severer measures.”  He picked up a cane from the table, and tested it in his fingers.  “Hold out your hand, sir !”

  Harry Wharton did not stir.

  The brow of the Remove master became black as night.  He seemed on the verge of an explosion, but he restrained himself.

  “Did you hear me, Wharton ?  Hold out your hand instantly !”

  “I won’t !”

  “What !”  Mr. Quelch spoke in tones of forced calmness.  Do I understand you to say that you will not, Wharton ?”

  “I won’t !” muttered Harry doggedly.  “I didn’t want to come to this place !  I don’t want to stay here !  I won’t be caned !”

  “Will you hold out your hand ?”

  “No !”

  Mr. Quelch wasted no more time in words.  He seized Harry by the collar with his left hand, and with the right he caned him.  The blows fell with lashing force upon the junior’s back, stinging him severely.

  Harry did not utter a cry.  He did not struggle, for he was helpless in the iron grip of the Form master.  The rain of blows made every nerve in his body tingle with pain, and not until his arm was tired did Mr. Quelch release him.

  “There,” said the Form master, flinging the cane into a corner,  “I hope that will be a lesson to you. Wharton !”

  Harry did not speak; his face was white and his lips quivering, and if he had spoken he would have burst into a torrent of tears.

  “Go !  Leave the room, sir !”

  Harry Wharton left the Remove master’s study without a word.

 

Picture and text credits: Amalgamated Press

 

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