Jennings and His Friends

by Antony Buckeridge

  "Jennings!" Mr Wilkins' voice rang so suddenly that the boy jumped. "What are you doing inside that desk?" Jennings quickly shut'' the exercise-book. "I-I wasn't really doing anything, sir."

  "Don't talk to me over the top of a desk!"

  Jennings closed the desk.

  "What's that penknife doing in your hand?"

  "This penknife, sir? Well, you see, I've, finished the test, and now 1 have nothing to do, and I am... cutting a piece of paper, sir!"

  "Cutting a piece of paper! Again these Christmas decorations! It's bad enough that you boys spend all your free time on this nonsense, and I'm certainly not going to let you do it in class, whether you've finished your work or not."

  "No, sir."

  "Bring that penknife to me. I shall confiscate it."

  Very slowly Jennings went to the teacher's desk and put the penknife on it.

  "Will you give it back to me at the end of the term?" he asked.

  "I haven't decided it yet," was the answer.

  "But sir..."

  "Don't argue with me. Be quiet; the other boys are still working," Mr Wilkins said. "If you've finished the test you can leave the room and stay in the corridor till the end of the lesson."

  "It was bad luck about the penknife," Jennings said to himself in the corridor. "I may get it back before the holidays or may not. You never know with Mr Wilkins. The only thing I can do is to be decent to him for a week and then ask him to give me back the penknife."

  Jennings was not worried about the drawing, because when the lesson was over he could go back into the classroom and... The bell rang and a moment later Mr Wilkins came out of the classroom with a pile of exercise-books under his arm.

  In a state of wild panic Jennings ran into the classroom. "Who collected the exercise-books after the test?" he shouted.

  "I did. Old Wilkie told me to," answered Bromwich. "Don't worry about your exercise-, book. When I saw it wasn't on the top of your desk, I looked for it inside and I found it."

  "What?" exclaimed Jennings. "You - you mean you took my exercise-book and gave it to Old Wilkie?"

  "Well, of course, I did," said Bromwich. "You want Old Wilkie to correct your test, don't you?"

  The horror swept over Jennings.

  "Why did you want to do a thing 1 that, Bromo?"

  Bromwich looked at him in surprise.

  "I did no harm when I got your exercise-book out of your desk, did I?" said Bromwich,

  "No harm!" exclaimed Jennings. "Oh, no! No harm! You've only given Sir a caricature on himself with his name under it in large letters."

  "I'm very sorry," said Bromwich. "But how could I know?"

  "Everybody knew," said Jennings. "Everybody saw it before the lesson."

  But Bromwich really was the only boy who did not see it.

  There was no time to talk about it because at that moment Mr Carter arrived to begin an English lesson. And all the time during the next two lessons Jennings was thinking about his drawing.

  "I must get my exercise-book back before Old Wilkie begins to correct it," thought Jennings. "By hook or by crook."

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Jennings' plan to get back his exercise-book

  When the lessons were over at the end of afternoon school Jennings hurried along the corridor to the staff room. He found Mr Wilkins in an arm-chair. He was thinking over a crossword puzzle. On the table near him was the pile of Form Three's geography exercise-books.

  "Sir, please, sir, may I have my geography exercise-book for a minute, sir?" Jennings asked.

  Mr Wilkins didn't even look up from his crossword puzzle. "Of course you can't have it back now. You will have it back when I've corrected it," he answered.

  "But, sir, it's very important. I've just remembered something."

  "You know quite well that you can't make any changes when the test is over. Well, you could look up the right answers and..."

  "Oh, no, it's not that," said Jennings. "I don't want to change anything I've written 111 the test, sir."

  "Then why do you want your book back?"

  "Well, sir, I - I..." There was no short answer to this question. "I just want to have It back," finished Jennings.

  "I don't understand, boy, what you are talking about. You'll have your book back tomorrow when I've corrected the test and not before."

  "Thank you, sir," said Jennigs and slowly went out of the staff room.

  He came back to his classroom where three of his friends were looking for some paper to make paper chains.

  "Something awful has happened," he said and then told Darbishire, Temple and Atkinson the whole story.

  "And his name under the portrait in big letters, too!" exclaimed Darbishire. "What are you going to do?"

  "It's a pity you made the drawing so funny," said Atkinson. "His ears are not as big as you made them, Jen."

  "And his eyes are not so big, either," said Temple.

  "And the words in the balloon about silly little boy! I can understand what he'll say when he sees it."

  "He mustn't see it," Jennings cried. "I must get my exercise-book back and rub out the picture while there is still time."

  But it was very difficult to do, of course. Nobody could tell when Mr Wilkins was going to correct the tests, when Jennings could rub out the drawing or when the staff room was empty and the teachers were in other parts of the building.

  "I shall go to the staff room after tea with an eraser and knock on the door," said Jennings.

  "And what if there are any teachers there?" asked Darbishire.

  "Then I shall - I shall..." Jennings thought" for a moment. "I shall say something like:

  Do they think the weather will be fine tomorrow. And then I'll go back and try again later."

  "And they may be there when you go back again. And you can't go all evening and ask them about the weather every five minutes," said Atkinson.

  "Well, you think of something better then," said Jennings. "All of you! All think of something."

  They thought!... And for some minutes they did not say a word. It was Jennings' fault, of course, but they wished to do all they could to help him.

  "I think we must all help you," said Temple.

  "Thank you, but how?" asked Jennings

  "One of us will go to the staff room," Temple began to explain his plan, "and if he finds that there are any teachers there, he will make his excuse and come back. Then the second one will do the same. Then the third. Then the fourth. But I'm sure one of us will succeed."

  The boys thought it was a good idea. They decided that Mr Wilkins was not going to correct the tests till the boys were in bed, because he was on duty that evening. So the best time for them was during the half hour, before the dormitory bell, when the teacher on duty usually walked round the building.

  "That's what we'll do, then," Jennings decided. "We'll synchronize our watches, because we mustn't all go there at the same time, and we'll draw names out of a hat to see who goes first."

  So they wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a pencil-box (they had no hat). Then Jennings drew the pieces of paper.

  "We'll go at five-minute intervals," he said

  "The first will knock on the door of the staff room at nineteen thirty-five."

  "What time is that?" asked Atkinson.

  "Twenty-five minutes to eight, of course. If the staff room is empty he rubs out the drawing and reports to the others that he has done the work. If there is somebody there, of course, he makes his excuse and goes away, and the next one will go five minutes later."

  "I can never think of a good excuse when I need it," said Darbishire.

  "Then begin to think now," said Jennings. "It isn't difficult. One of us can ask him to sign his autograph book..."

  "A very good excuse," said everybody.

  "...and somebody else can ask him..." For the moment he could not think of another good excuse. "Well, somebody else can ask him something else; it doesn't matter what. The main thing
is we all four go at different • times and all have different excuses. We must do it, by hook or by crook."

  The tea bell rang and the boys went to the dining hall. They all liked their plan which really was very good. But it was a pity that they did not have time to think of different excuses which they could use.

  At half past seven that evening Mr Wilkins put his crossword puzzle on the table and stood up from his armchair. "It's time for me to walk round the school and see what those boys are doing," he said to Mr Hind who was also in the staff room.

  "What if I ask you to change duties with me?" said Mr Hind. "A friend of mine has invited me to the cinema tomorrow night when I must be on duty, and I'm looking for somebody to change duties with me."

  "All right," agreed Mr Wilkins. "It'll give me a chance to correct Form Three's geography test." Mr Wilkins sat down again, and Mr Hind left the room. "Form Three's geography test! Yes, of course, I'll begin it at once," decided Mr Wilkins. He looked at the table and saw his unfinished crossword puzzle. "Maybe I'll finish that first."

  He took the crossword puzzle from the table. The most difficult was number 17 down. He began to think what it could be.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Autograph hunt

  At twenty-five minutes to eight there was a knock on the staff room door.

  "Come in!" called Mr Wilkins.

  The visitor was Temple. When he saw that the room was not empty he took an autograph book from his pocket.

  "Please, sir, write something in my book, please, sir," he asked.

  That was not an unusual thing for Mr Wilkins.

  "Do you only want my signature?" he asked.

  "Yes, sir. Of course, you can write something else, if you like, sir," said Temple. "Something like, for example: By hook or by crook I'll be first in your book, sir." , "All right. Leave the book here. I'll do it later."

  Temple sadly went out of the room. It was too bad. Old Wilkie was there. But he had done what he could.

  At twenty minutes to eight Mr Wilkins again heard a knock on the door. This time the visitor was Darbishire. He stood half in the room and half out of the door with an eraser in his hand.

  "What's the matter, Darbishire? Do you want to see me?"

  "N-no, sir. I didn't think you were here. sir."

  Mr Wilkins frowned. "My dear boy, if you don't want to see me and you thought I wasn't here, why did you knock on the door?"

  "I - I... just wondered whether you could write something in my autograph book."

  Mr Wilkins was surprised. Two boys asking him to write in their autograph books on one evening!

  "You can write anything you like, sir, said Darbishire. "Like: By hook or by crook I'll be first in your book."

  "I'm busy now," answered Mr Wilkins. "I certainly want to be first in your book. Bu1 you'll have to wait till I finish my cross - till I finish correcting your geography exercise-books."

  "Our geography exercise-books!" exclaimed Darbishire. "You haven't corrected them, then, sir?"

  "No, Darbishire, I haven't. And if any more people come and knock on the door. I'm sure, I shall not finish them this evening."

  "Excuse me, sir," said Darbishire, put his autograph book on the table and left the room.

  Five minutes passed during which Mr Wilkins could not find the answer to 17 down. He left it and began to think about 29 down.

  Then Atkinson arrived. "Oh, you are here, sir! I thought maybe there wasn't anybody here," he said. "I mean I thought you were on duty this evening."

  "Oh, I see," Mr Wilkins said with a suspicion. "And so you decided to come into the staff room to see what it looks like when it is empty, didn't you?"

  "Oh, no, sir. I remember now. I really wanted to see you, sir." He took an autograph book from his pocket. "I wondered whether you could write something in this book for me, sir? Just something like: By hook or by crook I'll be first in your book. And then if you sign..." He looked up at Mr Wilkins' expression and stopped.

  "What game are you silly little boys playing?" the teacher asked angrily. He was sure that all those visitors were going to make fun of him. "You come to the staff room, find me here and then tell me that you haven't expected to see me here."

  "No, sir, it isn't so, really, sir."

  "And these autograph books! Somebody must think I'm a film star!"

  Atkinson looked down at his shoes and said nothing.

  "I've had enough nonsense about autograph books for one evening," Mr Wilkins continued. "And if anyone else comes and knocks at the door, I'll - I'll... Well, they'd better not."

  "Yes, sir... No, sir," said Atkinson and ran out of the room.

  In the library he met Darbishire and Temple.

  "I shall not go there any more," said Atkinson. "He is ready to go off like an H-bomb."

  "He wasn't too bad when I was there," Temple said. "I just asked for his autograph and..."

  "You did what?" asked Atkinson.

  "I asked for his autograph. It was the only thing I could think of," answered Temple.

  "Why did you do it? You knew that I was going to ask him for his autograph," said Atkinson.

  "No, I didn't. You never told me," said Temple. "Do you mean that you asked for his autograph, too?"

  "Yes, of course, I did," said Atkinson. "Now I can see why he is so angry - because both of us made the same excuse."

  Darbishire looked at his friends sadly and said, "Not only both of you - all three of us. I only hope that Jennings has got some other excuses for him when he goes to see him."

  "I think we must warn him," said Temple. "Let's go and see if we can find him before it's too late."

  It was already too late. When the three boys came to the common room they did not find Jennings there.

  "Well, he has already gone," Atkinson looked at his watch. "There is nothing more we can do. I only hope that he will be all right."

  The clock on the wall of the staff room stood at ten minutes to eight when, for the fourth time in twenty minutes, there was a knock on the door.

  "Come in!" Mr Wilkins shouted in an angry voice.

  But nobody came in. Because when Jennings heard Mr Wilkins' voice he understood that the room was not empty and decided to run away.

  Mr Wilkins shouted again. Then he stood up from his arm-chair, quickly crossed the room and opened the door. He looked out into the corridor and saw a boy disappearing round the corner.

  "Stop! Come back, that boy!" he shouted.

  After a short time Jennings appeared.

  "Did you call me, sir?" he asked.

  "Yes, I did. Did you knock at the staff room door?"

  "Do you mean just now, sir?"

  "Of course I mean just now. You don't think I meant last term, do you?"

  "No, sir. Well, you see I just tapped on it, sir, if you see what I mean."

  "I see. Then why did you run away and not come in when I told you?"

  "I ... I ... changed my mind at the last moment, sir. I decided not to come in. You see, I was going to ask you to write something in my autograph book. Something like. By hook or by crook..."

  "What!" shouted Mr Wilkins. "This is too much for me! I've had enough of this nonsense! And if you are not out of my sight in a moment, Jennings, then by hook or by crook you'll be first in the detention book!"

  "Yes, sir," said Jennings and ran along the corridor.

  When Mr Wilkins turned to the door he met Mr Hind who was coming back to the staff room.

  "Have you finished correcting your tests?" asked Mr Hind.

  "No," answered Mr Wilkins. "I think I'll wait till morning. There is too much noise at this time of the day."

  "But the Headmaster asked us to give him the results of all the tests at once. So I really think you have to give him the results of the test tomorrow morning, by hook or by crook," said Mr Hind.

  Mr Wilkins looked at him angrily.

  "Will you please not use that idiotic expression, Hind," he said angrily. "I've had enough of that expression
on the last twenty minutes to last me quite a long time."

  He went into the staff room and shut the door loudly.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Jennings' new plan

  It was a sad evening for Jennings. Temple and Atkinson did not want to go to the staff room again and meet Mr Wilkins. Even Darbishire, Jennings' best friend, had no wish to meet Mr Wilkins again.

  "I will watch if you decide to try again," Darbishire said to his friend.

  "But there is no time to try again," said Jennings. "Maybe he is correcting our tests now."

  "No, he isn't," said Darbishire. "He told me he wouldn't do it till tomorrow morning."

  When Jennings was in bed he began to think of a new plan for the morning.

  "Yes," he thought, "there is still a chance for me to rub out the drawing before breakfast, It is a good time to do it, because there will certainly be no teachers in the staff room before breakfast. But it is also the time of my piano practice. In the next room Mr Wilkins will certainly notice it if I stop playing for more than one minute."

  Suddenly a wonderful idea came in to his head. Of course! With a little help from Darbishire he could do it!

  "Hey, Darbi, wake up!" he called to his friend in a whisper. "I have a wonderful plan."

  "Yes?" came a sleepy voice from the next bed.

  "I know how to rub out that drawing. I couldn't think how to do it and then suddenly a wonderful idea came into my head."

  "Well, what happened after a wonderful idea came into your head?"

  "Well, Old Wilkie usually knocks on the wall if I stop practising for more than half a minute. So I think I will ask somebody to go on playing Beethoven's Minuet in G, and I'll go to the staff room.

  "If you think I can play it you can think again," said Darbishire. "I can play only An Easy Piece for Little Fingers."

  "But I don't want you to play. There is a record of that piece in the music room."

  "What record, An Easy Piece for Little . Fingers?"

  "No, Beethoven's Minuet in G. Mr Hind played it to me during my music lesson some weeks ago. So all you have to do is..."