Produced by; Suzanne L. Shell, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. THE WHITE FEATHER By P. G. Wodehouse To: MY BROTHER DICK The time of this story is a year and a term later than that of _The Gold Bat._ The history of Wrykyn in between these two books is dealt with in a number of short stories, some of them brainy in the extreme, which have appeared in various magazines. I wanted Messrs Black to publish these, but they were light on their feet and kept away--a painful exhibition of the White Feather. P. G. Wodehouse CONTENTS Chapter I EXPERT OPINIONS II SHEEN AT HOME III SHEEN RECEIVES VISITORS AND ADVICE IV THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR V THE WHITE FEATHER VI ALBERT REDIVIVUS VII MR JOE BEVAN VIII A NAVAL BATTLE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IX SHEEN BEGINS HIS EDUCATION X SHEEN'S PROGRESS XI A SMALL INCIDENT XII DUNSTABLE AND LINTON GO UP THE RIVER XIII DEUS EX MACHINA XIV A SKIRMISH XV THE ROUT AT RIPTON XVI DRUMMOND GOES INTO RETIREMENT XVII SEYMOUR'S ONE SUCCESS XVIII MR BEVAN MAKES A SUGGESTION XIX PAVING THE WAY XX SHEEN GOES TO ALDERSHOT XXI A GOOD START XXII A GOOD FINISH XXIII A SURPRISE FOR SEYMOUR'S XXIV BRUCE EXPLAINS I EXPERT OPINIONS "With apologies to gent opposite," said Clowes, "I must say I don't think much of the team." "Don't apologise to _me_," said Allardyce disgustedly, as he filled the teapot, "I think they're rotten." "They ought to have got into form by now, too," said Trevor. "It's not as if this was the first game of the term." "First game!" Allardyce laughed shortly. "Why, we've only got a couple of club matches and the return match with Ripton to end the season. It is about time they got into form, as you say." Clowes stared pensively into the fire. "They struck me," he said, "as the sort of team who'd get into form somewhere in the middle of the cricket season." "That's about it," said Allardyce. "Try those biscuits, Trevor. They're about the only good thing left in the place." "School isn't what it was?" inquired Trevor, plunging a hand into the tin that stood on the floor beside him. "No," said Allardyce, "not only in footer but in everything. The place seems absolutely rotten. It's bad enough losing all our matches, or nearly all. Did you hear that Ripton took thirty-seven points off us last term? And we only just managed to beat Greenburgh by a try to nil." "We got thirty points last year," he went on. "Thirty-three, and forty-two the year before. Why, we've always simply walked them. It's an understood thing that we smash them. And this year they held us all the time, and it was only a fluke that we scored at all. Their back miskicked, and let Barry in." "Barry struck me as the best of the outsides today," said Clowes. "He's heavier than he was, and faster."