White Feather

k they're rotten.""They ought to have got into form by now, too," said Trevor. "It's notas if this was the first game of the term.""First game!" Allardyce laughed shortly. "Why,

n.""That's about it," said Allardyce. "Try those biscuits, Trevor. They'reabout the only good thing left in the p

y-three, andforty-two the year before. Why, we've always simply walked them. It'san understood thing that we smash them. And this year they held us allthe time, and it was only a fluke that we scored at all. Their backmiskicked, and let Barry in.""Barry struck me as the best of the outsides today," said Clowes. "He'sheavier than

o good,but there's nobody else. Colours have been simply a gift this year toanyone who can do a thing. Only Barry and myself left from

wish they were he

tors by over forty points. Clowes had scored five tries off his ownbat, and Trevor, if he had not fed his wing so conscientiously, wouldprobably have scored an equal number. As it was, he had got throught

ootball, both the Ripton matches had been won, and alsothree out of the four other school matches. In cricket the eleven hadhad an even finer record, winning all their school matches, andlikewise beating the M.C.C. and O

" resumedAllardyce, returning to his sorrows. It was a re

r from right to leftthan from left to right; so, Barry being our scoring man, I shifted himacross. The chap on the other wing, Stanning, isn't bad at times. Doyou remember him? He's in

e is left in the place," o

Iwasn't captain in a bad year.""The rummy thing is that the worse they are, the more side they stickon. You see chaps who wouldn't have been in the third in a good yearwalking about in first fifteen blazers, and fi

ve been having them on and off ever since you left. Andit'll be worse now, because there's an election coming off soon. Areyou fellows stopping for the night in the town? If so, I should adviseyou to look out for yourselves.

y youhaven't done a stroke of work for a week. I shouldn't mind that so muchif they were some good at anything. But they can't do a th

e isn't any one who can

send up, I expect. Now that O'Hara and Moriarty areboth gone, he's the only chap we have who's up to Aldershot form. Andnobody else'll take the trouble to practice. They're all too slack.""In fact," said Clowes, getting up, "as

here be no stint. Taketwo. Then we shall hear your merry laugh ringing through the oldcloisters once more. Buck up

mbled those of Allardyce. Wrykyn,in his

,and it's hard to fill their places. I must say I did not expect quite

ut even then" said Clowes, "they oughtn't to be so rank as they werethis afternoon. They seemed such slackers.""I'm afraid that's the failing of the school just now," agreed MrSeymour. "They don't play themselves out. They don't put just that lastounce into their work which make

rather sick about

He can't forget last year'smatches, and suffers continual disappointments because the present teamdoes no

on the outskirts of a town. Four years out offive nothing happens. But in the fifth, when the

lves, yes," admi

of rows?" a

as it were, definite--asyet. No actual complaint

y a straw which shows how thewind is blowing, but if you lived on the spot you would see more what Imean. There is trouble in the air. And now that this election is comingon, I should not wonder if things came to a head. I can't remember asingle

on with that school in theHigh Street--wh

," suppli

lives in back alleys. Theenemy fled on my approach. My air of majesty overawed them.""But a junior school feud matters very little," said Mr Seymour. "Yousay it has been going on for three years; and I have never heard of ittill now. It is when the bigger fellows get mixed up with the town thatwe have to interfere. I wish the headmaster would put the place out ofbounds entirely until the election is over. Except at election time,the town seems to go to sleep.""That's what we ought to be doing," said Clowes to Trevor.

What's up?"They were opposite Appleby's at the mo

t'swait, and see who it is."A moment later somebody ran softly thr

tanning. Wonder what he's after. Perhaps he's gone to tar the statue,like O'Hara. Rather a sportsman.""Rather a sil

Donaldson'll be