White Feather

go is

ained to Clowesof the manner in which his house-master treated him, and Clowes hadremarked in his melancholy way that it was

ely how Jackson f

earable on the day after Sheen

n the labours of the day. Unfortunately, hesprang ten minutes too late, and came down to b

o. But it was MrTemplar's preparation, and Mr Templar was short-sighted. Any one willunderstand, therefore, that it would have been simply chucking away thegifts of Providence if he had not gone on with the novel which he hadbeen reading up til

re--Two hun

glass of water. Pureaccident, of course, but t

;(b) a pig;and had given him(1) Advice

--"Two hundred

fine, free game during afternoonschool, and Mr Dexter, who objected to fine, free games--or, indeed,an

field cheering the house-team on to victory against the SchoolHouse, Jackson s

lf his task,entered Painter, with the news that Dexter's had

nter. "Made ringsround them. Haven't you finished yet?

y. Fact. Some of these School House kids are awfully sickabout

you, and I said I betted hecouldn't, and he said all right, then, let's try, and then the otherchaps wanted to join in, so we made an inter-house thing of it. And Iwant you to come and stroke us."Jackson hesitated. Mr Dexter, setting the lines on Friday, had

ho," said

the enemy were already afloat

cried the Sch

ve strong. There was ro

post of stroke with P

ed Tomlin from

ain here. Ready?""In a jiffy. Look here, Crowle, remember about steering. You pull theright line if you want to go to the right and the other if you want togo to the left.""All right," said the injured C

ertain thatJackson and his men led from the start. Pulling a good, splashingstroke which had drenched Crowle to the skin in the first thirty yards,Dexter's boat crept slowly ahead. By the

ve finished,

crab, and the School House drewlevel again

nvertedinto submarines, and the rival coxswains were observing bitterly tospace that this was jolly well the last time they ever let

hemlike a fountain could prevent Crowle from seeing that they were man

you chaps. We shall be into them."At the same moment the School House oars

from his exertions. "Hullo, it'sthe Jud

."But the Judies, it seemed, were not prepared to wait even for thatshort space of time. A

h them!"

urrounded. The latter were not slow to join battle with the sameweapons. Homeric laughter came from the bridge above. The town bridgewa

eve they lounged against the balustrades,surveying nature, and hoping it would be kind enough to give them someexcitement that day. An occasional dog-fight f

tedmen fetched their friends from neighbouring public houses and crane

tirelycongested, and heard raucous voices urging certain unseen "little 'uns"now to "go it" and anon to "vote for Pedder", his

boats had been propelled by the current nearer andnearer to the Dexter Argo. No sooner was

ws rosefrom their seats and grappled with one another. A hurrica

and drifting sluggishlydown towards the island, w

xtreme: andit was soon speedily evident that swimming was also part of the Judycurriculum, for the shipwrecked ones were soon

ght, and thecombatants parted without further hostilit

his bicycle again, rode

held a reception. Amongdistinguished visitors we

unless hewas a prefect, would be allowed till further notice to cross the townbridge. As regarded the river, for the future boating Wrykinians mustconfine their attentions to the lower river. Nobody

man. He thought before he puthis foot dow

that made it necessary for him tochoose between breaking school rules of the most important kind, orpulling

y. But he had nobody withwhom he could talk ov

thinking it out, and by night

tit, he must keep his appointment with Joe Bevan. It would mean going t

ould have