The Gold Bat is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 13 September 1904 by A & C Black, London. It was originally serialised in The Captain. Set at the fictional public school of Wrykyn, the novel tells of how two boys, O'Hara and Moriarty, tar and feather a statue of a local politician as a prank. They get away with it, but O'Hara had borrowed a tiny gold cricket bat belonging to Trevor, the captain of the cricket team. After the prank, the boys discover that the trinket is missing. Schoolboy honour is at stake as Trevor and his friends conceal the loss of the gold bat until, through a stroke of luck, they find it. The novel deals with events during that term, including inter-house rugby matches and the dastardly actions of a mysterious society called "the League". Wrykyn School appears again in The White Feather (1907) and as the setting of the first half of Mike (1909). It is also mentioned occasionally in later Wodehouse works. Plot After the local mayor Sir Eustace Briggs makes negative remarks about Ireland, two Irish students at Wrykyn, O'Hara and Moriarty, sneak out at night to tar and feather a statue of Briggs, though they use leaves instead of feathers. They are not caught, but O'Hara realizes that during the escapade, he lost a tiny gold cricket bat he borrowed from his friend Trevor. Trevor won the bat, which is about an inch long, as a trophy since he was the captain of the winning cricket team in the latest house cricket cup. He is supposed to return it to the school by the next house cricket cup. Trevor is concerned about being blamed for the statue incident if the gold bat is found near the statue. Meanwhile, there is a vacant spot in the school rugby football team, and Trevor, as captain, considers Rand-Brown for the position, but favours Barry, who is smaller than Rand-Brown but more skilled. A study belonging to a prefect named Mill is found wrecked, and a calling card left behind indicates that it was done by a group called the League, which was the name used by a society of students several years prior who bullied others to get what they wanted until they were expelled. The society has apparently been revived. Trevor receives a letter warning him that the League does not