P. G. Wodehouse 
The Gold Bat 

This novel tells of how two boys, O’Hara and Moriarty, tar and feather a statue of the local M.P. 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, and after the escapade he discovers that the trinket is missing. Schoolboy honor is at stake, and Trevor and his friends try to get the gold bat back.