Walter Feather

Walter Feather is a saxophonist and bandleader at the Aztec Lounge, where May Wynn performs after Willie Keith has left. Though Marty Rubin presents him as an objectionable rival, Feather’s own conduct is cordial, and his unexpected resemblance to Tom Keefer colors Willie’s final encounter with him. He is a small but consequential figure in the reunion scene: the man at the center of Willie’s jealousy becomes, in person, more complicated than the picture Willie has been given.

Public Persona and Work

A notice advertises the nightly appearance of Walter Feather and his saxophone with the orchestra in the Aztec Lounge. The music and venue establish him as a working bandleader in a public entertainment world far removed from Willie’s recent naval life. When Willie and Marty visit, the band is playing Anchors Aweigh, a familiar naval song that Marty jokingly treats as a welcome for Willie. On the orchestra platform, May sings with bright blond hair, a visible change that startles Willie.

The gap between the advertisement and the man is echoed in the photograph Willie sees before meeting him. The picture shows Feather and May together at a microphone, but Willie finds the saxophonist’s image unappealing: rimless glasses, a thin stage smile, and a long nose. The portrait primes him to regard Feather as an unworthy rival before they have met. In person, however, Feather’s appearance and manner make the image seem unrepresentative.

Reputation Through Marty Rubin

Marty tells Willie that May has been with Feather since about two weeks after Willie left and says that she is involved with him. He describes Feather as a two-time husband and divorcee and says he has been trying to oppose the relationship, though May becomes angry with him. These claims reach Willie through Marty, whose warning is emotionally charged; the account conveys the painful news to Willie but does not establish an independent judgment of Feather’s character.

Willie reacts strongly to what Marty tells him, staring at the photograph and dismissing Feather’s looks. He insists that he must speak with May, and Marty accompanies him to the lounge, where the sight of her singing makes the situation immediate. Feather’s reported connection to May is therefore not merely background: it shapes Willie’s expectations before the two men meet and makes their later handshake a direct encounter with the rival he has imagined.

Meeting Willie

When Feather comes forward, he holds out his hand and greets Willie warmly. He says that Marie has told him about Willie, indicating that he has heard of him before their introduction. The greeting is open rather than hostile, and the two men shake hands. Feather has a pleasant, keen expression; his eyes are wrinkled and shadowed, his plentiful brown hair is streaked with gray, and his grip is firm. His strong voice sounds good-natured and attractive. The description reverses Willie’s first impression from the lobby photograph: the apparent menace of a rival gives way to a person whose manner is agreeable.

Feather’s ease also appears in his response to the others. May greets Marty coldly, while Feather asks whether the two visitors would like to join him and the band for a meal. The invitation is sociable, and the difference between his manner and Marty’s condemnatory description leaves the reader with competing impressions rather than a confirmed portrait of a villain. Feather remains linked to May through the circumstances of her work and Marty’s account, but he does not behave aggressively toward Willie in their meeting.

The Final Encounter

Later, after Willie tells May he wants to stay near her and asks to meet for breakfast, she refuses the immediate plan, tells him not to check into the hotel, and turns back toward the stage because she still has to work. Feather enters and tells Willie that the Navy parade is coming down Fifth Avenue and that its drums can be heard in the street. He addresses him as Lieutenant, even though Willie has just said that he decommissioned his ship that morning. Feather’s practical announcement offers Willie a way to leave the charged meeting without prolonging it.

As they face each other, Willie notices that Feather’s expression recalls Tom Keefer’s: perhaps a mocking condescension, perhaps a softness beneath the brightness. The resemblance encourages Willie, who feels that he has matched Keefer. The moment reveals more about Willie’s perception than it does about Feather: he reads the bandleader through the image of a man whose regard has mattered to him, then takes that comparison as reassurance. Willie thanks Feather, glances toward May, and receives only her slight nod before going out to watch the parade. Feather thus stands at the threshold of Willie’s departure, not as an antagonist who drives him away, but as the courteous presence through whom the scene turns back toward the public world outside the lounge.