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Andy was glad when Downer had gone. The news the reporter had brought was startling. He had neither seen nor heard from Stella since he had left Beverley. A letter from her father had told him that she was staying with relations for a month, for apparently Kenneth Nelson was satisfied. It would be a simple matter for Andy to discover the identity of the sick sailor, but he shrank from spying upon the girl and whatever secret she had. He was even more reluctant to revive the painful unrest which he had experienced when he had returned to town. Life had lost a great deal of its colour and sweetness when she had gone out of his life. Pique? Perhaps he was piqued that she did not come to him in her trouble. He wished he had asked Downer about her hand. Was it bandaged still? he wondered. Why hadn't she told him everything? He had heard things from outside. That had hurt him.
As to the sick sailor--He shrugged his shoulders. He found nothing significant in that episode. Stella was a law unto herself. If it pleased her to devote herself to the sick poor, that was a matter entirely for herself. And yet--he told himself that he was curious to discover the identity of the invalid. In reality, as he knew, he was hungry to see the girl again.