Teena and Eddie walked past the library, the assembly hall, and the nuclear-science building. They were starting past the chemistry building, when Eddie tugged at Teena’s sleeve.
“Look,” he said, pointing to the back of a man walking about fifty yards ahead of them. “Who’s that?”
“Who’s who?” Teena asked. “You mean that man? Am I supposed to know him?”
“I think I do,” Eddie said. “He sure looks familiar.”
“How can you tell? All we can see is his back. Lots of backs look alike. He’s tall. Maybe he’s a basketball player. He looks older than most students, though. Why, his hair’s even a little gray, and—”
“I’ve got it now,” Eddie interrupted. “The tall and kind of gray part. You know who? Simms. That fellow we ran into down at the cove last week.”
“Well-ll, maybe,” Teena admitted thoughtfully. “We could tell for sure if he’d turn around. Anyway, I don’t see what difference it makes. Maybe he’s a student here. There are a lot of older students. Maybe he’s even a teacher. Lots of teachers fish on week ends. No reason to get excited.”
“Who’s excited?” Eddie challenged. “Can’t a fellow ask—”
“O.K., O.K.,” Teena said. “Anyway, there he goes into the chemistry building, so we’ll never know just who it was. And that’s the end of your mystery.”
Eddie didn’t say anything. He walked along, busy with his own thoughts. Probably Teena was right. Why make a mystery of it? Even if the man were Simms, what difference would it make?