Chapters 24-29 Summary

Christmas arrives, and Dirk decides that he wants to invite all his friends over to celebrate. He has not seen Strickland in several weeks, after a quarrel, and he asks Crabbe to go with him to invite Strickland. They do not find him in any of the usual places, but they hear that he is very sick. Unfortunately, no one knows where Strickland lives, but Crabbe does some detective work, and they finally find him in a filthy little attic room. Strickland is obviously seriously ill, and they worry that if they leave him alone, he will die. His room contains nothing other than painting supplies, and they know that he has not eaten in days. After giving Strickland some food and medicine, Crabbe and Dirk go back to Dirk's apartment.

Dirk explains the situation to Blanche, who emphatically says that...