And from the name to the girl--may you be
forever denied a glimpse of Shirley Claiborne's pretty head, her brown
hair and dream-haunted eyes, if you do not first murmur the name with
honest liking.
As the Claibornes lingered at their table a short stout man espied them
from the door and advanced beamingly.
"Ah, my dear Shirley, and Dick! Can it be possible! I only heard by
the merest chance that you were here. But Switzerland is the real
meeting-place of the world."
The young Americans greeted the new-comer cordially. A waiter placed a
chair for him, and took his hat. Arthur Singleton was an American, though
he had lived abroad so long as to have lost his identity with any
particular city or state of his native land. He had been an attache of
the American embassy at London for many years. Administrations changed
and ambassadors came and went, but Singleton was never molested. It was
said that he kept his position on the score of his wide acquaintance;
he knew every one, and he was a great peddler of gossip, particularly
about people in high station.
The children of Hilton Claiborne were not to be overlooked.
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