“Shirley—Miss Claiborne—allow me to present Mr. Armitage.” The young army officer and Armitage then shook hands, and the three men stood for a moment, detained, it seemed, by the old attaché, who had no engagement for the next hour or two and resented the idea of being left alone.
“One always meets Armitage!” declared Singleton. “He knows our America as well as we do—and very well indeed—for an Englishman.”
Armitage bowed gravely.
“You make it necessary again for me to disavow any allegiance to the powers that rule Great Britain. I’m really a fair sort of American—I have sometimes told New York people all about—Colorado—Montana—New Mexico!”
His voice and manner were those of a gentleman. His color, as Shirley Claiborne now observed, was that of an outdoors man; she was familiar with it in soldiers and sailors, and knew that it testified to a vigorous and wholesome life.
“Of course you’re not English!” exclaimed Singleton, annoyed as he remembered, or thought he did, that Armitage had on some other occasion made the same protest.
“I’m really getting sensitive about it,” said Armitage, more to the Claibornes than to Singleton. “But must we all be from somewhere? Is it so melancholy a plight to be a man without a country?”
The mockery in his tone was belied by the good humor in his face; his eyes caught Shirley’s passingly, and she smiled at him—it seemed a natural, a perfectly inevitable thing to do. She liked the kind tolerance with which he suffered the babble of Arthur Singleton, whom some one had called an international bore. The young man’s dignity was only an expression of self-respect; his appreciation of the exact proprieties resulting from this casual introduction to herself and her brother was perfect. He was already withdrawing. A waiter had followed him with his discarded newspaper—and Armitage took it and idly dropped it on a chair.
“Have you heard the news, Armitage? The Austrian sphinx is here—in this very house!” whispered Singleton impressively.
“Yes; to be sure, Count von Stroebel is here, but he will probably not remain long. The Alps will soon be safe again. I am glad to have met you.” He bowed to the Claibornes inclusively, nodded in response to Singleton’s promise to look him up later, and left them.