"I told him on the boat that we were to stop here."
"But we have been and gone and returned since then."
"Then I suppose he found us out in the same way that Boussingault did: in the hotel news of the Daily Mail."
"Well, you might have told him that I wasn't at home. That's what I told the servant when his card was sent up."
"Yes, Muriel, I might have tried that, and, as a matter of fact, I did think of it; but then he would have hung on to me downstairs, and I knew you would be lonely up here without me."
Muriel turned away to observe herself in a long mirror.
"You know I don't like him," she repeated.
"Yes, yes, dear, but what was I to do. Besides, he is really a very good fellow; I really can't see why you don't like him. What reason can you have for your prejudice?"
"When a woman can give a reason for disliking a man," said Muriel, "she hasn't any. If her dislike comes just because she has no reason there's generally good ground for it."
"There's nothing wrong with von Klausen," said Jim. "Besides, he's a mere boy."