The Monroe journal., 1919-01-03

effort she unl0osed the stopper and
leaned over the bottle for the scent
there was no mistake about IL. II was
souvenir d'amour.
Twelve dollars a bottle. sighed
Susan to herself. And then she fell to
thinking of what might have been.
She pressed back the sod under the
lilac bushes. carefully folded the
moldy bottle In handkerchief and re-
sumed her seat. She was really In a
most unusual mood. In the magic
aroma of that scent came rushing back
sentiments and illusions that she had
long forgotten. The sensible. perfectly
contented Susan went and, in her
place came a Susan that was not en-
tirely satisfied with the prosaic role OF
being Susan Beverly, and playing on
golf tournaments.
The truth was that Susan was being
tormented by return of the. only SEN
timent approaching love that had ever
marred the serene contentment Of her
existence: and the fact that she had
successfully put 1t from her fOr five
years-ever since she buried that bot
tie Of magic sweetness-did not make
1t any the less keen now that 1t re-
turned with the sweet scent. She was
thinking of Tom Canton. She won
dered whether they would ever meet
again. Surely he must sometimes re-
turn to his home town and sometimes
he must think Of the hours under the
lilac bushes that spring time five years
ago. But then. why should he? Susan
herself had succeeded in putting away
those thoughts and he was no less sem
sible than she.
There was sound along the gravel
walk and Susan looked up To see Tom.
She passed her hand across her eyes.
II occurred To her at first that this
vision was but the final and most tor
menting effect of the magic perfume.
But when she heard his voice calling
her by name she knew that 1t was re-
ality.
He called her Susan with all the ease
Of five years before, and Susan sat
there on the long chair with Tom be-
side her just as they had sat five years
before on u little rustic bench that had
since been demolished. First they
talked Of generalities. the weather, the
war and mutual friends. Then the con-
versation drifted back to the key In
which II had been pitched on evenings
like this five years before. The five
years that had gone between seemed
as but a day gone by and sensible
thirty-year-old Susan found her ms
cular athletic hands held In Toms
with as complete surrender as in the
days when they had played off fewer
golf tournaments and were perhaps
a little softer. Then-it was no more
Toms fault than Susan's, and surely
not Susan's in the least-Susan's head
leaned on Toms shoulder and there
hNlC SNiiit IlOuOSNlluDlto
about love, and, on first regaining a
sensible way of looking at things, Su-
san wondered whether II all meant
that they were engaged again.
ut has all come so quickly" she
told him. II thought II 1t ever did
come there would be so much explain
ing and 1t would he so hard for us
both to get back into the old mood
again. You see. with me 1t came
about this way. l chanced to get a
Whit of perfume like a bottle that
YOU once sent me, five years ago. am
afraid didn't realize then that you
really cared for me. After we had
that misunderstanding l returned the
letters and the gifts, but this perfume
well, / didn't want to throw II away.
That would have seemed sacrilege,
and l couldn't bear to use 1t because
you had given II to me, and 1t remind
ed me of you. So buried 1t here un-
der the lilac hedge, And today came
out here and, just ont Of curiosity. l
dug II up again. There was a little
left, and It's the magic of that perfume
that has brought back all the old feel
ings."
Susan took the mold-covered bottle
from the handkerchief and rev forth
the cork to let escape breath of the
sweet perfume.
"That perfume seemed 10 me then
to express your personality perfectly"
Tom said. "That's why l bought II for
you. And you used to use It sometimes
1t had the same effect that
the perfume of woman man loves
always does. 1t was intoxicating. And
then you lost interest and never
came across that perfume again-ex-
cept in my imagination-lt's painful
how the memory Of perfume will
haunt you-till today. Today on Main
street some one must have spilled
some. Anyway, l got Whit Of 1t and
that was all / needed. 1t brought the
old longing back again and l just had
to see you"
And as Susan allowed her two hands
to be clasped eagerly in Toms she
was trying to work ont plan whereby
the little salesgirl who had spilled the
precious perfume might be reimbursed
for her loss.