Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-01

am I to keep The brutef. I cant, iii
have to let him So" impstiently
.he dragged at her .furs; and that thing |
happened to Carmichael, L had hap:
pened before, It had happened that
Friday morning. IN. her once, when he |
had been reached" By that one svift
channel to bis senses, when he had
been fetched up for moment above the
threshold Of consciousness, that threshold
below which Glover Elphinstone seldom
descended. That morning he had noticed
the scent OF flowers she held; this
afternoon, again, 2 watt Of scent took !
:'dssn'y ss nss sa hs ,,sis. iSn:eS1:n.:.
cent, but the sweetest that be knew
one, too, that had associations (Which
have not come into this story), the
fragrance Of sweetbrier that has been
under the rain.
briers In January nS !" '"%eei He threw sTsesi tsst
his head, shifted, and sent a swift
gsll9Scss toward the brown thickets.
Where can that be?'
Its not sweetbrier," Clover said
hastily, ITS some scent, have. A
mixture OF things I put together; Il
10 rather like the real sweetbrier."
"Oh, it's something you have on" he
returned. and he looked away from her.
In that moment he had seen her, for
the hrst time, as q woman. The
woman and the breath Of sweetbrier
had merged into one impression that
reached the inward heart Of Carmichael,
to whom scent was the channel. That
impression, sinking deep into his sub.
consciousness, would be overlaid, but
never Is lost again; Oh. do not imagine
in love-" just because from the lining
essences subtly blent! This was not
so. But that moment had opened the
least chink In the wall between them,
and through It had crept-possibility
It would be possible-not Inevitable
but just possible for him to see her.
In future. differently. Up to now
he had only seen. the mere mad.
slackness, Of business instinct and
enrontery; shut out from any connec.
tion with the woman for whom men
cared. But from now on he was to
apprehend that here was a creature
who might conceivably be cherished by
somebody or other mot by him). some.
where or other. ut some time or other.
Some men might care for her '(even II
not merely because she was Elphin.
stone Brothers, with all that meant,
but because she was woman, and could
be one with charm and color and scent
that Is with the mirage Of life. She
could produce illusion.
The Illusion passed; the scent as Of
green. growing leaves was tossed away
on the chill and wintry breeze, Tossed
away with it was Carmichael's last
impuse to back out of his bargain.
He did not know why, but he did know
that now he was not going to chuck
1t. He would see it through. He would
stand no more of her nonsense than he
need; he'd give back all sic gave in
brusquerie and acerbity, but-yes
He'd stick to 1t, much as he disliked
her.
She read that in his face; she drew
Z breath Of relief, even as she took up
IN her .Elphinstone. Brothers voice,
twentieth 1 shall be able to let you
know how the actual proposal comes
'Thank you, Mrs. Elphinstone, "
said he. That tiny scent -interlude had
now sunk down past that threshold to
take duty among the workings Of Car.
michael's subconcious mind his cor. =.
scious thought was busted with his next
acidly- polite speech. BY the way
may know your Christian name? or
does that too wait until later?"
my Private Lies . Blank to You
my Christian name?' she snapped.
Surely you heard It at least t1fty
times this afternoon?''
II heard various cries Of Clio or
Cleo or Chico, thought? Clothilde,
mo, Clover"
DO I begin to call you that, then,
on "Wednesday week or SO? ! suppose
I shall become, automatically Harry? !?
I', m yesgr aunt and cousins as well?
ut all depends" retorted Glover
"M'yes; there will have to bs a
great deal Of tact about, will there
mott" he added, relapsins into bis
former irony. VERY we'll. Wen look
upon that as settled. I might be able
to carry on q fortnight on the lines Of
attraction az laid down by you. That
IL I could. IL there were nothing else to
be considered. May we now talk for
question:"
"Syl ""Whst =! is that'"
What about you?''
"Exactly." she said. "You are pre-.
pared to-to buy me. But you don I
know anything about me. except what
don't know my Christian name, or what
my people were, or II I were o soldier
before the war, or anything about me
except that I'm BY. way Of working on
an invention, which Is the only thing
! care about. Yet you-the head OF
that big business-engage me. On
what? This Hair you told me about9"
"Yes," she admitted serenely. 1T
has not let me down yet. You would
by lucky to me--that Is, to the business.
You laugh at that. But wasn't It
Rothschild who built up his fortune
with the superstition never to have
anything to do with people who had bad
luck? Besides II that seems to you too
feminine and insane''-her mouth curl.
ed a little--''you might remember tha,
you were introduced to me BY Mr.. Holt,
who is what men call sound, II slow:,'
arguing he knew knew not ts why, Why my E:v.t, At,
character. And my family. A. / say W
you've no earthly idea Of the sort o.
man / am. You won't know how t
explain me to your friends-"
"Oh, yes, I shall. You are the we'll
known Major Carmichael who mad,
that thrilling escape from"
Here he stopped on the path.
They had turned. and were beginuinl
to walk, a little more slowly than the
had come. back toward the Richmond
entrance.
He stopped dead; 4.
"IIook here" he exclaimed. ~