THE WEB OF ISLAND LIFE 195 



ing the day and roasted over a fire of driftwood, I pondered 

 the idea and resolved to experiment by seizing on the first 

 tangible event and following it through to its conclusion. 



The event arrived sooner than I surmised and, as might be 

 expected, arrived on the wings of the wind. Somewhere, out 

 of the maze of low vegetation came a strong pungent odor. It 

 was a sweet heavy smell, reminiscent of the fragrance of locust 

 blossoms, or even of the cloying scent of sweet peas or lily of 

 the valley. I knew it could be none of these and my curiosity 

 was aroused. Here was an aural beginning for an adventure 

 that might lead anywhere. The moon had risen and the soft 

 sand was suffused with a dehcate blue light that cast deep pur- 

 plish shadows. Standing up I sniffed expectantly. The odor 

 was gone, swept away on the gale. The only means of tracing 

 it to its source was to creep close to the ground, trailing it in 

 the manner of a hound following a rabbit. 



For a few moments I was tempted to give it up, for to go 

 crawling over the ground in the moonlight seemed sheer idiocy. 

 So I laughed a little at my fancy, hesitated, and then decided 

 to persist. The trail led down the slope of the dune and into 

 a sandy valley. The scent was hard to trace, for it was shielded 

 and disguised by a horde of other odors, by the rich hay smell 

 of beach grass, the dry parched aroma of sun-caked earth, the 

 musty reek of dead leaves and rotten wood. There were hun- 

 dreds of similar fragrances, strange perfumes that I did not 

 know existed until I concentrated on them. This was adven- 

 ture in a new world. 



The sense of smell is a neglected faculty. We may admire 

 our friends' possessions, touch them, feel them and exclaim 

 at their beauty or oddness, yet we dare not smell them. Only 

 posies and perfumes are exempt; and even perfumes are to be 

 sensed rather than remarked. This is a mistaken custom. Few 

 sensations, for example, are more delectable than the clean smell 



