132 EYE SPY 
came to me, I caught a whiff which was entirely 
new, and which in its suggestions seemed strange- 
ly out of place here in the woods. What was it 
like ? It certainly reminded me of something with 
which my nostril was familiar, but which I could 
not now identify. I only knew that it had no 
place here in the woods, and even as I sought to 
take one extra full sniff for further analysis, it was 
gone. After the lapse of a few moments, how- 
ever, its faint suggestion returned, and, increasing 
moment by moment, at length seemed to tincture 
the air like incense. It was now so strong as to 
be pungent, and my wits were keyed to their ut- 
most, until at length a vision of a banana peel 
seemed to hover against the dried leaves. " Some 
one has been eating a banana here, and thrown 
the peel away," thought I. But no, this is hardly 
the odor of banana, either; it is more like pine- 
apple. Yes, it is pineapple. No, that is not quite 
it either ; it is strawberry. " Nonsense. Straw- 
berry season was passed two weeks ago." And 
while I am debating the matter the spice-bush at 
my elbow has sent out a pungent challenge which 
has chased the enchantment all away. The next 
time it returns in a new guise, and the only sug- 
gestion which it brings is a reminder of my moth- 
er's red leather travelling-bag. Russia- leather ? 
Yes, that is it Russia-leather. No. Russia-leather, 
pineapple, strawberry, and banana peel mixed. 
