“Who do you mean, Sir?” asked Dick.
“The Dodo,” was the response.
“Oh! the Dodo! Why, he was here just now. I expect he has gone off with the Archæopteryx and the others,” said Dick.
“The what!” exclaimed the Court Glover.
“The er—Archæopteryx,” said Dick, hesitatingly, fearing that he might have mispronounced the name.
“H’m! You see,” said the Court Glover, addressing the Executioner, “to what depths this misguided bird has fallen, to actually associate with an animal bearing a name of that description. I suppose it is an animal, by-the-bye,” he added, turning to the children.
“Well,” laughed Marjorie, “we are not quite sure. The Dodo says it’s a kind of lizard-like bird, or bird-like lizard.”
“It’s got feathers,” chimed in Fidge.
“Ough! The miserable creature doesn’t even know what it is itself, I expect,” said the Court Glover, in tones of disgust.
“The others,” said Dick reflectively, “are evidently animals—the Palæotherium and the Eterædarium, you know.”