“Oh!” I exclaimed, “what a pity! we seem to have just begun.”
All the same we had been at work for a very long time, so hands were washed, and we all went in to dinner.
Chapter Ten.
All amongst the Bird Skins.
My aunt waylaid me with a very unpleasant task directly after dinner, but Uncle Dick saw my disappointment, and said that he must have me, so I escaped, and, to my great delight, we went at once to his room to go on unpacking the birds, my excitement and wonder increasing every minute. I was rather disappointed with some of the skins, for they were as plain and ordinary looking as sparrows or larks; but Uncle Dick seemed to set great store by them, and said that some of the plainest were most valuable for their rarity.
Uncle Joe sat and looked on, saying very little, while Uncle Dick and I did the unpacking and arranging, laying the beautiful skins out in rows upon the boards and shelves.
“They wanted unpacking,” said Uncle Dick, “for some of them are quite soft and damp with exposure to the sea air. Well, Nat, what is it?”
“I was hoping to find some birds of paradise, uncle,” I replied.