Page:The Story of the Treasure Seekers.djvu/322

274 I did ask if he played cricket. He said he had not played lately. And then no one said anything till dinner came in. We had all washed our faces and hands and brushed our hair before he came in, and we all looked very nice, especially Oswald, who had had his hair cut that very morning. When Eliza had brought in the rabbit and gone out again, we looked at each other in silent despair, like in books. It seemed as if it were going to be just a dull dinner like the one the poor Indian had had the night before; only, of course, the things to eat would be nicer. Dicky kicked Oswald under the table to make him say something&mdash;and he had his new boots on, too!&mdash;but Oswald did not kick back; then the Uncle asked&mdash;

"Do you carve, sir, or shall I?"

Suddenly Alice said&mdash;

"Would you like grown-up dinner, Uncle, or play-dinner?"

He did not hesitate a moment, but said, "Play-dinner, by all means. Eh!&mdash;what?" and then we knew it was all right.

So we at once showed the Uncle how to be a dauntless hunter. The rabbit was the deer we had slain in the green forest with our trusty yew bows, and we toasted the joints of it, when the Uncle had carved it, on bits of fire-wood