Page:The queen's museum, and other fanciful tales.djvu/32

 try and examine anything, but to take all that was there. The cases had great cloth covers on them, and we spread these on the floor and made bundles of the curiosities. We are going to examine them carefully as soon as we get to the den.'

It was broad daylight when the robbers reached their cave. The bundles were laid in a great circle on the floor, and, at a given signal, they were opened. For a moment each robber gazed blankly at the contents of his bundle, and then they all began to fumble and search among the piles of articles upon the cloths; but after a few minutes, they arose, looking blanker and more disappointed than before.

'So far as I can see,' said the Captain, 'there is nothing in the whole collection that I care for. I do not like a thing here! '

'Nor I!' 'Nor I!' 'Nor I!' cried each one of his band.