Then
because the girl could not eat until she learned about the moths, the
Bird Woman asked Elnora if she knew what kinds she had.
"Not all of them," answered Elnora. "Before Mr. Duncan moved away he
often saw me near the edge of the swamp and he showed me the box he
had fixed for Freckles, and gave me the key. There were some books and
things, so from that time on I studied and tried to take moths right,
but I am afraid they are not what you want."
"Are they the big ones that fly mostly in June nights?" asked the Bird
Woman.
"Yes," said Elnora. "Big gray ones with reddish markings, pale
blue-green, yellow with lavender, and red and yellow."
"What do you mean by 'red and yellow?'" asked the Bird Woman so quickly
that the girl almost jumped.
"Not exactly red," explained Elnora, with tremulous voice. "A reddish,
yellowish brown, with canary-coloured spots and gray lines on their
wings."
"How many of them?" It was the same quick question.
"I had over two hundred eggs," said Elnora, "but some of them didn't
hatch, and some of the caterpillars died, but there must be at least a
hundred perfect ones."
"Perfect! How perfect?" cried the Bird Woman.
"I mean whole wings, no down gone, and all their legs and antennae,"
faltered Elnora.
"Young woman, that's the rarest moth in America," said the Bird Woman
solemnly. "If you have a hundred of them, they are worth a hundred
dollars according to my list.
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