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ÆPYORNIS ISLAND
THE man with the scarred face leant over the table and looked at my bundle.
"Orchids?" he asked.
"A few," I said.
"Cypripediums," he said.
"Chiefly," said I.
"Anything new? I thought not. I did these islands twenty-five— twenty-seven years ago. If you find anything new here—well, it's brand new. I didn't leave much".
"I'm not a collector," said I.
"I was young then," he went on. "Lord! how I used to fly round." He seemed to take my measure. "I was in the East Indies two years, and in Brazil seven. Then I went to Madagascar."
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