Then we set about packing.
No one, not accustomed to packing, could have the slightest idea of the amount of the amount of work involved in such a task as that in which in we were engaged.

For my own part I had had a vague idea that there were a large number of Egyptian objects in Mr.Trelawny's house; but until I came to deal with them seriatim I had little idea of either their importance, the size of some of them, or of their endless number.
Far into the night we worked.

At times we used all the strength which we could muster on a single object; again we worked separately, but always under Mr.Trelawny's immediate direction.

He himself, assisted by Margaret, kept an exact tall of each piece.
It was only when we sat down, utterly wearied, to a long-delayed supper that we began to realised that a large part of the work was done.

Only a few of the packing-cases, however, were closed; for a vast amount of work still remained.