She laughed again merrily. "And you'll forgive me for making you welcome with musical honours? That was a sudden notion of Dinah's. She spied you coming up the road, and—Dinah, can you manage to stop that silly tune?"
"I'll try, mistress." Dinah stooped, groped amid the grasses, and produced the musical box from its lair.
"You can," stammered Captain Cai, as if repeating a formula, "turn it off—at any time—by means of a back-handed switch."
"It's yours, then!" Mrs Bosenna clapped her hands together as she turned on him.
"It's mine," confessed Captain Cai. "The question might occur to you, ma'am—"
"It has. Oh, it has!" She rippled with laughter. "You should have seen Dinah's face when she came upon it!"
"Caius," said Captain Hunken, interrupting her mirth as with a stroke tolled on a bell, "would ye mind pinching me?"
"Not at all, 'Bias—if you'll tell me where."
"Anywheres. Only rememberin' we're in the presence o' ladies."
"It's perfectly simple," said Captain Cai, "if you'll only let me explain! You see, the thing's what you might call a testimonial. I picked it up, comin' through the town to-day."