"Oh, do try it in the box!"
"I think we may do that much." Alan lifted the box to the table. "Try it yourself, Miss Handyside."
"It fits!—it turns! Oh, Mr. Craig, just one little peep inside!"
"Against the rules," said Teddy, burning with curiosity.
"What rules?"
"We decided that it would be against my uncle's wishes to open the box before the clock stopped," Alan said reluctantly. Then brightly—"But, I say! we didn't take into account the fact that it had been already opened, though not by us—which alters the position considerably. Don't you agree, Teddy?"
"Oh, confound the thing, I'm dying to see inside, and yet—"
"I rather think—" began the doctor.
"Oh, don't think, father!" said Marjorie, her fingers on the edge of the lid. She looked to Alan. "May I?"
A tap, and Caw came in with a telegram for Alan.