“Two glasses o’ port wine only, ’Bias . . . and you saw me at the station.  I’d run all the way too. . . .  Besides, you hear it.”  Relief, of a sudden, broke over Captain Cai’s face.  “It’s the box!” he cried.

With that he was aware of the sound of a merry laugh behind him—­a feminine laugh, too, not less musical than the melody still tinkling at his feet.  He turned about and confronted Mrs Bosenna as she stepped forth from her hiding in the bushes, her maid Dinah in attendance close behind her.

“Good afternoon again, Captain Hocken!  And is this Captain Hunken? . . .  It was polite of you—­polite indeed—­to bring him so soon.”

She held out a hand to Tobias, who, to take it, was forced to relinquish for a moment his clutch on the rail.

“Servant, ma’am,” said he in a gruff unnatural voice, and fell back on his support.

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.”

“A testimonial?  How interesting!” murmured Mrs Bosenna.

“From my late crew, ma’am.  As I was sayin’, on my way through the town to call on you, ma’am, I was taken on the hop, so to speak, an’ made the recipient—­”

“What for?” demanded ’Bias.  He was breathing hard.

“It don’t become me,” said Captain Cai, and, speaking under stress of desperation, he found himself of a sudden wondering at his own fluency.  “It don’t become me to repeat all the—­sentiments which, er, emanated.”

“Give me some,” growled Captain Tobias, and was heard to add, under stertorous breath—­“Testimonial?  I’d like to ha’ seen my lot try it on me!”

“They said,” confessed Captain Cai, “as how it was their united wish—­” Here he recalled Mr Tregaskis’ allusion to possible offspring, and blushed painfully.