"Anyway," she harked back with a patient little sigh, "you had both planned your invitation to give me pleasure; and since it was the same--?" She paused on a note of interrogation. "You might call it the same, ma'am--after a fashion," assented Cai. She laughed. "Do you know," she said, "I forgot for a moment what friends you are; and it _did_ cross my mind that maybe there were two invitations, and they clashed." "But they do, ma'am!" groaned Cai. "Eh? Yet you said just now. . . . So there _are_ two, after all!" "It's--it's this way, ma'am: the letters are the same, but the invitation as you call it--" Here Cai paused and cast an irritable glance in the direction of Dinah, who had stepped to the door of the oven to conceal her mirth. If the woman would but go he might be able to explain. "But the invitation don't apply similarly, not in both cases." "That's queer, isn't it?" commented Mrs Bosenna. "And, supposin' I accept, to which of you must I write?" "Me," said 'Bias with great promptitude. "Not at all." Cai turned in wrath on his friend. "I do think you might help, instead of standin' there and--" "Can't I accept both?" suggested Mrs Bosenna sweetly. "No, you certainly can't, ma'am. . . . And since the letters seemin'ly haven't reached you yet, we'd both of us take it as a favour if you'd hand 'em back to us without lookin' inside 'em. We--we want to try again, and send something calkilated to please you better. 'Tis a queer request, I'll grant you." "It is," she agreed, cutting him short. "But what's the matter with the letters? Did you put any bad language into them by any chance?" "Ma'am!" exclaimed Cai. "Bad language?" protested 'Bias. "Why, to begin with, ma'am, I never use it. The language is too good, in a way, an' that's our trouble; only Cai, here, won't out with it, but keeps beatin' about the bush. You see, we went to Mr Benny for it." "You went to Mr Benny?" she echoed as he hesitated. "For what, pray?" "For the letters, ma'am. Unbeknowns to one another we went to Mr Benny--Mr _Peter_ Benny--he havin' a gift with his pen--" 'Bias hesitated again, faltered, and came to a stop, aware that Mrs Bosenna's smile had changed to a frown; that she was regarding him with disapproval in her eyes, and that a red spot had declared itself suddenly upon either cheek. "_You_ don't seem to be makin' _very_ good weather of it either," Cai taunted him; and with that, glancing at her for confirmation, he too noticed her changed expression and was dumb. "Are you tellin' me,"--she seated herself stiffly, and they stood like culprits before her. "Are you tellin' me this is a game?" "A--a what, ma'am?" "A game!" She stamped her foot. "You've been makin' the town's mock o' me with Peter Benny's help--is that what you two funny seamen have walked up here to confess?" "There was no names given, ma'am," stammered Cai. "I do assure you--"