So you'll remember, people of that era would have had an external electronic device, right, something like this, and they all would have carried one of these around with them, and amongst their biggest fears was the sheer mortification that one of these might ring at some inopportune moment.
Então se lembram que pessoas daquela época tinham um aparelho eletrônico externo, algo assim, e todos carregavam  um desses com eles por aí, e entre um dos maiores de seus pavores estava a mais pura tortura de que um desses tocasse em algum momento inoportuno.