"Were you at the house after that hour?"

"I was not. I left at that time, and Mr Clinton Forbes was alive and well then. The next time I saw him he was dead."

"What did you notice about the condition of the body?" asked Drumm.

"You mean about the shaving?"

"Yes."

"He had evidently been shaving. There had been lather on his face, and some of it still remained. He was in the library of his house, and there was a bedroom adjoining the library, and a bathroom adjoining the bedroom."

"Where was the dog kept?"

"The dog," said Thelma Benton, "had been kept chained in the bathroom since the time when a complaint was made by a neighbor."

"I think," said Claude Drumm, "that you may crossexamine upon the matters thus far brought out in evidence."

Perry Mason nodded his head languidly. The eyes of the jurors shifted to him.

He spoke in a deeply resonant voice, but without emphasis, and in a low tone.

"The complaint was made that the dog was howling?" he asked, almost conversationally.

"Yes."

"By the next door neighbor?"

"Yes.

"And that neighbor was Mr. Arthur Cartright, the husband of the woman who was posing as the wife of Clinton Forbes?"

"Yes."

"Was Mrs. Cartright in the house at the time of the murder?"

"She was not."

"Where was she, if you know?"

"I don't know."

"When did you last see her?"

Claude Drumm was on his feet.

"Your Honor," he said, "it is obvious that this will be a part of the case of the defendant. It is improper crossexamination at this time."

"Overruled," said Judge Markham. "I will permit the question because you asked, on direct examination, about the various occupants of the house. I think the question is proper."

"Answer the question," said Perry Mason.

Thelma Benton raised her voice slightly and spoke rapidly.

"Paula Cartright," she said, "left the house on the morning of the 17th of October. She left behind her a note stating that…"

"We object," said Claude Drumm, "to the witness testifying as to the contents of the note. In the first place, it is not responsive to the question. In the second place, it is not the best evidence."

"No," said Judge Markham, "it is not the best evidence.

"Where then," asked Perry Mason, "is the note?"

There was a moment of awkward silence. Thelma Benton looked toward the district attorney.

"I have it," said Claude Drumm, "and intend to introduce it later on."

"I think," said Judge Markham, "the crossexamination upon this point has proceeded far enough, and that the question as to the contents of the note will not be permitted."

"Very well," said Perry Mason, "I think that is all at this time."

"Call Sam Marson," said Claude Drumm.

Sam Marson was sworn, took the witness stand, testified that his name was Sam Marson; that his age was thirtytwo; that he was a taxicab driver, and had been such on the 17th of October of the present year.

"Did you see the defendant on that date?" asked Claude Drumm.

Marson leaned forward to stare at Bessie Forbes, who sat in a chair directly back of Perry Mason, flanked by a deputy sheriff.

"Yes," he said, "I seen her."

"When did you first see her?"

"About ten minutes past seven."

"Where?"

"In the vicinity of Ninth and Masonic Streets."

"What did she do?"

"She signaled me, and I pulled in to the curb. She told me she wanted to go to 4889 Milpas Drive. I took her out there and then she told me to go and ring up Parkcrest 62945 and ask for Arthur, and tell him to go over to Clint's house right away, because Clint was having a showdown with Paula."

"Very well, what did you do?" asked Claude Drumm.

"I took her there and went and telephoned, like she said, and then I came back.

"Then what happened?"

"Then she came out and I took her back to a place right near the Breedmont Hotel, and she got out."

"Did you see her again that night?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"I don't know. Near midnight, I guess. She came up to the taxicab and said that she thought she'd left the handkerchief in the cab. I told her she had, and gave it to her."

"She took it?"

"Yes."

"And that was the same person you had taken out to the residence at 4889 Milpas Drive?"

"Yes, that was the one."

"And you say that is the defendant in this case?"

"Yes. That's her."

Claude Drumm turned to Perry Mason.

"You may crossexamine," he said.

Perry Mason raised his voice slightly.

"The defendant left a handkerchief in your taxicab?"

"Yes."

"What did you do with it?"

"I showed it to you, and you told me to put it back."

Claude Drumm chuckled.

"Just a moment," said Perry Mason. "You don't need to bring me into this."

"Then keep yourself out of it," said Claude Drumm.

Judge Markham banged with his gavel.

"Order!" he said. "Counselor, did you wish to ask to have that answer stricken out?"

"Yes," said Perry Mason, "I move to strike it out on the ground that it is not responsive to the question."

"The motion is denied," said Judge Markham sternly. "The court believes that it was responsive to the question."

A broad smile suffused the face of the deputy district attorney.

"Did the deputy district attorney tell you what you were to testify to in this case?" asked Perry Mason.

"No, sir."

"Didn't he tell you that if I gave you the slightest opportunity, you were to testify that you had given that handkerchief to me?"

The witness squirmed uncomfortably.

Claude Drumm got to his feet with a vehement objection. Judge Markham overruled the objection, and Sam Marson said slowly, "Well, he told me that he couldn't ask me about what you had said to me, but that if I got a chance, it was all right to tell the jury."

"And did he also," asked Perry Mason, "tell you that when he asked you if the defendant was the person who had engaged your taxicab on the night of October 17th, you were to lean forward and look at her, so that the jury could see you were studying her features?"

"Yes, he told me to do that."

"As a matter of fact, you'd seen the defendant on several occasions prior to the time you gave your testimony. She'd been pointed out to you by the officers, and you'd seen her in the jail. You'd known for some time she was the person who engaged your taxicab on that night, isn't that right?"

"I guess so, yes."

"So that there was no necessity whatever for you to lean forward and study the features of the defendant before you answered that question."

"Well," said Marson uncomfortably, "that's what I was told to do."

The smile had faded from Claude Drumm's face, and was replaced by a frown of irritation.

Perry Mason slowly got to his feet, stood staring for a long moment at the witness.

"Are you absolutely certain," he said, "that it was the defendant in this case who hired your taxicab?"

"Yes, sir."

"And absolutely certain that it was the defendant who came to you later on the same evening and asked you about the handkerchief?"

"Yes, sir."

"Isn't it a fact that you were not certain at the time, but that this feeling of certainty in your mind has been built up, following interviews with the authorities?"

"No, I don't think so. I knew her."

"You're certain that it was the defendant upon both occasions?"

"Yes."

"And you're certain that it was the defendant who called for the handkerchief, as you are that it was the defendant who hired you to take her out to Milpas Drive?"

"Yes, it was the same person."

Perry Mason turned abruptly and dramatically toward the back of the crowded courtroom. He flung out a hand in a swiftly dramatic gesture.

"Mae Sibley," he said, "stand up." There was a slight commotion, and then Mae Sibley stood up.