"Counselor," he said, "you may inquire on crossexamination."

With the eyes of everyone in the courtroom riveted upon him, Perry Mason, fully aware of the dramatic advantage of the moment, and the interest which would attend upon his first question, strode to the map which had been fastened to the blackboard with thumb tacks, placed the index finger of his right hand upon the curve in the line which indicated the roadway from the house to the boulevard, placed the index finger of his left hand upon the location of the study in the house, and said, in a voice which rang with challenge: "Exactly how far is it from the point which I am indicating with my right forefinger, and which is the curve in this roadway, to the point which I am indicating with my left finger, and which is the point where the body was found?"

"If," said the witness in level tones, "your right forefinger is exactly at the point where the curve swings farthest south, and your left forefinger is at a point representing the exact point where the body was found, the distance is exactly two hundred and seventytwo feet, three and onehalf inches."

Perry Mason turned, his face showing surprise.

"Two hundred and seventytwo feet, three and onehalf inches?" he exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes," said the witness.

Mason dropped his hands to his sides with a gesture of finality.

"That," he said, "is all. I have no further questions to ask of this witness."

Judge Markham looked at the clock, and an anticipatory rustle of motion stirred the courtroom, as dead leaves on a tree are stirred by the first current of an advancing breeze.

"It has," said the judge, "approached the hour of adjournment. The court will adjourn until ten o'clock tomorrow morning, and during that time, the jury will remember the admonition of the court not to converse amongst themselves about this case, nor permit others to converse with them or in their presence about it."

The gavel banged on the desk.

Perry Mason smiled craftily, and remarked to his assistant: "Drumm should have carried on the examination until the hour for adjournment. Giving me the opportunity to ask that one question, will make the newspapers feature it tomorrow morning."

Everly had his eyes puckered in concentration.

"Two hundred and seventytwo feet is a long distance," he said.

"It won't," Mason assured him grimly, "get any shorter as the case goes on."

Chapter 20

The newspapers predicted that the first major witness for the prosecution would be either Arthur Crinston, the business partner of the murdered man, or Don Graves, who had been the only eyewitness of the murder.

In this, the newspapers showed that they underestimated the dramatic trial tactics of the chief trial deputy. Drumm would no more have plunged into the drama of that murder without preparing the minds of the jurors for the gruesome tidbit, than would a playwright have opened his presentation with a crisis lifted from the third act.

He called to the stand, instead, Judge B.C. Purley.

Necks craned as the Municipal Judge, coming in from the back of the courtroom, strode down the aisle with the stately bearing of one who realizes to the full the dignity of his appearance, and the importance of his position.

Whitehaired, ponderous, deepchested and heavywaisted, he held up his right hand while the oath was administered to him, and then took the witness chair, his manner indicating a respect for the tribunal and what it stood for, a dignified tolerance of the attorneys and jurors, a calm disregard of the restless spectators.

"Your name is B.C. Purley?" asked Claude Drumm.

"Yes sir."

"You are now a duly elected, qualified and acting Judge of the Municipal Court of this city?"

"I am."

"And, on the night of October twentythird of this year you had occasion to be in the vicinity of the residence of Edward Norton?"

"I did."

"At what time did you arrive at the residence of Edward Norton, Judge Purley?"

"At precisely six minutes after eleven."

"And what time did you leave that vicinity?"

"At precisely thirty minutes past eleven."

"Will you explain to the jury, Judge Purley, why it is that you are able to testify with such exactness as to the time of arrival and departure?"

Perry Mason recognized the trap, yet had no alternative but to walk into it.

"Objected to, Your Honor," he said. "The witness has given his testimony. The mental processes which led up to it are incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial, and, at best, matter only for crossexamination."

"Sustained," said Judge Markham.

Claude Drumm's smile was ironically sarcastic.

"I will withdraw the question, Your Honor," he said. "It was an error upon my part. After all, if Counselor Mason desires to go into the matter, he is at liberty to do so upon crossexamination."

"Proceed," said Judge Markham, pounding his desk with the gavel.

"Who was with you on the occasion of your visit?" asked the deputy district attorney.

"Mr. Arthur Crinston was with me when I went to the vicinity of the house, and both Mr. Arthur Crinston, and Mr. Don Graves were with me at the time I departed."

"What happened while you were there, Judge Purley?"

"I arrived at the grounds in the vicinity of the house, stopped my car to allow Mr. Crinston to get out, turned my car, shut off the motor, and waited."

"During the time that you were waiting what did you do?"

"Sat and smoked for the first ten or fifteen minutes, and looked at my watch rather impatiently several times during the last part of the period I was waiting," said Judge Purley.

And he glanced, with just a trace of subdued triumph, at Perry Mason, his manner indicating that, being fully familiar with court procedure, he was going to get the damaging parts of his testimony in, whether the defense wanted them in or not. The inference to be drawn from the fact that he had glanced several times at his watch was that he was aware of the exact minute of his departure, and he was sufficiently adroit to get that inference across to the jury without violating the ruling of the court.

Perry Mason eyed the witness with placid indifference.

"Then what happened?" asked Claude Drumm.

"Then Mr. Crinston came out of the house to join me. I started the motor of my car, and at that moment the window of the house in the southeast corner of the building was opened, and Mr. Norton thrust his head out of the study window."

"Just a moment," said Claude Drumm. "Do you know of your own knowledge that that was Mr. Norton's study?"

"No sir," said Judge Purley. "I only know it from the fact that it was the room in the southeast corner on the second story of the house, and is the room marked on the map and diagram as room number one, Mr. Norton's study."

"Oh," said Drumm, "then the room is that which is indicated on Plaintiff's Exhibit A by the figure one marked in a circle?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well," said Drumm, "what did Mr. Norton say?"

"Mr. Norton called down to Mr. Crinston, and said, as nearly as I can remember: 'Arthur, would it be all right for you to take Don Graves in to your house in your car and let him get the documents? Then I will send the chauffeur to pick him up. "

"And," said Drumm, "what happened next?"

"Mr. Crinston said, as nearly as I can remember: 'I am not in my own car, but with a friend. I will have to ask my friend if it will be all right. "

"Then what happened?"

"Mr. Norton said: 'Very well, do so, and let me know, and withdrew his head from the window."

"Then what happened?"

"Then Mr. Crinston came to me and said that Mr. Graves was to get some documents…"

"Objected to," said Perry Mason in a casual tone of voice. "Anything which took place without the hearing of this defendant is admissible only as a part of the res gestae. By no stretch of the imagination can this be considered as a part of the res gestae."