The Case of the Howling Dog

"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.

"Take a look at that person and tell me if you have ever seen her before," said Perry Mason.

Claude Drumm jumped to his feet.

"Your Honor," he said, "I object to this form of testing the recollection of the witness. It is not a proper test; nor is it proper crossexamination."

"Do you intend to connect it up, Counselor?" asked Judge Markham of Perry Mason.

"I will do better than that," said Perry Mason. "I will withdraw the question, as it was asked, and ask you, Samuel Marson, if it is not a fact that this woman who is now standing in the courtroom is not the woman who called for the handkerchief on the evening of October 17th of this year, and the woman to whom you gave the handkerchief which had been left in the taxicab?"

"No, sir," said Samuel Marson, pointing toward the defendant, "that was the woman."

"There's no chance you're mistaken?" asked Perry Mason.

"No, sir."

"And if you are mistaken as to the identity of the woman who called for the handkerchief, you might also be mistaken as to the identity of the woman who was taken by you to that house on Milpas Drive?"

"I ain't mistaken about either of 'em, but if I was mistaken on one, I could be mistaken on the other," said Marson.

Perry Mason smiled triumphantly.

"That," he said, "is all."

Claude Drumm was on his feet.

"Your Honor," he said, "may I ask for a recess until tomorrow morning?"

Judge Markham frowned and nodded his head slowly.

"Yes," he said, "the Court will adjourn until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. During the recess, the jury are admonished not to talk about the case among themselves; nor to permit it to be discussed in their presence."

Judge Markham banged his gavel, arose and stalked majestically toward his chambers in the rear of the courtroom. Perry Mason noticed Claude Drumm glance significantly at two deputies, and saw these deputies push their way through the crowd to the side of Mae Sibley. Perry Mason also pushed his way through the crowd, his shoulders squared, chin outthrust. He reached the young woman's side but a few moments after the deputies had closed in on her.

"Judge Markham wants to see all three of you in his chambers," he said.

The deputies looked surprised.

"This way," said Perry Mason, and, turning, started pushing his way back toward the space within the bar.

"Oh, Drumm," he called, raising his voice.

Claude Drumm, who was about to leave the courtroom, paused.

"Would you mind stepping into the chambers of Judge Markham with me?" asked Perry Mason.

Drumm hesitated a moment, then nodded.

Together, the two attorneys entered the chambers. Behind them came the two deputies and Mae Sibley.

The Judge's chambers were lined with law books. A huge desk in the center of the room was littered with an orderly array of papers and law books that were held open. Judge Markham looked up.

"Judge," said Perry Mason, "this young woman is a witness of mine. She is under subpoena for the defense. I noticed that at a signal from the deputy district attorney, two deputies have approached her. May I ask the Court to instruct the witness that she needs to talk to no one until she is called as a witness, and to instruct the deputies that they are not to annoy her?"

Claude Drumm flushed, walked back and kicked the door shut.

"Now, then," he said, "since you've brought this subject up, and since court isn't in session, we'll settle it right here and now."

Perry Mason glared at him belligerently.

"All right," he said, "go ahead and settle it."

"What I intended to do," said Claude Drumm, "was to find out from this young woman if she had been paid to impersonate the defendant. I wanted to find out if an arrangement had been made with her to approach this taxicab driver and claim that she was the person who had hired the taxicab earlier in the day, and who had left a handkerchief in the cab."

"All right," said Perry Mason, "suppose she said yes to all of that; then what did you intend to do?"

"I intended to discover the identity of the person who had paid her to make such false representations and to get a warrant for his arrest," said Claude Drumm.

"All right," said Perry Mason in an ominous drawl, "I'm the person. I did it. What are you going to do about it?"

"Gentlemen," said Judge Markham, "it seems to me this discussion is getting somewhat beyond the subject."