"( noirish jazz theme playing )" "( western theme playing )" "Afternoon, Mrs. Norton." "Mr. Bascombe." "Your, uh, husband anywhere around?" "He's in the mine." "Like to talk with you and him." "We've nothing to talk about." "Here." "Let me have that." "You're too young and pretty to be doing work like this." "If you were mine, I'd have people doing this for ya." "Haven't I heard that you already have a wife, Mr. Bascombe?" "Yeah, but, uh, arrangements still could be made." "Put the bucket down there, please." "You, uh, still don't understand what I'm driving at." "I understand, only too well." "I thought I made it clear, Bascombe, last week." "You're not exactly a welcome visitor here." "I don't blame you for being feisty, Norton." "I-I lost my temper," "I decided I'd better ride over and apologize." "Okay, you've apologized." "And, uh, while I'm here," "I figured I'd make you another offer for your land." "Not interested." "I thought I made that clear too." "This is my final offer." "Seventy-five hundred." "Ah, your final offer." "Good." "Then I don't have to keep telling you I don't want to sell." "You're riding a stubborn trail, Norton." "But I can be just as stubborn." "Is that another threat to drive us out of here if you can't buy us out?" "Well, that was temper talking the other day." "But I'll tell you this." "You'll be driven out, because nobody can make this mine pay." "You've said that before." "Well, I'm saying it again." "You've seen the old assays, had assays made yourself." "T-t-t-there's not enough gold here to justify digging for it." "A worthless mine and a piece of land that's no good to anybody but me." "And I don't need the land, just the water." "Then I must be a fool, because I'm certainly not selling." "Jerry." "Can't you drive some sense into his head, Mrs. Norton?" "I guess I'm a fool too, Mr. Bascombe." "You'll regret this." "Both of you." "Dinner's ready, Jerry." "Ah." "We have a real banquet tonight." "Tomato juice to start with." "And then chicken, biscuits, peas, salad, and coffee." "Just like in the city." "Have I told you you're wonderful, Mrs. Norton?" "Not in the last hour or so." "To follow me to this crazy, forsaken place and make fun games out of it day after day, even when slimy creatures like that Bascombe keep comin' around." "( gunshot ) Down." "( gunshots )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "MAN ( echoing ):" "Get out." "Get out." "Get out." "Get out." "( western theme playing )" "Anybody to home?" "Hi, there, Amos." "Tie up Sheba, come on in and have a cup of coffee." "I'd like that, Mrs. Norton." "All right, Sheba." "Get you a lump of sugar." "( ominous theme playing )" "You know, it's been so long since you called on us, Amos," "I've forgotten how you like your coffee." "A little cream, if you don't mind." "Now I remember." "Cream for you and a lump of sugar for Sheba." "You know, we've missed you both around here." "Well, seems like Sheba and me, we're just natural born wanderers." "Also seems like you had trouble here last night." "What makes you say a thing like that?" "Them holes in the coffeepot and other things outside." "I heard the shots too." "And that ain't all." "Eh, I thought that was Sheba out there." "How ya been, Amos?" "Just fine, Mr. Norton." "Hi." "Amos was just gonna tell me about his travels, weren't you, Amos?" "You heard some shots, and what else?" "Well, last night I camped about a half-mile to the other side of the ridge." "And just after the shots, a fellow rode by, coming lickity-split from your direction." "Did you see who it was?" "Just as good as." "He was riding a big palomino." "Bascombe." "Now, you don't know that, Gerald." "Neither does Amos." "Bascombe's prize horse." "Headin' towards Bascombe's ranch." "Who else could it be, Mrs. Norton?" "Nobody else." "Gerald!" "I've got to have it out with him, Sally." "We'll never have a moment's peace if I don't." "SALLY:" "But this rifle won't bring peace to anybody." "I guess you're right." "But I'm still talkin' to him." "Well, all right, but be careful." "I'll take the jeep." "See ya later, Amos." "Kind of wish you'd let him take that rifle." "Why?" "Bascombe's an evil man." "I'd kill him myself, if I thought I could get away with it." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Yes?" "I'm Gerald Norton, Mrs. Bascombe." "We met several months ago, when I first came here." "Oh, yes." "I remember your wife." "Come in." "Well, I was actually looking for your husband." "Oh." "Ken's in town." "You know where in town?" "Yes." "At the Golden Nugget, buying drinks for everybody in sight." "You see, it's Frontier Week, and Ken always takes it very big." "I'd forgotten about the celebration." "Thanks, Mrs. Bascombe." "Was your husband here around 7 last night?" "Why do you ask?" "Around that time somebody fired some shots at our campfire." "And you think it was Ken?" "That's what I want to find out." "Well, I must say, you're going about it in a very sneaky way, Mr. Norton, talking to me behind Ken's back." "I don't like it, and neither will Ken." "Sorry if I've offended you." "Just get out." "MAN:" "Well, honey," "I hope you never treat me that way." "You didn't let him see you, did you, Roy?" "I'm not that crazy." "Fact is, the only thing I'm crazy about is you." "Oh, don't." "What's wrong?" "That little mining man upset you?" "Oh, no, darling." "No, I was just afraid that he'd see me, that's all." "Oh, Roy." "Why can't we just clear out?" "On what?" "My foreman's salary?" "We can't go on this way." "Are you hinting' we should break up, Mrs. Bascombe?" "Oh, no." "Oh, no." "No." "But what happens when Ken finds out?" "When he does," "I clear out, I guess." "( ominous theme playing )" "( gunshots )" "Rodeo at 2:00." "Everybody turn out." "Rodeo at 2:00." "Buy a button, mister." "Quick." "Or else you'll go to jail." "It's, uh, for charity." "I don't mind buying a button, but what's all this about going to jail?" "Well, you'll be arrested if you don't have a beard, or one of these buttons." "It's only a dollar." "That seems cheap enough for immunity from arrest." "Well, golly, thank you." "I can't believe this, 48 more dollars." "This is a pretty car." "My." "I wish I had one." "( girls chattering indistinctly )" "Excuse me." "Where might I find Mr. Wright?" "Well, he generally eats lunch about this time in the Golden Nugget there." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "( girls chattering excitedly )" "( bells ringing )" "Hey, hey." "All right." "Hey, uh, lookin' for something, stranger?" "Uh, someone." "A Mr. Crawford Wright." "Ah, you mean the Welshman." "He's the gent over there with the scraggly beard, eatin' by himself." "Thank you." "Say, hey." "How about me standing you a drink, partner?" "Maybe later, partner." "Ah." "Any old time." "Hello, Mr. Wright." "I'm Perry Mason." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Mason." "Sit down, won't you." "Let me buy you some lunch?" "I've already eaten already, thank you." "Oh." "I would have waited for you in my office, but you wrote that you weren't quite sure what time you'd arrive." "Well, sir." "I haven't seen hide nor hair of Amos Catledge." "Nor of his partner, Sheba, either." "Sheba?" "Ha-ha." "That's a burro he's had as long as I can remember." "Treats it like it was human." "Maybe I can also get a deposition from Sheba." "Oh, is that what you want Amos for?" "I'm representing a client in a border dispute over in Kenyoken County." "The old records are lost and apparently Amos Catledge is the only person around who was on hand when the original survey was made." "Oh, I see." "And so they, uh" "They told you over there he was headed this way, eh?" "I decided since I'd traveled that far," "I might as well keep on traveling." "Well, Mr. Mason, I've been doing assay work for old Amos Catledge for years now and I know all his favorite camping places." "So as soon as I finish lunch we can go out and take a look for him, eh?" "Oh, excuse me." "Uh, Mr. Norton." "Mr. Norton." "I want you to meet Mr. Perry Mason, the Los Angeles lawyer." "Hello." "How do you do?" "I thought perhaps you might be able to give Mr. Mason a hand here." "He's looking for your old friend, Amos Catledge." "Oh, well, you certainly found the right people." "He's camped not more than 50 feet from our house." "Well, that's good news." "Apparently he's a will-o'-the-wisp." "Ha." "Yes, I know." "Hey, Bascombe." "Well, what d'you know." "My friend with the pretty wife." "Oh, bartender, give Mr. Norton a drink." "I don't want a drink, Bascombe." "I just want to ask you one question." "That depends on the question, eh?" "Shoot, tenderfoot." "Shoot." "Funny you should use that word, Bascombe, 'cause that's what you did last night, wasn't it?" "Shoot up our campfire." "You accusing', or asking'?" "Both." "Well, to the asking' I'm saying" "I didn't shoot up anything' last night." "And to the accusing'..." "SALLY:" "Oh, Jerry!" "Are you all right?" "I guess so." "Next time, Mrs. Norton, don't send a boy to do a man's work." "I may seem a boy to you, Bascombe, but let me tell you this." "I'm man enough to kill you if you cause trouble at the mine again." "( laughs )" "There's one banty rooster gonna lose his head if he ain't careful." "Aye." "Bartender." "Drinks are on me." "The original owner of the mine was Jerry's uncle, but he stopped working it years ago." "And he left the mine to your husband?" "After making Jerry promise to keep working it as long as the grubstake money held out." "Uncle Ezra's life savings: $1836." "Only that's practically gone now." "If things are bad, why not sell the mine to Bascombe?" "Uncle Ezra was sure the mine was valuable," "I have a funny feeling he was right." "So I want to hang on as long as possible." "Why is Bascombe so anxious to get the property?" "Water, Mr. Mason." "Bascombe's a cattleman, first and last." "Two or three pumps working there would open up thousands of new acres of new range to him." "He just found this out?" "No." "He's been after the land for years, but Uncle Ezra wouldn't sell." "I know what you're driving at, Mr. Mason." "But even if Bascombe was interested in gold, these reports would cool him down." "Assay reports go back more than 40 years." "Now, here's Ezra Norton's here." "And here's your's here, Gerald, including the one you asked me to make the day before yesterday." "They're all the same, Mr. Mason." "Traces of gold, but nothing in workable quantities." "Now, here is Gerald's latest samples." "I'd say the prognosis isn't too optimistic." "Mr. Mason, what should we do?" "MASON:" "Well, you said you were going to hang on." "But, I mean, if Mr. Bascombe keeps harassing us?" "Let him try." "I can shoot a rifle too." "Now, just a minute." "This isn't the old West, even though Mr. Bascombe seems to think it is." "The thing to do is get hold of a lawyer." "Could you help us?" "Well, this isn't exactly my bailiwick." "I'll only be in town a day at the most." "If you like, though, I'll try to find a lawyer for you." "Thanks." "But, we'll make out all right." "( mellow theme playing )" "Amos!" "Amos!" "( ominous theme playing )" "There's no telling when Amos will be back." "Sometimes he stays out half the night, especially when the moon's out." "Well, at least I met Sheba." "Even though I couldn't make friends with her." "Oh, she's just a little bashful." "unless, of course, you happen to have a lump of sugar with you." "Hm-hm." "Unfortunately, I didn't." "I think I better try to catch Mr. Catledge in the morning." "We'll see that he waits for you." "I'll drive Mr. Mason back." "Yeah, I better start dinner." "I, um, wonder, would you two do something for me?" "Of course." "Well, I'm a stranger in a strange town, and I hate eating alone." "Would you join me for dinner?" "Jerry, could we?" "Why not." "It'll only take me five minutes to dress." "( ominous theme playing )" "Amos back yet?" "Mm." "Not yet." "Thank you, Mr. Norton, for a lovely evening." "Thank Mr. Mason." "He paid for it." "Oh, well, now, he's nice, but, uh, I think I like you best of all." "Ah, you better had, because it's much too late to change now." "Much too late." "MAN ( echoing ):" "Get out." "Get out." "Bascombe." "Get out." "Put out the light." "Jerry, you'll be killed!" "Do what I say." "( gunshots )" "He's where he was last night, up on the ridge." "I can climb up on the other side of the mine and surprise him." "Jerry, don't." "Please don't." "I've got to, Sally." "I've got to end this once and for all." "Look, I said I wouldn't regret our coming here, but maybe I was wrong." "I'll go back on what I said." "I just can't see your getting killed for a scrap of paper or a handful of dirt." "It's not just the handful of dirt, Sally." "Well, maybe he was right." "Maybe that mine's no good." "That doesn't matter." "I just can't let him take it away from us like this." "( gunshots )" "MAN ( echoing ):" "Get out." "Get out." "( gunshots )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "All right, Bascombe." "I've got you covered." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( whispering ):" "Bascombe?" "And now on the contested will, Della." "I need everything I can get on young Quinlan." "Have somebody check the birth records in Tucson for '35 and '36." "SALLY:" "Mr. Mason." "Mr. Mason." "( knocking on door ) Hold on a minute, Della." "Mr. Mason, Jerry's been arrested." "Arrested?" "For what?" "They did't say." "He found Mr. Bascombe's body up on the ridge where he'd been shooting at us, and when the Sheriff came-- Bascombe's dead?" "Yes, somebody shot him." "Oh, but it wasn't Jerry." "You gotta believe that, Mr. Mason." "But the Sheriff is holding him?" "Yes." "That's why I came to you." "Here." "Sit down." "I'll be with you in a moment." "Della?" "Yes, I'm still on, Perry." "Possible homicide?" "But I thought you were chasing down some old prospector." "Well, I'll get in touch with Paul right away." "And I certainly hope he knows where Placer City is, because I don't." "Bye." "Oh, Mr. Mason, I'm so grateful." "They've got Jerry in the old jail down the street." "We'll see him in a few moments, Sally." "I don't care if you are his lawyer, mister." "Sheriff said he's a material witness." "Ain't to see nobody." "Do you know where the Sheriff is?" "He don't keep me informed of his whereabouts." "Now, clear out, mister, before you get me in trouble." "Well, can't I send the witness a message?" "Nope." "It's very brief, just that" "( loudly ):" "he shouldn't talk to anyone until he consults his attorney." "Can't you tell him that?" "No, I can't." "Hey." "He must've heard you." "Please, mister." "Just get out." "All right." "( mellow theme playing )" "Now give me a shot in the direction" "Norton snuck up on him from." "It'd be around that rock over there." "And you better get me some more shots of this area." "Bob, check that spot again, will ya, please?" "Mind if we look around a little bit, Sheriff?" "Hoh, go right ahead, Mr. Mason." "Maybe you and your detective friend, Mr. Drake, can straighten some things out for me." "What kind of things?" "I'll give you the layout, as we found it." "Now, Bascombe's palomino was standing there, reins on the ground." "Bascombe was laying where those chalk marks are, two bullet holes in his back." "It's your client's story, or at least what we heard of it before you shut him up last night, that Bascombe was firing shots at the shack down there." "His wife substantiates that story, Sheriff," "Well, naturally, she would." "But something else don't." "If Bascombe fired shots the way Norton claims he did, the expended shells would have scattered all over the place." "And so far my men haven't found a single, solitary one." "Now, it looks to me like your client is throwing up a smokescreen, tryin' to make a gunfight out of cold-blooded murder." "Let's go, Wagner." "Doesn't sound too good, that expended shell angle." "No, it doesn't." "Perry." "I'm no frontier scout, but aren't these burro tracks?" "I'd say they were." "What was a burro doing here last night?" "Because these tracks show traces of blood." "Bascombe's blood." "They must have been made sometime shortly after he was killed." "( dramatic theme playing )" "And there was no way of knowing it was Bascombe firing down at you, Sally?" "No." "But who else could it be?" "Well, there's no evidence of shooting where Bascombe was found." "No empty shells, no cartridges." "There's so much I don't understand." "Why wouldn't they let us see Jerry last night?" "They can't think that he did it." "It couldn't have been his rifle." "Why couldn't it have been his rifle, Mrs. Norton?" "Because Mr. Bascombe was dead when Jerry found him." "Sally," "I want to ask you a personal question." "All right." "In town yesterday I got the impression that Bascombe's eye kind of roved in your direction." "He even said something about his friend with the pretty wife." "Yes." "Had he made advances to you?" "Yes." "Did you tell your husband about it?" "No, I didn't have to." "Jerry sort of sensed it." "Mr. Bascombe was rather obvious." "Jerry told him he better keep away from his land, and anything on it." "I see." "Now, what about Amos Catledge?" "Have you seen him today?" "No, but he must be around somewhere, his burro's still here." "All right, Sally." "Paul, let's go into town." "I want you to try and have a few words with Mrs. Bascombe, if you can." "Sally, I do want to talk to Amos Catledge." "Will you tell him that if you see him?" "Of course, Mr. Mason." "And thank you." "All I'm talkin' is grubstake money." "Thousand dollars or so." "Why, that can't mean nothin' to you, now you've come into the ranch and all." "Why should I grubstake you?" "I'm not interested in prospecting." "Thought maybe you might be interested in me goin' away for a spell." "Why should I care where you go?" "If I was to disappear, so to speak," "I wouldn't have to do no talking to the sheriff." "Talking about what?" "That old abandoned cabin over by Cottonwood Creek, for one thing." "You've been spying on Roy and me?" "That's right, ma'am." "Well, all right." "So we did meet there." "What good will it do you to tell the sheriff that?" "There's more, Mrs. Bascombe." "Seems I was close by where Mr. Bascombe got killed, and right after the shooting I seen somebody ride away." "Same somebody you been meeting at the cabin." "Roy?" "Are you sure?" "Yes'm." "Positive." "This could be called blackmail, you know." "Oh." "No, ma'am." "Just the opposite." "I'm trying to help ya." "And Roy Dowson too." "( knock on door )" "Get out of sight, Amos, till I see who it is." "There." "Yes?" "Mrs. Bascombe?" "Mrs. Bascombe." "I'm Paul Drake, and I'm doing some investigating for Gerald Norton's attorney, Perry Mason." "Well, I-I'm afraid I can't ask you in," "I'm not quite up to receiving visitors yet." "I know what a shock it must have been, but if I could ask you a question or two it'd be a great help." "I know nothing about Ken's death, or about Mr. Norton, either." "Did you know where your husband was last night?" "Yes." "We had supper together and then he went for a ride." "( weeping ):" "His last ride." "PAUL:" "Did anyone go with him?" "MRS. BASCOMBE:" "No, he was all alone." "Now, if you'll please excuse me." "Mrs. Bascombe, just one more thing, please." "About 7:00 the previous evening, someone fired some shots into the Norton's-- It wasn't Ken, even though Mr. Norton accused him of it." "Are you sure?" "Of course I'm sure." "Ken was with me all evening, from 6:00 on." "Now I really must go." "I'm sorry." "( ominous theme playing )" "Maybe I ought to tell that fellow what I know, Mrs. Bascombe." "Come here." "How far can I count on you going for $2000?" "How far?" "A goodly piece, ma'am." "Plumb out of sight, in fact." "( upbeat piano music playing )" "Come on, honey." "Drink up." "I got money to burn." "Someone wants to see you in back, Roy." "Says it's important." "Thanks." "Have that drink finished when I get back." "Hi, Roy." "Mike, hi." "Are you insane, coming where everybody can see you?" "You said you'd be back for supper" "I don't have to account for my comings and goings." "Not yet." "I know, Roy." "Something's happened." "Trouble." "What trouble?" "Your remember Amos Catledge, that crazy old prospector?" "He's been watching us, Roy, at the cabin, and I had to give him $2000 so that he wouldn't tell Sheriff Keller." "Well, why not let him tell?" "All we got to do is deny it." "Yes, but there's something else, you see." "He saw you ride back from Norton's last night, just after Ken was shot." "He's lyin'." "I never went out." "But, I saw you, Roy." "I saw you follow Ken." "And I saw you come back." "I didn't kill him, Hazel." "Didn't you?" "Then how do you account for those expended rifle shells" "I found in your jacket last night." "I think you'd better come home with me now, Roy, and from here on in I'll want a full account of your comings and goings." "It's only your word against mine." "Have you forgotten Amos Catledge, Roy?" "My word, and his." "Coming?" "Before I go, Mr. Mason, would you mind telling me one thing?" "You've managed to get Gerald Norton released from jail, you've practically convinced the DA that he and his wife are telling the truth, so why go on working?" "Back histories of half the people in town, old records, alibis, times, relationships, a person would think you were writing a mystery book." "It would make a good one." "Disappearing shells, bloody burro tracks, a shadowy third person on the scene, and I have a feeling there's more to come." "In which case, I want to be ready." "I can see you're going to be working late, so I'll say goodnight." "Good night, Miss Street." "Good night, Mr. Wright." "Well, Gerald, congratulations on getting out." "Thank you." "Good night, boy." "Any luck with Catledge?" "PAUL:" "Not a bit." "GERALD:" "We covered every place he ever camped within 25 miles." "Nothing." "SALLY:" "Except for Sheba." "Sheba?" "Well, she's still at" "And personally, I think it's rather strange that he'd go off and leave her, after so many years." "I quite agree." "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Wright said I'd find you here, Gerald." "I'm gonna have to ask you to come back to jail with me." "But why?" "But you just let him out." "I know, I know." "But there's a real charge against him now, Mrs. Norton." "First-degree murder." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Perry-- What about Amos Catledge?" "Sorry, still nothing." "But, your hunch about Mrs. Bascombe and her foreman was right." "They were together the night after the killing." "Here's the name of the waiter who saw them." "All right, Paul, keep after Catledge." "The State is going to try to wind up the preliminary hearing in one day," "I want you to get some things." "All right." "Shoot." "A box of shredded wheat..." "Shredded wheat?" "The large box, and plaster of Paris, a rope, a miner's pick, a sharp carving knife, a hunter's lamp, a pound of lump sugar." "Uh, the same lump sugar bartenders use in old-fashioneds?" "The same." "Also a Geiger counter, and a silver plated horseshoe." "Perry, are you feeling all right?" "Tiptop." "Now, I want these things by the noon recess, Paul." "I'll meet you at the Assay Office." "I mean no aspersion on your medical knowledge, doctor, but could you put this in a way that plain folks like me could understand?" "Yes, of course." "The decedent was shot twice in the back." "One slug shattered his spine." "The other pierced his heart." "And this caused his death?" "Yes, sir." "Instantly, I'd say." "Thank you, doctor." "And now if the court please," "I'll turn the witness over to our distinguished visitor from Los Angeles." "Thank you for so describing me, Mr. Williams." "Our local District Attorney is rarely so generous." "No questions, Your Honor." "And then Mr. Bascombe hauled off and knocked the defendant down." "What happened next?" "Mr. Mason helped him up and then Bascombe said to Mrs. Norton," ""Next time don't send a boy to do a man's work."" "And what did the defendant say?" "Oh." "Well, sir." "He said something I'm sure he didn't mean." "I didn't ask you what he meant, Mr. Wright." "I asked you what he said." "Well, sir, he said he might seem a boy to Bascombe, but he was man enough to kill him if he ever came near the mine and caused any trouble again." "Then, there is a battery-powered bullhorn at the ranch?" "Yes." "K-Ken used it to direct the men at roundup time." "And it would produce a strange, eerie sound, would it not, if somebody whispered into it:" ""Get out, get out, get out?"" "I suppose so, but Ken would never do a thing like that." "( weeping ):" "He was too kind." "He was too good and kind." "Why, did you have to shoot him?" "Why, did you have to shoot him?" "( judge bangs gavel )" "( crowd murmuring )" "Mm-hm." "Yes, sir." "Took care of all the guns at the ranch." "Hobby of mine." "Guns." "And you were shown Mr. Bascombe's rifle almost immediately after his body was found." "That's right." "Sheriff showed it to me." "Just like it was after I'd cleaned it two days before." "That rifle hadn't been fired either." "And as chief of the ballistics section of the state crime lab, you ran tests on both the defendant's rifle, already introduced as People's Exhibit D, and on slugs taken from the deceased's body?" "Yes, sir." "What were your findings?" "Bath slugs were fired from that rifle." "The defendant's." "Naturally, first thing I did when I got to the scene was to look at the body." "Well, you explained that to us, Sheriff." "I mean in relation to the defendant." "Well, I asked him if he'd shot Bascombe." "Said he hadn't, hadn't even fired his rifle." "So I asked to see it." "Now, go on." "The muzzle and ejector section both smelled strongly of fresh burned powder." "JUDGE:" "Care to cross examine, counselor?" "Your Honor, my cross-examination may be lengthy." "Since it is almost noon..." "Oh, thank you, Mr. Mason." "I hadn't realized it was this late." "You may begin after lunch." "Court will recess until 2:00." "The Assay Office." "As soon as we can get there." "Half the people in town think I'm crazy, but I got 'em." "Every single item on your list." "Good." "How'd it go in court today?" "Not good." "If we don't dig up something by 2:00, we're in trouble." "Would any of you care to join me for lunch?" "It wouldn't be quite proper for me to join you, Mr. Wright, but Della would be delighted." "Uh..." "It'll be a pleasure, Mr. Wright." "The pleasure's all mine." "Open this, will ya, Paul." "Mm-hm." "My grandfather had one of these." "When the center drawer was unlocked and pulled out, it released the other drawers." "May I have the carving knife?" "Yeah, sure." "Uh, I don't get it." "Whenever my grandfather mislaid his keys, he used to open the desk like this." "Isn't this, uh, breaking and entering?" "Hardly entering, Paul, since we were invited here." "I'm sure, had we asked," "Mr. Wright would have opened the desk for us." "But he's a state's witness, Paul." "I don't want the prosecution to know what we're doing." "Well, just what are we doing?" "This is the latest sample of ore from Gerald Norton's mine." "I'd like you to check it with the Geiger counter." "( sporadic clicking )" "You're sure you have it turned on properly?" "Absolutely." "All right, Paul." "Put it and the ore away," "I'll go through these." "What are they?" "Assay reports from the mine." "They go back as far as 40 years." "What do you hope to find?" "Something Mr. Wright and everyone else has overlooked." "A motive for murder." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "You say your husband's been working the left-hand side most recently?" "Yeah." "The reports on this side were so bad that he gave up working it about three, four months ago." "Nevertheless, we'll try this side, if you don't mind." "Oh, I don't mind." "Want me to show you where he left off?" "Please." "You know exactly where your husband stopped working when he moved to the other shaft?" "Yes, it's, uh, that dark vein, right there." "Here, may I have the light?" "What in the world is a bale of hay doing here?" "Can't you guess?" "Uh-huh." "I can guess." "May I have the pick?" "All right." "Carving knife, lantern and pick, but where are you going to use the lump of sugar?" "I'll tell ya in two minutes." "( knocking on rock )" "And when the prosecution introduced that photograph of the murder scene into evidence, you indicated on it the position of the body, did you not?" "By means of the chalk marks." "But there were other marks at the murder scene that you failed to indicate?" "Well, if you mean the burro tracks, yes." "Your Honor, counsel's line of questioning appears to be completely irrelevant." "What is the passage of a wild burro across the scene to do with the matter at issue?" "I believe Mr. Mason has a point in mind." "Yes, Your Honor, I have." "Objection." "Overruled." "You may proceed, counsel." "Now, sheriff, in connection with those burro tracks," "I believe you were present during an experiment about 40 minutes ago?" "Yes, I watched it." "Your Honor, these are plaster of Paris impressions of a burro's tracks." "Now, sheriff, would you please tell this court where these impressions were made?" "Well, one was made from one of the hoofprints at the murder scene." "And the other was made from a fresh print left by Amos Catledge's burro, Sheba." "Can you tell them apart?" "No, sir." "They're identical." "Your Honor, I am perfectly willing to stipulate that Amos Catledge's burro was at the scene." "But I still maintain that all this is irrelevant since Amos Catledge has disappeared and therefore cannot be called as a witness." "That's true, Mr. Williams." "He can't." "But the court has given me permission to call the next best thing." "His burro, Sheba." "Are you going to let him make a sideshow of this court, Your Honor?" "Mr. Williams, this court's sole objective is to arrive at the truth, and if it takes a sideshow to do so, then well and good." "Call the burro, Sheba." "BAILIFF:" "Burro, Sheba, will come forward, please." "( crowd murmuring )" "( crowd laughing )" "Get away from me." "Get away from me." "G" " Get away from me, drat you." "Amos Catledge." "Your Honor, the burro, Sheba, having testified," "I would now like to call Mr. Amos Catledge to the stand." "Mr. Amos Catledge to the stand." "But after she give me the $2000 to clear out, like I told you, I couldn't bring myself to leave, on account of Sheba." "So I shaved and hair-cut myself, figuring' that'd amount to the same thing." "Nobody'd know me." "And the hay that was in the mine shaft, that was for Sheba?" "Yes, sir." "Fed her at night." "I see." "Now, Mr. Catledge, you've explained almost everything," "I believe, except for one thing." "Why did Mrs. Bascombe pay you to go away?" "Like I told you before, you better ask her." "The defendant, his wife and I had dinner in town, leaving their shack open and unattended." "Did you take his rifle and kill Bascombe with it?" "No, sir." "I wouldn't do nothing like that." "I like Mr. Norton." "Yes, you liked him so well, you sold him out for $2000." "Well, that was another reason why I hung around." "I couldn't leave without being sure that Mr. Norton would get off." "So just in case, I stayed." "All right, Mr. Catledge, you can help him now, by telling us why Mrs. Bascombe paid you." "That's just it." "She paid me, so I'm obligated not to tell." "You'll have to ask her." "And you gave Amos Catledge $2000 without even checking with Roy Dowson as to the truth of his story?" "Oh, I knew Amos was telling the truth." "Because, you see, I'd found the expended rifle shells that the sheriff was searching for, in Roy's jacket." "MASON:" "And later on, after paying Amos, you met Roy Dowson at the Golden Nugget?" "Yes." "I wanted to tell him what had happened." "What was his reaction?" "He said Amos was lying." "And then I told him that I had seen him too, riding out after Ken that night." "Was that true?" "No." "MASON:" "Why did you lie, Mrs. Bascombe?" "Because I love Roy." "You love him?" "Yes, I do, Mr. Mason." "I love him." "And I thought that if I could let him think that I knew what he had done, he would never dare to leave me." "Never." "All right." "I did shoot at the Nortons' campfire and holler at them through the bullhorn." "But that was the night before Bascombe was killed." "And those empty cartridges that Hazel" "Mrs. Bascombe found in my jacket were the ones I shot that night." "You, uh, did this at Bascombe's request?" "Well, he said if I could drive the Nortons away, he'd pay me 500 bucks." "And you maintain that you did not repeat your performance on the night Bascombe died?" "No, sir." "I never got as far as the Nortons'." "Oh." "I did start out after Bascombe." "Why?" "Curiosity." "Seein' what he was up to." "I followed him pretty near to the ridge where somebody was waiting for him." "Man or woman?" "ROY:" "I wasn't close enough to see." "Anyhow, I figured if somebody was with him," "I better clear out." "As I was leaving I heard two shots." "I was almost back to the ranch before the other shootin' started." "All right, Mr. Dowson." "Did Bascombe tell you why he was suddenly so anxious to drive the Nortons away?" "He said he wanted to get a hold of the mine." "MASON:" "Are you sure he said mine and not property?" "I'm positive." "Did Bascombe tell you why he wanted the" "No, sir." "Possibly Mr. Wright of the Assay Office can help us." "Your Honor, may I recall him to the stand?" "Will you come forward, Mr. Wright?" "You're still under oath, sir." "Mr. Dowson, would you step down." "Thank you, Mr. Wright." "Yes, sir." "These, um, assay reports on the Norton mine are from your office, are they not?" "Yes, sir." "Those are the ones that you asked me to bring." "And, Mr. Wright, is there anything in those reports that would have caused Bascombe, or anyone else, for that matter, to covet the mine?" "No." "Nothing, sir." "You can see for yourself." "Perhaps the clue is in this sack of recent ore samples from the mine?" "WRIGHT:" "Well, I don't see how it could be, Mr. Mason." "I tested these samples myself and they're just like all the others." "Faint traces of gold, but that's all." "Why was Mr. Bascombe so anxious to get hold of the mine?" "Well, I really don't know, Mr. Mason." "Wasn't it because you told him it was valuable, and went into partnership with him to get hold of it?" "No, sir." "I did no such thing." "No?" "Weren't you the person Roy Dowson just described, the person Bascombe met on the ridge?" "I was not." "I submit that you were, Mr. Wright." "I submit that you had an appointment to meet Bascombe on the ridge that night, that you took Gerald Norton's rifle from his shack down below, killed Bascombe when he arrived, put the rifle back, and then when the Nortons came home," "fired down on them with your own rifle." "You must think I'm out of my mind, Mr. Mason." "No, Mr. Wright, I think you're extremely clever." "You knew Gerald Norton would fight back, because you'd heard him promise to do just that earlier in the day at the Golden Nugget." "You knew Gerald Norton would be accused of murdering Bascombe." "But why would I do all this?" "To rid yourself of Bascombe and Norton in one fell stroke." "To be in a position to get the mine for yourself." "Why, this is ridiculous." "Those assay reports, this ore, everything proves that this mine is worthless." "Mr. Wright, when ore samples are brought into you do you test them for radioactivity?" "Radio" "Well, naturally." "With a Geiger counter such as this?" "( sporadic clicking )" "Comparable, yes." "When you tested those samples from the Norton mine, what did you find?" "Just the usual background radiation your counter is clicking off now." "You're sure of that?" "Well, of course I'm sure." "Try for yourself." "( clicking rapidly )" "( crowd murmuring )" "( clicking rapidly )" "This some kind of a trick?" "I put those rocks there myself." "No, Mr. Wright," "I removed the rocks you substituted for Gerald Norton's samples." "That ore came directly from the Norton mine." "I know because I put it in the sack." "And it was for that ore, rich in uranium, that you killed Bascombe, wasn't it?" "Not gold, uranium." "Yes!" "( dramatic theme playing )" "Because he was trying to freeze me out, wanted to keep it all for himself." "( jazzy piano music playing )" "This one?" "Mm-hm." "I'll get it out special delivery." "Paul?" "Huh?" "Are you still worried about the list Perry gave you?" "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am." "I got most of it." "Plaster of Paris for the burro's hoofprints, rope to lead it with, lump sugar to catch it with, shredded wheat to keep it happy, though I never heard of giving a burro shredded wheat before." "Well, I thought it would be easier to carry around than a bale of hay." "All right, what in the world did you want with a silver-plated horseshoe?" "Oh, you mean this?" "This was just to bring us luck." "( noirish jazz theme playing )"