Pellingham said, “That’s not the point. What I’m getting at is that you can identify the gun which you saw there.”
I looked at him blankly. “Why, I can tell you the general kind of a gun it was.”
“But you can’t tell me whether the gun I have is the same gun?”
“Of course it’s the same,” Hale said.
I hesitated; then after a moment I said, “Of course, neither one of us jotted down the serial numbers or any thing of that sort. We simply saw this gun there in the desk, but we put it back where we found it, and if Hale says it’s the same gun, that’s good enough for me.”
“Of course it’s the same gun,” Hale said. “I can assure you on that point.”
Pellingham said, “What we need is someone who can assure a jury.”
“Oh, we can do that all right,” Hale said confidently.
I said to Pellingham, “If you have this gun with you, perhaps I can identify it. If I can, it might be a good idea for me to scratch my initials on it.”
Pellingham said, “That’s an excellent idea. And when you get on the witness stand, you won’t need to tell anyone when those initials were scratched on it. Do you get me?”