“And do you want me to understand that you have never given it any consideration?” the judge asked.
“Well,” Mason said with a grin, “no oral consideration.”
Judge Knox sighed. “Mason, I confess to a liking for you. I like the colorful life you lead. I like the dashing way you shortcut the conventional methods. I like your career of adventurous excitement. But has it ever occurred to you that Kittering’s prophecy is undoubtedly correct? The time will come when you will find yourself defending a guilty client.”
Mason arose from his chair. He saw fit to favor the judge with a grin. “He won’t be guilty,” he said, “until they prove him guilty.”
Knox sighed. “I’m afraid you’re incorrigible.”
Mason bowed. “Thank you, Your Honor,” he said, “for the compliment.”
Chapter 15
Mason sat in his office, reading the afternoon paper. The sob sisters had literally “gone to town” on the story. Many of the facts which were set forth had been obtained through an interview with Perry Mason, attorney for Alden Leeds, and the reporters reciprocated this donation of information by singing extravagant praises of the manner in which Perry Mason had solved a puzzling case.
Alden Leeds and Bill Hogarty had been in the Yukon in 1906 and 1907. They had fought over a woman. Hogarty had tried to kill Leeds. Leeds had shot him in self-defense. Hogarty had crawled away into the dark, and when it came daylight, Leeds had been unable to find him. It was a wild country.
Leeds had a fortune in gold which he dared not leave. Nor did he dare to leave the country without reporting the shooting. He was trapped. So he took the name of Hogarty and left the country. He married the girl under the name of Hogarty.