Out on the lawn, Lummox, having considered the difficult question of Betty’s right to give orders, had come to the conclusion that she possibly had a special status. Each of the John Thomases had introduced into his life a person equivalent to Betty; each had insisted that the person in question must be humored in every whim. This John Thomas had already begun the process with Betty; therefore, it was best to go along with what she wanted as long as it was not too much trouble. He lay down and went to sleep, leaving his watchman eye on guard.
He slept restlessly, disturbed by the tantalizing odor of steel. After a time he woke up and stretched, causing the cage to bulge. It seemed to him that John Thomas had been gone an unnecessarily long time. On second thought, he had not liked the way that man had taken John Thomas away. . . no, he hadn’t liked it a bit. He wondered what he should do, if anything? What would John Thomas say, if he were here?
The problem was too complex. He lay down and tasted the bars of his cage. He refrained from eating them; he merely tried them for flavor. A bit grucky, he decided, but good.
Inside, Chief Dreiser had completed his testimony and had been followed by Karnes and Mendoza. No argument had developed and the truth meters had stayed steady; Mr. deGrasse had insisted on amplifying parts of the testimony. Mr. Ito’s lawyer stipulated that Mr. Ito had fired at Lummox; Mr. Ito’s son was allowed to describe and show photographs of the consequences. Only Mrs. Donahue’s testimony was needed to complete the story of L-day.
Greenberg turned to her lawyer. “Mr. Beanfield, will you examine your client, or shall the court continue?”
“Go ahead, your honor. I may add a question or two.”
“Your prvilege. Mrs. Donahue, tell us what happened.”
“I certainly shall. Your honor, friends, distinguished visitors, unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, nevertheless, in my modest way, I believe I am. . .”
“Never mind that, Mrs. Donahue. Just the facts. Last Monday afternoon.”
“But I was!”
“Very well, go ahead. Keep it simple.”
She sniffed. “Well! I was lying down, trying to snatch a few minutes rest. . . I have so many responsibilities, clubs and charitable committees and things. . .”
Greenberg was watching the truth meter over her head. The needle wobbled restlessly, but did not kick over into the red enough to set off the warning buzzer. He decided that it was not worth while to caution her.
“. . . when suddenly I was overcome with a nameless dread.”
The needle swung far into the red, a ruby light flashed and the buzzer gave out a loud rude noise. Somebody started to giggle; Greenberg said hastily, “Order in the court. The bailiff is instructed to remove any spectator making a disturbance.”
Mrs. Donahue broke off suddenly when the buzzer sounded. Mr. Beanfield, looking grim, touched her sleeve and said, “Never mind that, dear lady. Just tell the court about the noise you heard and what you saw and what you did.”
“He’s leading the witness,” objected Betty.
“Never mind,” said Greenberg. “Somebody has to.”
“But. . .”
“Objection overruled. Witness will continue.”
“Well! Uh. . . well, I heard this noise and I wondered what in the world it was. I peeked out and there was this great ravening beast charging back and forth and. . .”
The buzzer sounded again; a dozen spectators laughed. Mrs. Donahue said angrily, ‘Will somebody shut that silly thing off? How anyone can be expected to testify with that going on is more than I can see.”
“Order!” called Greenberg. “If there is more demonstration, the court will find it necessary to hold someone in contempt.” He went on to Mrs. Donahue: “Once a witness has accepted the use of the truth meter the decision cannot be changed. But the data supplied by it is instructive merely; the court is not bound by it. Continue.”
“Well, I should hope so. I never told a lie in my life?”
The buzzer remained silent; Greenberg reflected that she must believe it. “I mean,” he added, “that the court makes up its own mind. It does not allow a machine to do so for it.”