noon
Jessie and Bertha Blair had never ridden so fast before . Mark Stratford knew his car well , and coaxed it along over the well-oiled roads of Westchester at a speed to make anybody gasp . But haste was necessary . They knew where the court was , and they arrived there just after the noon recess . Mrs. Norwood had reached her husband 's chief clerk by telephone , and he had communicated the news to the lawyer . Mr. Norwood had dragged along the prosecution until the missing witness arrived . Then he introduced Bertha Blair into the witness chair most unexpectedly to McCracken and his clients .