Original subtitles

♪♪

♪♪

Aloha, Aunt Hilo! -Aloha, Anona!

- Where have you been? - We thought you were never coming!

Yes! We're starved! Simply starved!

Quiet everyone. Quiet.

This is the celebration of Anona's betrothal.

We already know, Auntie Hilo. Anona told us.

- So let's celebrate. - All right.

But where is the groom-to-be?

Anona said it was to be a surprise,

so we left him at Kamehameha Point trying

the big waves there.

Kamehameha Point?

But no one has ever dared surf there!

No one but Doug, Auntie Hilo.

I'll go get him.

Are you happy about this?

Anona has loved him since she was a little girl.

He was the world's surfing champion then.

Now he's a beach tramp.

Liquor, gambling,

divorcees from the hotels,

living in that shack by the point.

Well, I, for one, am not happy.

Doug?

Doug!

Doug?

Doug?

Oh, no!

Doug!

Anona, what are you doing here?

Doug! Doug.

Easy. Easy, now.

What brought all this on?

The bullet... it didn't hit you?

What bullet?

Well, the man on the ridge with a rifle...

He took a shot at you!

Wahini, have you been smoking opium or something?

No! No! Look.

Look.

Well, what do you know.

Clean through the whole board.

This I don't exactly like.

Doug, why would he do such a thing?

Who have you told about us?

Auntie Hilo.

After we agreed it was to be a secret?

Who else did you tell?

Just some of the gang at the beach.

Oh, I was so happy and proud.

Doug, I'm sorry if I did wrong,

but what has our planning to be married got to do

with somebody shooting at you?

That's what I'm going to find out right now.

- Mr. Mason? - That's right.

Mr. Logan say please to wait on veranda.

Thank you.

Well, hi, sport.

How's it going?

Whoops. Not so good, I guess.

Paul, you all clear now on what you're to do?

Well, if anyone should ask,

I'm an ornithologist taking pictures of seagulls.

I mean what we want the pictures to show...

Exactly how the Logan Beach is split in two

by Kamehameha Point.

I'll get it all for you in color,

but why I have to dress up like a royal Hawaiian

to do it is a little beyond me.

It was Mr. Logan's suggestion.

Logan? I thought your client was the Pan-Pacific Hotel chain.

It is, but Mr. Logan doesn't want anyone out here

to suspect he's thinking of leasing his beach.

Well, there's nothing illegal

about leasing land in Hawaii, is there?

No, but in this case, there's a possible complication

I'll tell you about later.

So, while you're chasing seagulls,

I'll be digging through old records

in the Honolulu courthouse.

You'll find it gives me clear

title to my land, Mr. Mason.

My great-great grandfather was an excellent businessman.

This, I assume, is Mr. Drake.

That's right.

You're positive Mr. Drake is quite trustworthy?

I've trusted Paul with all manner of things

the major portion of my legal life, Mr. Logan.

Oh, well, then I won't worry.

Would you care to try some of our local product?

You'll find it quite different from pineapple on the mainland.

Sugar-ripened in the fields,

and has a 20% higher sugar content than the export variety.

Come now. Come, come, come.

Voila.

How'd you manage that?

He almost took my finger off.

He's partial to me. So partial, in fact,

that I hardly ever go anywhere without him.

Well, if you're ready, shall we go, and I'll show you

the path which leads down to the ocean?

- I'm ready now. - Good.

Kelland?

What are you doing here?

Looking for Professor Heller.

He's inside.

Thanks.

Our local beachcomber.

Shall we go?

What can you tell me about that, Professor?

My good fellow, you-you startled me.

Not any more than you startled me about a half hour ago.

I startled you?

Mr. Kelland, what are you talking about?

That cartridge case.

A little something you forgot, Professor,

after you took that potshot at me from the point.

I took no shot at you.

No?

Smell.

It's... it's gunpowder!

Fresh gunpowder.

Not a bad notion at that... Plugging someone on a surfboard.

Good chance the body'd never be found.

Who told you about me and Anona Gilbert?

No one told me...

I think I'm beginning to understand.

The trust under which Kamehameha Point is being held for her.

A trust a marriage would terminate,

giving you joint possession.

Exactly.

50%, instead of a lousy $10,000.

Have you told Anona what you found there?

I'm not that stupid.

So, you and I are still the only ones who...

who know the point is not a worthless mass of barren rock?

The only ones, Professor,

but your knowing's not going to do you any good.

Mr. Kelland...

when you brought me this tiny feather,

and told me you found it in a place

known only to you on Kamehameha Point,

what did I say?

Well, you said a lot of things.

No.

I said this feather was the culmination,

the crowning achievement,

30 years of Polynesian research.

Why else do you think

I so readily paid you that initial $5,000?

You'll get your money back.

It's not the money I'm concerned with.

It's the years and years and years.

A lifetime of searching

and working and hoping.

And to salvage that...

I would gladly kill...

if the occasion arose.

Now, take it easy, Professor.

You haven't thought this through.

Killing me won't get you your crowning achievement.

I'm the only one who knows its exact location.

Remember?

Mr. Kelland, I thought this through.

To prevent this marriage,

it not be you I'd kill.

Anona? You...

Oh, you wouldn't kill her.

I would indeed.

But fortunately, I...

discovered a better way to prevent the marriage.

A far better way.

How'd you make out?

I took enough pictures of Kamehameha Point

to make a travelogue.

And in the process, I found out something

that might just be connected with the leasing of the beach.

What's that?

There were some surfers there.

They were talking about a board with a bullet hole in it.

Belongs to a Douglas Kelland.

He has a shack by the point, and from his description,

I'd say he was the beachcomber we saw going into Logan's house.

However, it's probably romance trouble.

Kelland just got himself engaged

to a local Hawaiian girl named Anona Gilbert.

Anona Gilbert?!

Name mean something to you?

Yes, it does, Paul.

She's the complication that brought us out here.

From the courthouse records today

I verified a rumor that had reached

Pan-Pacific Hotels.

Rumor?

While Jarvis Logan has title to the beach

on either side of Kamehameha Point,

the point itself is held in trust for Anona Gilbert.

She's the lineal descendant

of one of the great Hawaiian warrior chiefs,

who sold his land to Logan's ancestor

but for some reason withheld the sale of the point.

Probably knew they'd build a hotel there someday.

One thing's certain.

Pan-Pacific's not going to spend $6 million

developing Jarvis Logan's beach without the point.

After dinner I want you to find Kelland,

get his theory on the shooting.

Wait at his shack if necessary.

Okay, what are you going to do?

Ooh, I thought I might go to a nightclub.

♪♪

Will you join us, Anona?

Thank you, perhaps later, Jon.

I was told that you wished to speak with me.

Yes.

That was very beautiful, Miss Gilbert.

- Won't you sit down? - Thank you.

My name is Mason.

I'm an attorney.

I represent Pan-Pacific Hotels.

Oh, yes, Mr. Logan told me about you.

Did he tell you why I'm in Hawaii?

He said to arrange for a new hotel on his property.

It's your property I'm interested in, Miss Gilbert.

Kamehameha Point?

Oh, he told me you might be.

You see, he's trustee of my estate, such as it is,

and if the point were to become part of the lease,

then he said I would receive a share of the money.

And you've agreed to that?

Since my parents died when I was five,

Mr. Logan has been like a father to me.

I've always done everything he said.

What does Mr. Kelland say?

Doug?

Well, he knows nothing about the hotel.

Mr. Logan asked me not to talk about it.

Tell me, why are you asking me all these questions, Mr. Mason?

Well, I have to report on the availability of the land,

and when you marry Douglas Kelland,

it's quite possible he may have something to say about it.

Ah.

Well, I'm sure whatever arrangements

that Mr. Logan makes will be quite all right.

There she is... My little kanaka cutie...

Sitting right over there at that table.

Name is Anona, or did I tell you that?

Well, come on, honey, I'd like to introduce you.

Best little number on the island

if you happen to like the natives.

It's all right, Mr. Mason.

Want you to meet my lady friend, baby...

Dolly Jameson, a real swinger.

Lady friend, Doug?

Right.

Decided marriage was for the birds, so I started out

on the town, and who did I run into but Dolly.

Told her all about you.

Said I ought to let you know... Breaking off the engagement,

so letting you know.

That's, that's very kind of you, Doug.

Forget it.

Come on, Dolly girl,

let's find a spot where they got the juice turned on

and do a little dancing or something.

One thing, Mr. Mason.

You needn't worry any longer

as to what Doug will say about Kamehameha Point.

Well, how'd you like the performance?

Just fine, Dougie-boy.

Now, keep on doing fine

if you don't want your "little kanaka cutie" to get hurt.

Anona, what are you doing home this early?

Oh, I, I didn't feel well, so I got them to let me off.

Should I call the doctor?

Doug and I are finished.

He told me tonight.

What was his reason?

Well, perhaps we can talk later.

In the meantime, something the haole missionaries do

when they hurt... Hot tea with a drop of rum.

Now, stay here, just stay here.

Yes.

I've got to talk to you.

- Doug? - Yes.

Can you meet me at the shack in half an hour?

Meet you?

But tonight you said...

I'll explain about tonight.

Why don't you come here?

It has to be the shack.

Something there I have to show you about your land,

about Kamehameha Point.

Anona, you've got to come.

Oh, all right, Doug, all right, I'll come.

Who was that?

Oh, it was just one of the girls at the club.

She was asking how I was.

Drink this, and when I come back

I want you to be in bed and asleep.

You're going out?

Mrs. Yoriko... I promised to give her

my recipe for pineapple ribs.

You know, tomorrow is the feast day,

and she wishes to prepare them tonight.

I won't be long.

Doug?

What is it?

What happened?

Doug?

Are you hurt?

Oh!

No! No, no!

Excellent.

Chalk marks and photographs.

Now you can remove the body.

I'm sorry to have kept you so long,

but I find your story a little hard to believe.

What you say you found here, Mr. Drake,

does not correspond with what we have found.

I can't help that, Lieutenant.

It is your contention that someone,

while you were informing Mr. Logan of your discovery,

made off with the spear and spear-gun

you claim to have seen?

They could hardly have disappeared by themselves.

Well, maybe the young lady, uh...

- you claim to have encountered. - No.

She hightailed it off in the jeep that was parked outside.

Couldn't she have circled back, knowing that you had to

climb up to Mr. Logan's house to reach a telephone?

Yes, but I suggest you let her tell you what she did.

Oh, I intend to, Mr. Drake,

provided she exists and I can find her.

Kia, why this attitude towards Mr. Drake?

I am not quite satisfied, Mr. Logan, with his explanation

of what he was doing on your beach tonight.

Well, I told you he had my permission.

He's an ornithologist.

He's studying and photographing sea birds.

Oh, yes, I forgot.

I imagine you're particularly interested in

our Nestor Productus, which feeds only at night.

That's right, Lieutenant.

Mr. Drake, the Nestor Productus is an extinct parrot,

the last specimen of which died on Phillip Island

more than 50 years ago!

That's all.

I'm free to go?

Until tomorrow, when I hope you and Mr. Logan

will have hit upon a slightly more plausible reason

to account for your presence here.

Bird watching on a dark beach...

finding a corpse harpooned with a spear-gun that disappears...

a spear-gun perhaps fired by

a mysterious young lady who also disappears...

It's no wonder the Lieutenant

was a little dubious about you, Paul.

So dubious I'll probably end up in the bridal suite

of the Honolulu hoosegow.

I don't believe it'll come to that.

Look what I held out on him.

What you and I are actually doing with Mr. Logan;

the rifle shot that was fired at Kelland;

and the real reason I was there.

He'll nail me.

No, he won't, Paul.

As a private detective, you're justified

in preserving the confidence of a client,

- in this case me. - You tell him.

I intend to.

Hello.

Yes. Yes, he's here.

I'll tell him.

I'll be happy to cooperate in any way I can.

Yes, tonight, if you like.

Good-bye.

Lieutenant Kia?

No, Jarvis Logan.

He says to tell you he's sorry

that keeping the hotel project secret has caused you trouble.

That's very nice of him.

Paul, the young lady you encountered:

was she of Hawaiian descent, slender, pretty, about 21?

Anona Gilbert?

Mr. Logan would like me to act as her attorney,

in the event she needs one,

and it might be well to talk to her before the police do.

Oh, no.

What is it, Paul?

Something else I held out on the police.

The girl dropped this when she ran into me,

and I clean forgot I had it.

A feather?

Probably from that extinct parrot

Lieutenant Kia was talking about.

Hello? Anybody home?

Yes?

I'm sorry if we're intruding, but the front door was open.

What is it, please?

My name is Mason.

I'm an attorney.

It's quite important that I speak to your daughter, Anona.

Anona is my niece,

and you cannot speak to her.

Why not?

I can tell you why not, Mr. Mason.

Lieutenant Kia.

Yes.

More bird watching, Mr. Drake?

No, not exactly.

Unfortunately for both of us, Mr. Mason,

a search of the house has revealed that Miss Gilbert

has vanished a second time.

Tomorrow, at 9:00, I'll expect you both at police headquarters.

And you, too, Mr. Drake.

And also you, Mr. Mason, if you wish to come.

Good evening.

Mr. Mason, a few minutes ago Mr. Logan called,

and said that you had agreed to help Anona.

Do you know where she is?

No.

But we are prepared to testify that she never left the house

from the time Jon brought her home from the Club

- until a few minutes ago. - I sincerely hope

neither of you is called upon to testify to anything,

but if you are, and if I do represent Anona,

I will expect you to tell the truth,

no matter how damaging it may seem.

♪♪

Coming. Coming, whoever you are.

Well, uh, what Prince Charming dares

to ring my doorbell at this witching hour?

My name's Mason, Miss Jameson. You don't know me...

Ah, but I do!

You're the handsome gentleman

who was with Miss Hawaii tonight.

Come in, come in.

Thank you.

What is it, Mr. Mason... Social, or, uh, business?

Well, business, I'm afraid.

Oh, I'm crushed, but you will join me in a drink?

No, thanks.

All right, then I'll join myself.

Everything from Aquavit to Zanzibar rum,

all of which I adore.

The business, I suppose, concerns Douglas Kelland.

What makes you say that?

It figures, his being dead and all.

How did you know he was dead, Miss Jameson?

Mr. Mason, even in this remote tropical paradise,

they have news broadcasts.

I suppose you think I should be wearing black

and weeping into a lace handkerchief.

I'd hardly expect weeping

over someone with whom you'd had just a few casual drinks.

A few casual drinks?

Mr. Mason, when Dougie-boy was living in California,

running that surfboard school, I was married to him.

Married?

Two worst years of my life.

At the night club, Miss Jameson,

he called you his lady friend.

That was his idea.

You see, nobody around here knows about us.

The rest of it was my idea.

His breaking off the engagement?

That's right.

You see, I first heard about it this morning when I flew in.

Oh, I suppose it makes me sound

like some kind of an angel with a harp, but you see,

I didn't want that nice kid to have to go through...

well, what I had gone through.

Sounds phony, doesn't it?

But it's true.

The tramp with a heart of gold.

How did you persuade Kelland to accept your point of view?

Oh, that was a cinch.

You see, after the split and the interlocutory,

I was supposed to pick up the final decree.

And you didn't?

No. It was a matter of a few items,

such as cash and a station wagon

settled on in our pre-divorce agreement...

that Dougie-boy never came through with.

I wish you could have seen his face

when I told him that we were still married.

I can imagine it came as something of a shock.

Where'd you get that?

Oh, there. It's just a feather.

Hmm. Off this crazy outfit, I suppose.

Uh, well, uh, is there anything else you want to know?

I don't believe so.

Then, uh, what do you say we call it a night?

I've got a big day tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

Why didn't you tell me

somebody like that would be nosing around?

I didn't know. I'll...

I'll get you a plane reservation tomorrow.

Never mind, Professor.

As long as all of this is for free,

I think I'll stick around a while,

and see how the action goes.

Good morning, gentlemen.

Good morning.

Well, how did the session with Lieutenant Kia go?

Well, not as stormy as we expected.

For one thing, the autopsy showed

that Kelland had been killed with a spear gun,

thus confirming at least a part of Paul's story.

Uh, what happened to your bird, Mr. Logan?

Yes, somebody carelessly left the cage open last night.

- That's too bad. - Well, he'll be back.

He's gotten free many times, and he's always returned.

Would you like some coffee?

Yes, I think we both would.

Good. Come in, please.

Choy?

Yes?

Well, what happened to the coffee I asked you to make?

I'll bring it now, Mr. Logan.

Now, Mr. Mason, what about our business?

Did you have to tell Lieutenant Kia?

There's no way out of doing that,

but he's agreed to keep it confidential,

unless, of course, it proves

to have something to do with Kelland's death.

Oh, well, that's not possible.

What did he say about Anona?

Only that he's looking for her.

Has he been here?

Yes. At the crack of dawn this morning,

even before Choy was up.

But on quite a different errand.

Seems someone took a rifle shot at Kelland

at Kamahameha Point yesterday.

We heard about that.

What Kia wanted was to examine one of the rifles

in the rack there.

I am sorry to be so clumsy.

Well... That's all right, Choy.

Fortunately... it's as clean as a whistle,

or I'd probably have joined you at headquarters.

Anona's the real problem, however.

What are we going to do about her?

Why don't we ask her?

Oh, ask her?

I don't believe I quite understand.

Isn't she here with you, Mr. Logan?

You're the one person, other than her aunt,

to whom she could turn.

You know, you're actually doing her a disservice,

keeping her in hiding.

Anona?

I guess you better come in.

Before anything else, Mr. Mason,

I must tell you that I did not kill Doug.

Please believe that.

I do.

Very well. I place myself in your hands.

I'll have to take you to police headquarters, Anona,

but first, I want you to tell me everything you did last night.

Is there time for that?

Plenty of time, Miss Gilbert.

For once, we're a jump ahead of the police,

instead of a jump behind.

Mr. Logan?

Mr. Logan?

He has come back... Lieutenant Kia.

Come in, Mr. Roberts.

Well, how does your client feel about the State's offer?

Well, Mr. Mason had better tell you.

He discussed it with her.

Mr. Mason?

You've decided then to help defend Miss Gilbert?

Yes, at Mr. Robert's request

and through the courtesy of your Bar Association.

I see.

And this means you intend to fight?

It does, Mr. Alvarez.

There will be no plea of guilty

to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

Very well, Mr. Mason.

First degree murder it is.

And, uh, when the trial is over, I have a feeling

I shall be glad not to be in your shoes.

Now you've heard the doctor testify

that death must have occurred within seconds

after Douglas Kelland received his fatal wound.

You've also heard him say

that that wound could only have been caused

by a weapon such as this spear gun I have here.

Now I'll ask you again, Mr. Drake,

have you ever seen it before?

Well, it looks like the spear gun I saw,

but I can't positively identify it.

But the young lady you encountered that night...

You can positively identify her, can you not?

Yes.

Will you please do so now for the benefit of the court?

The defendant, Anona Gilbert.

That's all.

Mr. Drake, immediately after this encounter

with Miss Gilbert, what did you do?

Well, I noticed Mr. Kelland's body and went over to it.

You did nothing before that?

Before that? Oh, yes, the feather she dropped.

I picked it up.

By feather, witness means a bird feather?

Yes, Your Honor.

What did you do with it?

I tried to give it to Lieutenant Kia the next morning.

Tried to give it to him?

He wouldn't take it.

We'd had some jokes the night before about birds

and bird-watching, and I guess he thought

- this was another another one. - What did he say?

"Horsefeathers."

Is this the speargun and spear you've just told us you found

concealed in the sand some 300 yards

from Douglas Kelland's hut?

Yes, sir. That's my identifying mark on it there.

Were you able to trace its ownership, Lieutenant?

Yes. It was purchased several months ago

by a Hawaiian boy named Jon Kakai.

Were you able to determine anything else about it?

Lab tests on the spear revealed traces of human blood.

Type O, the same as that of the deceased.

And further?

We found a number of latent fingerprints,

some left by Jon Kakai.

And the others?

They were left by the defendant, Anona Gilbert.

Your Honor, at this point the State would like to introduce

spear and speargun into evidence.

If the court please, defense strenuously objects

to such a procedure.

Prosecution has in no way, shape or form established

the speargun as the murder weapon

nor placed it at the scene of the crime.

As evidence, it is immaterial and irrelevant.

If the court will permit Lieutenant Kia

to step down for a moment,

I believe I can answer Mr. Mason's objection.

Very well. Witness may step down.

After I took her home from the club, I drove down to the beach.

I felt sad for her and I wanted to think.

About half an hour later, she came past me in her jeep

going toward Doug Kelland's shack.

You followed her?

No, but when she came racing back

four or five minutes later, I then went to the shack.

When I saw what had happened, I took the spear from Doug's back

and hid it and the speargun in the sand.

And the next day?

Mr. Mason said to Auntie Hilo and me

that we must not hide the truth,

so I went to Lieutenant Kia and told him what I'd done.

Any objection now, Mr. Mason, to spear and speargun

being introduced into evidence?

No, Mr. Alvarez.

Lieutenant, I believe you stated in your testimony

that when you first examined Kelland's body,

his swim trunks were wet.

That's right, and so was his hair.

Saltwater, our tests disclosed.

Indicating to you that he'd just returned

from a swim in the ocean?

- From a scuba dive, Mr. Mason. - Scuba dive?

Outside the shack we found his scuba equipment, still wet.

Scuba diving at night, Lieutenant,

isn't that quite unusual?

I don't know, Mr. Mason. I'm not a scuba diver.

Couldn't you have picked

a little pleasanter place for lunch?

I wanted one more look. Something doesn't add up here.

Anona's fingerprints on that speargun sure add up

as far as the prosecution's concerned.

Well, we can explain them if we have to.

Several of her surfing friends will testify that she used

the speargun on the previous day.

Speaking of explanations,

have you found one for Kelland going scuba diving at night?

No, and that's what doesn't add up.

Let's see that feather that Anona dropped.

She said it was, it was lying here

by Kelland's outstretched hand.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Realizing he was dying,

he was trying to point

to the feather as a lead to his killer?

Logan and that bird he always carries around with him.

Paul, while I'm in court this afternoon,

I want you to see if that bird is back.

If it is, check this feather against its feathers.

Probably mean losing a finger, but okay.

If the feathers don't match,

your next job is to ingratiate yourself with Dolly Jameson.

That I'll enjoy. But why?

She has a feathered housecoat.

Sure I remember what he said.

I wasn't that scrambled.

Uh, he said he thought marriage was for the birds,

and then he said he wanted to break off his engagement,

and then she said, "Well, it was very kind of you

to let me know," or something like that,

and, uh, then he said, "Forget it," and then we left.

Only to part, as you've told us, a few minutes later?

Listen, after two years with Dougie-boy,

even a few minutes was too much.

Mr. Mason.

Mrs. Kelland... the night of the murder

you told me you remained in your bungalow

after your husband left you.

Now, that wasn't the truth, was it?

Okay, so... so I went out to get some air.

But I didn't drive all the way down to the beach,

if that's what you mean.

In California, Mrs. Kelland,

while you were living with your husband,

you were employed, were you not?

Yes. I-I worked at Oceanland, underwater with the dolphins.

Using scuba equipment?

Well, I don't look like a fish, do I?

Sure I used scuba gear.

Thank you.

You admit, then, you lied to Lieutenant Kia,

telling him Anona had just left the house?

Yes, I lied.

And now, as an admitted liar,

you expect the court to believe that Douglas Kelland,

less than an hour after that scene at the club,

called Anona and asked her to come to his shack?

He said he had something important to show her.

Oh, yes, I'm sure he did.

Perhaps that feather Mr. Mason's been talking about.

She came to the door, sobbing and asking for Mr. Logan,

but he wasn't there, having gone with Mr. Drake.

- And what did you do? - I took her to Professor Heller.

She was terribly unstrung, almost hysterical,

so I... gave her a sedative

and had her lie down to wait for Mr. Logan.

Professor, did you notice anything unusual about her

other than her extreme agitation?

Only that there was blood on her dress.

Yes, perhaps I was wrong.

But in view of our relationship, I felt... duty-bound

to give her shelter.

Especially since I knew that eventually I could convince her

to go to the police.

Thank you, Mr. Logan.

Mr. Mason.

You had an excellent reason to wish Douglas Kelland dead,

did you not, Mr. Logan?

What makes you say that?

Well, wouldn't his marriage to Anona Gilbert

mean losing control of Kamehameha Point?

Why should I care about that?

- The land's worthless. - Is it?

I don't know what you're talking about.

I'm talking about your carefully guarded plan

to lease your beach for the construction

and operation of a large resort hotel.

A plan dependent upon Kamehameha Point being included.

Now, you desperately need that lease, don't you?

To pay off overdue mortgages on your land

amounting to nearly half a million dollars.

Half a million dollars...

Isn't that reason enough to wish Douglas Kelland dead?

Perhaps.

But you're overlooking one thing, Mr. Mason.

Why should I kill Kelland to prevent a marriage

that had already been prevented by Mrs. Kelland?

But you didn't know that.

Oh, but I did.

You see, I was the one who sent for her,

paid her fare here from the mainland.

Well, I'd about given you up, Paul.

Well, the fair Dolly Kelland, nee Jameson,

likes to have cocktails while being interviewed,

but mission accomplished.

Feather from her housecoat, only it doesn't match.

And your having gone to see her, I assume,

means that the Logan bird is still missing?

Yes, but I found out the species.

And I thought that before court convened in the morning,

we could find a similar bird, and compare feathers with it.

It's the same species and almost the same age

as Mr. Logan's bird.

Sulphur-crested cockatoo, it's called.

A native of Australia.

Do you wish to purchase the bird, Mr. Mason?

I don't know. Uh, Paul, let's have that feather.

How about it?

No resemblance at all.

Well, I guess that lets Mr. Logan off the hook.

Could I examine the feather, please?

Where did you find this?

Why do you ask?

It's the feather of an iiwi, Mr. Mason.

An iiwi?

The sacred scarlet bird of the Hawaiian kings.

No specimen of which has been seen

in more than 75 years.

I'd like to show you something, Professor.

Can you tell us what this is?

It, uh, appears to be a...

a feather of some sort.

Examine it more closely, please.

- Now do you recognize it? - No.

Do you mean to tell us, Professor,

that as a renowned expert on ancient Polynesia,

you cannot identify this feather?

I'm afraid not.

Well, then...

perhaps there is someone present here in the courtroom

who can.

Yes, I recognize it.

The feather of an iiwi bird.

How were iiwi feathers

used in the old days, Auntie Hilo?

From them, and from the yellow feathers of the mamo

and the crimson feathers of the apapani,

the women wove the shining feather cloaks

the ancient warrior kings wore

when they were entombed.

Could that feather have come from such a cloak

in such a warrior king's tomb?

It did come from such a tomb.

Mr. Mason, I swore an oath to my mother,

and she to hers,

never to reveal the secret place to anyone

not of the royal bloodline.

And was it because of Douglas Kelland's phone call to Anona,

because you believed he'd found the secret place

that you left your house that night?

And did you intend to kill him?

I intended, perhaps, something like that,

but I couldn't go through with it.

After a few moments, I returned to the house.

Mr. Mason,

I am now prepared to break my oath...

if it will help Anona.

Curious place to hold court, Mr. Mason.

And the young man's protracted stay underwater makes me wonder

if I exercised good judgment in allowing this.

He's been gone less than 30 minutes, Your Honor.

The opening was deeper than Auntie Hilo said.

But you were able to enter?

I swam to where steps had been carved in the rock.

I climbed to a great cavern.

I saw a war canoe and gods carved in wood

and polished rolling stones,

and then, lying on a flat rock at the far end,

the king in his feather cloak.

I took only one photograph.

When the bulb flashed,

the cloak became a flame of crimson and gold fire.

I ran.

Here is the photograph taken in the cavern by Jon Kakai.

Now, what would you say

the feather cloak shown here is worth, Professor?

All that I could tell you, Mr. Mason,

is that it is virtually priceless.

Your desire to possess the cloak, then,

is the reason you lied when you said you couldn't identify

the iiwi feather taken from it?

But actually, I couldn't identify it.

It was a similar feather the professor took from an envelope

when Mr. Kelland came to accuse him of firing the rifle at him.

He knew then what it was.

Choy, who was it

that actually fired the shot at Kelland?

You know, don't you?

Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so agitated that morning

when you learned Lieutenant Kia had examined the rifle.

Was it you who fired the shot?

No, it was... Mr. Logan.

Yes, I fired that shot.

Partly to frighten him and partly because I knew

it would bring him running to the professor,

who would thereupon scotch the proposed marriage.

You knew, then, that Kelland had reported his find

to Professor Heller?

Yes.

Why didn't you report that to Anona Gilbert?

Was it because you were to share

in the proceeds of the cloak's sale?

Yes.

But how could either of you

expect to share in something found on her property?

We planned to move the contents of the tomb

to another cave... on my property.

And it was to prevent Anona

from learning of the find from Kelland that you killed him?

No, I had no idea he was going to tell her,

nor would I have really cared if he had.

It wouldn't have affected the leasing of my land,

which was the really important thing to me.

Unlike the professor,

to whom the feather cloak was all important.

No, Mr. Mason.

I didn't kill Douglas Kelland.

The very importance

of the feathered cloak to me precluded that.

You see, even though he brought me the iiwi feather

and I'd paid him the money,

he never told me the actual location of the cloak.

I had every reason to wish him alive, until I knew that.

Mrs. Kelland, I have here the operator slips

on two telephone calls made from your bungalow approximately

one half hour before Douglas Kelland was killed.

The first was to Anona Gilbert.

That call was made by Kelland, was it not, before he left?

I don't remember.

I think you do.

Because it was the call he made to tell her he had something

of vital importance to show her at his shack on the beach.

Now, you overheard that, didn't you?

So, when he left, you promptly made the second call to report

what was said, even though you didn't know its true import.

Now, whom did you telephone, Mrs. Kelland?

To whom did you tell what you'd overheard?

Was it Professor Heller?

Was it?

The discovery of a royal tomb would mean Kamehameha Point

being taken over by the state as a memorial park.

I couldn't have that,

because without the Point, I couldn't lease my land.

So I... I had to silence him,

before he ruined everything.

May I, uh, correct something I said to you

before the trial started, Mr. Mason?

I would be most happy to be in your shoes now,

even though you aren't wearing any.

Thank you, Mr. Alvarez.

May I ask you something that's been puzzling me?

How is it that you, a criminal lawyer, came here

to check the legal records for the Pan-Pacific Hotels?

Logan's idea.

He was afraid the arrival of company attorneys

to confer with him would tip off the fact

he was trying to lease his land.

And give the people to whom he owed money a tip-off

as to what bad financial shape he was in.

Mr. Alvarez, will the State of Hawaii

really take over the Point, as Logan feared?

Yes, but Anona will be adequately recompensed,

as I've told her.

Mr. Drake.

And Mr. Mason.

That's the Hawaiian way of showing gratitude and affection.

And I set one aside for Doug, too, as thanks for what he was

intending to do for me before he was killed.

I suggest you find one more, Anona,

for someone who also did all he could for you.