"Did Miss Lang make a report on the book?"
"She did."
"I ask you to look at this, Mr. Danton, and tell me what it is."
Danton took the extended sheet of paper, glanced at it, and said, "This is Miss Lang's report on the book, and I see that Mr. Campbell has indicated on it that he is to see the manuscript at once. The report is dated July 16th."
"You are familiar with Mr. Campbell's handwriting?"
"I am. That's his handwriting."
"And is this paper the actual editorial report made by Miss Lang?"
"It is."
"A report which, similar to yours, was part of the normal business procedure at Mitchell-Campbell Books."
"Yes, sir. We regularly get several opinions on any book thought to be a publishing possibility."
"I offer it in evidence," Jonah said.
"I object as before," Brackman said.
"Overruled," McIntyre answered.
"Mark it 'Defendants' Exhibit D in evidence' " the clerk said.
"Was the manuscript eventually sent on to Mr. Campbell, together with the reports by yourself and Miss Lang?"
"That's right."
"Did Mr. Campbell subsequently comment on the novel?"
"He did."
"Incidentally, is this 'Mr. Campbell' the president of Mitchell-Campbell Books — Leonard Campbell?"
"Yes."
"I ask you to look at this, Mr. Danton, and tell me what it is."
"It's the memorandum Mr. Campbell sent to me after he read the Driscoll novel."
"I offer it in evidence."
"Objection."
"Overruled."
"Mark it 'Defendants' Exhibit E in evidence.' "
"Now, Mr. Danton, I would like you to refer to Miss Lang's report on the novel. There's a paragraph in it that's marked with a pencil and then with the words 'Good suggestion.' Do you see that paragraph?"
"Just a moment," Danton said. He reached into his jacket pocket, took out a pair of eyeglasses, and settled them on the bridge of his nose. Then he studied the report and said, "Yes, I have it now."
"Can you identify the handwriting in the margin?"
"I can. It's my handwriting."
"Would you read that paragraph to the court, and explain what you meant by your penciled comment?"
Danton cleared his throat and then began reading. " 'However, one thing that does not seem well-motivated (in this initial segment, at least) is Colman's instantaneous dislike of the hero, which triggers the squad's subsequent resistance to his attempts at reaching them. Since the novel gathers its impetus from the Colman-Cooper conflict, I found it implausible that these men would be so immediately antagonistic to each other. Can't there be a stronger motivation for their hatred? It seems to me this certainly requires deeper thought from Driscoll.' " Danton looked up. "That's the second paragraph of her report," he said. "And in the margin, as you pointed out, I scribbled the words 'Good suggestion,' and of course initialed it 'CD' for Chester Danton."
"You agreed with Miss Lang that there was not sufficient motivation for hating the lieutenant?"
"Yes, I agreed with her, as I indicated in my marginal note."
"The novel did not contain this motivation?"
"Not when we first received it."
"Does it now?"
"Yes, it does."
"Was it Miss Lang's suggestion that this motivation be added?"
"Yes."
"And was it added?"
"Yes."
"In what way?"
"I suggested to Mr. Driscoll that perhaps the squad's attachment to their previous commanding officer made them unable to accept his replacement."
"When did you make this suggestion?"
"I don't remember the exact date. It was certainly during our first meeting about the book."
"Whose first meeting?"
"The first editorial meeting I had with Mr. Driscoll."
"Did you enlarge upon the suggestion in any way?"
"Yes. I proposed the idea that the former commanding officer be a major who'd been killed by a sniper."
"This was your suggestion?"
"Yes."
"Did this major exist in the novel when it was first delivered to you?"
"No, sir, he was not in the novel."
"He was added after you met Mr. Driscoll?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are you aware that the plaintiff claims as a specific similarity the fact that a man is killed by a sniper in his play, and a man is killed by a sniper in Mr. Driscoll's novel?"
"Yes, I am aware of that."
"But you have just testified that the man being killed by a sniper was your idea and not Mr. Driscoll's."
"That is correct."
"Did you ever see the play Catchpole when it was produced in New York?"
"I did not."
"It was produced in October of 1947, opening on the 14th, and closing on the 25th. Can you tell us where you were at that time?"
"Yes, sir. I was in England."
"Doing what?"
"I was handling subsidiary rights for Mitchell-Campbell at that time, and part of my duties involved arranging for the foreign publication of titles on our list. I went to England at the beginning of October that year, and I did not return until November 28th."
"You were out of the United States from October 1st to November 28th, is that correct?"
"October 3rd, I believe it was."
"And did not see the production of Mr. Constantine's play?"
"I did not see Mr. Constantine's play."
"Prior to the beginning of this action, had you ever read Catchpole?"
"No, sir."
"Had you ever met or heard of the plaintiff, Arthur Constantine?"
"No, sir."
"Did anyone other than yourself have anything to do with the editing of James Driscoll's book?"
"Outside of these several memorandums from Miss Lang and Mr. Campbell, the editor-author relationship was solely between Mr. Driscoll and me."
"And so it was you alone who suggested that the major be killed by a sniper, and that the squad's attachment to him form the basis of their subsequent hatred of Lieutenant Alex Cooper."
"Yes, sir, the suggestion was mine alone."
"Did you have any other editorial suggestions to make?"
"Well, the remarkable thing about the book was that it was so good and so fully realized that there were very few suggestions an editor could make."
"Your Honor," Brackman said, "the answer is unresponsive."
"Mr. Danton…"
"I made very few editorial comments, except for suggesting a new title."
"What was the title on the manuscript as it was submitted?"
"The Enemy."
"Were any other titles subsequently considered?"
"Yes. One suggestion was The Other Enemy, but this was discarded."
"Who suggested that the title be changed to The Paper Dragon?"
"I did."
"You made this suggestion directly to Mr. Driscoll?"
"I did."
"When was that?"
"I don't recall the exact date. We'd been trying for a new title all along, and I believe the idea for this one came to me while Jimmy was still working on the book. I called him, and we discussed it on the telephone."
"What was the nature of the discussion?"
"The discussion concerned the theme of the book. It has since been universally accepted as an indictment of the United States Army, a bitter treatise against war. It seemed to me, however, that this was not Mr. Driscoll's intention. I thought he was attempting to show that—"
"Your Honor, Mr. Willow earlier objected to the relevancy of what a writer was attempting to show as opposed to what he actually did show. I make the same objection now."
"Mr. Danton is repeating a discussion he had with Mr. Driscoll. I believe the title of the book pertains to the theme, your Honor, and as such is relevant."