Original subtitles

Coming right up.

Thank you.

Control around 30.

Check sample 3.

Insert it in off in that 319P. Have you got that, Gretchen?

Yes, Father.

Well, this will be the last today.

Three months of control runs, sample checks,

counter checks.

Aren't you both willing to admit that formula and process are A -OK, Dr. Lang?

That I admitted long ago, Mr. James.

But before production begins, I've got to create a foolproof system of

safeguards. And that is why I came in with you. Because I believe we thought

alike about this.

Father, where is your sense of humor?

Randolph was only joking.

Well, I'm afraid if antibiotics in human lives are concerns, I have no sense of

humor.

I apologize, Mr. James. And I apologize to Dr.

Lang. May I ask you something?

Those evenings at the beach when you were fishing and talking chemistry

together, is it still Dr.

Lang and Mr. James?

You'll have to ask a fish for the answer to that, Gertrude.

Yes.

On his way down.

But no one is allowed.

I see.

Hudson Bradshaw.

Insisting on seeing you.

Should I tell him that you're not here?

No, he wouldn't believe you.

But maybe you'd better put those papers away since they're what he's really

after.

Come in, Hudson.

It's just in time to witness a test of our new pocket -sized atom bomb.

Atom bomb?

Oh, I see. That's a joke.

Very funny. Dr. Lang?

So Lang James Laboratories into oblivion.

I want an answer, Andy.

The ring and bracelet.

Did you or didn't you take them?

What is it? The third degree?

Call it anything you like, but if you don't answer, I'll get the police.

I mean that, Andy. Don't think I don't. Okay.

Okay, so I took those things.

So what?

So this.

Ah,

Natalie, you're way off base.

That stuff isn't gone.

Just pawned.

Pawned? Yeah.

Yeah, for the 160 I needed to keep my wagon from being repossessed.

The 160 you said you couldn't raise.

What's suddenly so funny?

What do you think that ring's worth?

How would I know?

At least 5 ,000.

And the bracelet three times that.

And all you asked for was $160.

20 grand.

Are you telling the truth?

Or is this just another one of your pipe dreams, like a surfing trip to Hawaii?

Hawaii's no pipe dream, darling.

Natalie, you know there's no truth in that.

I wonder.

No. No, I don't wonder.

Not really.

Because I don't care.

Mr. Mason, every cent I inherited went into that stock. Money I got long before

I was married.

So why shouldn't I get it back if I can?

Use it to go to...

Hawaii or someplace where I might like to do a little living.

You've been doing a little living right here, Natalie.

But we won't go into that.

What will we go into?

At six. Right about now, I'm supposed to call Marion Devlin at our New York

sales office. So? He's trying to arrange financing so we can go into production

with our new antibiotic.

If he succeeds and we do go into production, your stock will be worth two

three times what Bradshaw's offered you.

Two or three times?

Yes. Why didn't you tell me this?

We haven't exactly been communicating lately.

Remember?

Is it true, Mr. Mason?

Bradshaw's sudden interest would certainly indicate that it is.

That might be Marion calling me.

Hello?

Yes, she's here.

Sure. It's Helen Bradshaw. She says you told her you were coming over for a

drink. Oh, in about a half hour.

Helen? She says in about half an hour.

Me?

No, thanks.

Natalie, if Marion has our financing, will you string along with us until

the stockholders' meeting? Then whatever you want, Hawaii, anything.

How can I be sure you and Marion aren't up to some sort of a trick?

Do you think Mr. Mason is?

No.

I'd like to... Marion?

Randolph. What's the news?

Really?

Oh, that's wonderful.

Look, when you give the details to Perry Mason, something's come up here I want

him to straighten out. I'll put him on.

Mason, Mr. Devlin, I gather things are progressing.

I see. All signed and sealed.

Now, let me ask you something.

In your opinion as treasurer of Ryan James,

Is the loan sufficient to finance all your production needs?

Very good.

All right, now here's Randolph.

Marion, when's your plane getting in?

Oh, it's a little too complicated. I'll fill you in when I see it tomorrow

morning. And at the same time, put a medal on you.

Have a good trip, Marion.

Now, Lee, do you still suspect a trick?

No.

And for that, I'm grateful to the both of you.

Grateful?

Yes. Because up to now, I thought I was lucky just to be getting my money back.

You'll keep your stock, then?

That depends.

On what?

On Hudson Bradshaw and how high he's willing to bid.

Bye -bye. I've got to change now.

Hello,

Andy.

How's the surfing?

Quickly from nothing.

Waves even a hoedaddy wouldn't bother with.

Meeting Dr. Lang?

Yes.

He's done it by the guy with the dogs over by the big rocks. Thanks.

Remember, it's for a mobile telephone operator.

Yes, that's right.

Hudson Bradshaw.

Thank you.

Yes?

Natalie, what is it?

What about your stock?

I knew you wouldn't want to talk business in front of Helen, so I thought

better tell you now.

The price has gone up.

$300 ,000, Hudson.

That's the new quotation.

$300 ,000?

Are you out of your mind?

Now look, Natalie, we made a deal, and I'm holding you to it. One hundred

thousand and not one penny more.

And if you think for one minute that I... You didn't tell me you were

buying Mrs. James out. Maybe I'm not.

Maybe I know a better way of dealing with her.

That's quite a cute little game you're playing, Natalie.

Marion! Yes.

Your charitable landlord, Marion Devlin, in person.

But Randolph just talked to you in New York.

Yes.

So he did.

But how?

How? Perhaps someday I'll tell you.

But right now, I don't want to waste any time.

Before you run off for your nightly drink with Helen, there's some things

to talk over.

Let her do this to us, Adolf.

After all, she is your wife.

I'm afraid she doesn't think of it quite that way.

But how should we think of it?

The result of years of calculations, of tests and experiments.

An antibiotic that reaches viruses never before touched by chemistry.

A dream come true.

Taken by Hudson Bradshaw and Consolidation Drugs to be cheap and

commercialized. All on account of her.

This must not happen.

Maybe I can figure out something, Hans.

A woman like this should never be allowed to exist.

Aren't you getting in a little deep, darling?

Hudson is a rather dangerous man to cross.

As I should know, having crossed him off and on myself for the past 15 years.

You're still doing it, Helen.

So can't be failed.

One more for the road?

I really shouldn't.

I've had three.

Or is it four?

And I ought to be home now.

Two minutes for this and you can walk home in another ten.

Besides, I'll bet your beloved husband is still out there fishing by his

favorite rocks.

I never understood this night fishing.

What do they catch?

Who knows?

Or cares?

When do you expect Hudson home?

I don't.

He said he had a business engagement.

Diamonds? New black dress?

Hairdo?

Just to spend the evening alone?

Or could it be that Marion Devlin is back from New York?

He's flying back tomorrow.

Is that so?

What a lovely clip.

I couldn't persuade you to let me borrow it for the beach club luncheon

tomorrow. Of course, if you need it tonight.

I'll take good care of it.

I'm sure you will, darling.

See you tomorrow?

Of course.

Good evening, Miss. Good evening.

Good night.

Good night.

Can I see your driver's license, please?

Sure.

What's up?

station wagon, Mr. James?

Yes. Have you driven it in the last half hour or so?

No, I've been fishing since around 6 .30.

Did you know your left front fender was crumpled?

When did that happen?

Now, just a minute.

What's this all about?

Hit and run over in the colony about 40 minutes ago.

50 -51 station wagon, according to a witness.

Yes, Mr. James.

So it is.

Only three hours now, Lieutenant.

It's time you either charged him or let him go. A couple more things, Mr. Mason,

then we'll decide.

Mr. Davis, we've been doing our best to check up on your story.

Lieutenant, it isn't a story, it's the truth.

The man you claim you were fishing with at first, Dr. Hans Lang, still not at

home. And no answer at the laboratory number you gave us.

And the fisherman with the dog, no trace of him.

And finally, the man whose car you say crumpled your fender a couple of days

ago, J .J. Dexter appears to be somewhere in Lower California.

Perry, it's like a nightmare.

Well, what about the woman I'm supposed to have run down? Hasn't she told you

anything? She's still unconscious and still unidentified.

Being on foot, she must live in the vicinity.

Yes, and quite well ado, apparently, from the diamond clip she was wearing.

Sooner or later, she'll be reported missing.

And I doubt, Mr. James, if she saw very much being hit from behind.

What about the station wagon, Lieutenant?

Well, blood, you mean, bits of cloth, fabric, imprints?

And we're a small -town police force, Mr. Mason.

Evidence like that will have to wait till the L .A. crime lab people have a

at it.

Mrs. Pennyworth here, Lieutenant.

I'll have her come in.

Now, wait a minute.

If she's the witness, I can't permit a confrontation like this.

No, no, Perry, it's all right. She won't identify me.

Let her in.

You told us, Mrs. Pennyworth, you caught a glimpse of a man driving a station

wagon. Yes.

Yes, he was wearing an old hat.

That's him!

That's the man!

in the world have you been? I telephone... Gretchen.

Well, thank goodness somebody's finally turned up.

What's been going on?

Why were the police at my house asking for Father?

Oh, it was just a crazy mix -up over a hit -and -run accident.

Involving him?

No, me.

It seems that the hit -and -run car was a station wagon just like mine. But I'm

in the clear thanks to Mr. Mason.

Miss Lang, where is your father?

I suppose at the laboratory.

Half the time when he's working, he won't answer the phone.

And Natalie?

I don't know. The door was ajar, so I just came in.

I suppose I shouldn't have, but I was getting a little frantic.

Well, maybe Natalie's still with Helen Bradshaw.

Hello?

Oh, hello, Randolph.

Natalie? She left here hours ago.

No, she walked.

Well, I wouldn't worry about her. She's been out later than this before, hasn't

she?

No bother. I was still up. Good night.

Who was that?

Randolph James.

Seems that Natalie is again amongst the missing.

Let's hope this time it's permanent.

Why, Hudson, what a thing to say.

Not there, I think.

No.

But, Perry, I've been thinking.

You know that diamond clip they said the woman was wearing?

Well, Natalie sure doesn't own anything like that.

Maybe.

Yes?

The woman hit -and -run victim from Bayshore's colony.

Come in.

Dead? About five minutes ago.

Never regained consciousness.

Do you know her?

Yes, we know her.

The police will have to be told.

Phone's over there.

Operator, get me the Bay Shores Police Headquarters, please.

Lieutenant Gibson, please.

Lieutenant, this is Perry Mason. I'm at the hospital.

Yes, I know.

I also know her identity.

Mrs. Randolph James.

That's right, his wife.

Yes, I can bring him in, but...

Gertie, I wouldn't exactly say it was one of your boss's better nights. First,

Perry pointed out it was a hit -run driver, then his client runs out of him.

Bedella said that your men are looking for Randolph James.

And Mr. Drake, I know when you men are looking for anybody. Gertie, you gals

better pin your hopes on the L .A. Police Department.

They've got a detail from homicide working on it. But why would he want to

away in the first place?

What makes you think he ran away?

Maybe James has some wild idea of clearing himself by playing detective.

Thanks, Gertie.

Didn't you tell him I was a world -renowned detective?

That is so, isn't it?

Well.

Well, it's a little early for results.

There's nothing reported yet on the people you named.

Dr. Lang, Dr. Gretchen, and the Hudson Bradshaws.

And nothing from the man checking the jewelry stores with the description you

gave me of the diamond clip Mrs. James was wearing.

But, Dexter, the man James says crumpled the station wagon's left front fender

three or four days back, we reached him by phone at a motel in Ensenada.

He confirms the story and says he'll testify if we need him. That's good,

provided the crime lab doesn't find anything else on the car.

No, we haven't yet, according to my contact.

But, Perry, isn't it possible another car was involved, but a lot of them

like James's?

Yes, Gertie.

Randolph a fugitive?

I'm afraid it's all true, Mr. Devlin.

Not that he is dead, and already the police have been here twice this morning

looking for Randolph.

Well, that's... that's incredible.

Last night Randolph came here.

The safe was open and while he was checking to see what was taken, he was

knocked unconscious.

The formula's gone?

No, that's the incredible part.

Nothing is gone.

I gather then you've seen Randolph.

What does he say about Natalie?

He doesn't know who ran her down.

In that case, why doesn't he give himself up?

When Mrs.

James was killed, Randolph was fishing.

And near him was another fisherman with a dog.

Someone he doesn't know, but he believes that this man could prove that he never

left the beach.

Until much later.

So he's trying to find him.

A fisherman with a dog.

He shouldn't be too hard to find.

Should he?

Are they fighting tonight?

Say, uh... Say, I haven't happened to notice a guy with a dog who,

uh... Harry, what are you doing here?

I'm here to accompany you to police headquarters.

No, I'm not giving myself up. Not yet.

Don't you realize that in this state, flight is evidence of guilt and that by

running away, you've jeopardized your case?

Not to mention your personal danger.

The police won't hesitate to shoot if they think it's necessary.

I can't help that, Perry.

If I can't prove I didn't leave the beach, I'm dead anyway.

Dead? Yes.

Because it was my station wagon that killed Natalie.

That hasn't been determined yet, as far as I know.

It will be.

You see, I lied about that fender.

Please talk to the man you said backed into it.

And he corroborates your story.

Yes, yes, yes.

But I had it fixed the next day.

How about Natalie being run down?

Did you lie about that, too?

No.

I didn't kill her, Perry. I swear I didn't.

But don't you see, I can't give myself up.

I can't admit I knew it was my station wagon that killed her without first

trying to find the one thing that can clear me.

That man with the door who... Perry.

Perry. Look.

Well, good evening.

Howdy.

Tell me, do you think the fishing will be as good tonight as it was last night?

Well, I hope so.

Were you here last night?

No, but I was.

Remember?

Over by the rocks?

Don't anyone move, please.

Lieutenant Anderson, Los Angeles Police.

Hello, Perry.

Lieutenant.

Randolph James.

I have a warrant here, Mr. James, charging you with...

First degree murder.

And now as to the motive, Your Honor, the state will show that in order to

this new antibiotic developed by the Lang James Laboratory, a low -cost,

-spectrum antibiotic whose monetary value could run into literally millions

dollars, in order to keep that,

Indeed, in order to keep the laboratory at all, it was necessary for the

defendant to get hold of his wife's controlling stock interest.

Even if so doing, meant the deliberate, calculated, cold -blooded commission of

a murder.

We exchanged good evenings as we passed.

Oh, you knew Mrs. James? No.

The family I cooked for were the only people I knew in the colony.

I see. Go on with your account, Mrs. Bennyweather. Well, it wasn't a moment

two later that I heard the banshee noise of tires.

I turned and screamed.

But it was too late.

It was too late.

But you did see the deceased struck down.

And you did see the vehicle that struck her. Yes, it was a station wagon like

one my husband used to have. That's how I was able to describe it to the police.

And you also saw the driver of that station wagon.

A man wearing an old felt hat pulled down over part of his face.

Is that man in this courtroom now?

Well, Mrs. Pennyworth?

Oh, no. I was wrong once.

And I'm not taking any chances of being wrong again.

If he's here, I can't say so.

Well, at least she didn't identify you again, Mr. Mason.

That's all.

Mr. Mason?

No question.

Did you personally supervise the laboratory tests on the station wagon,

Anderson? Yes, sir. And what did these tests reveal?

Very little at first, because the front of the station wagon had been washed

off. Washed off?

You mean evidence may have been obliterated or removed?

Yes, sir. But we finally did find something.

Impacted in a crack in a chrome trim was a fragment of material, which further

tests proved...

was torn from the clothing the deceased was wearing when she was killed.

It was about 6 .30, maybe a little after when he drove up by the seawall. And

did you notice anything unusual about his appearance, Mr. Whitcomb?

No. He had his fishing gear just like always and that old felt hat he wore.

An old felt hat like this one, Mr. Whitcomb?

Yeah, just like that.

Now, referring to his station wagon, did you notice anything unusual about that?

Any indication of a recent accident, perhaps?

You mean like a crumpled front fender?

No, they were both okay then.

Thank you.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Is it true, Mr. Whitgall, that on numerous occasions you boasted to other

surfers that you were friendly, more than friendly, in fact, with Natalie

I might have.

And that you were going to Hawaii with her?

Could be.

And that you got money from her? Yeah, yeah, lousy 160 bucks to hang on to my

wagon. That's funny. A rumor I heard put the figure closer to $20 ,000, Mr.

Whitgoe. $160, that's all I got.

That's all.

Then where did the other figure come from, out of thin air?

$20 ,000 would be well worth killing for, wouldn't it, Mr. Whitgoe?

Sure, sure, sure, maybe.

But no, I didn't.

You left the beach and the defendant at least half an hour before Mrs. James'

death? Yes, unfortunately.

For if I'd stayed, I could prove that Mr. James never left the beach.

On leaving, did you say something to the effect that such a woman, meaning Mrs.

James, should not be allowed to exist?

Yes. And afterward, did you by any chance take steps to see to it that she

ceased to exist?

Mr. Mason, my life has been devoted to saving lives, not taking them.

After leaving the beach, I walked around the colony for hours, trying to think

of a way our new antibiotic end.

Our laboratory could be safe from Hudson Bradshaw.

Well, you're not able to tell us then whether the defendant did or did not

the beach at about the time Mrs. James was killed.

Well, like I said, I was too busy fishing to pay any mind to him. He could

left and come back or not left, for all I know.

Thank you, sir, Mr. Mason.

You enjoy surf fishing, I take it, being out two evenings in succession?

Oh, I go all the time.

What is your favorite surf fish?

My favorite?

Oh, I'd say bonita.

Not yellowtail?

Yeah, that's a good one, too.

What is your favorite bait, mullet?

Yeah, mullet.

Your Honor, this hardly seems the time or place for two old anglers to be

exchanging fishing information.

No further questions.

Hi, Perry.

Paul, it doesn't make sense.

What doesn't? The front of that station wagon being washed off.

What are you talking about?

Well, we believe someone took Randolph's station wagon and killed Natalie in a

deliberate attempt to incriminate him, right?

Right. Why would that someone then turn around and just as deliberately try to

unincriminate him, if that's the word? You figure it out. Look, the office said

you had a couple of jobs that needed doing.

First, put one of your operatives on young Witko.

Then you think there's some truth in that $20 ,000 rumor.

Yes, from the way he reacted.

But second, and most pressing, Paul, I want you to find a place or places near

the Bay Shores colony that sells bloodworms.

Bloodworms? Favorite bait of surf fishermen.

Ask about a fisherman, a regular customer who owns a German Shepherd, and

find the man and bring him into court.

But you've already got the fisherman with the dog in court.

No, Paul.

We have somebody who thinks Bonita and Yellowtail are surf fish.

And, of course, we know they're not.

And then it was approximately five minutes from the time she was run down,

Bradshaw, that Natalie James left your house to walk home.

Yes. Did she, while she was with you, voice any apprehensions about her

safety?

Apprehensions? She was about as far from being apprehensive as anybody could be.

with her stock suddenly worth more than she thought it was, and various people

wanting it so badly. Did she tell you who these various people were?

Yes.

My husband and hers.

Hers being the defendant, Randolph James.

Yes, of course.

He was the only husband she had.

Of course.

Your witness.

I believe the decedent was wearing a valuable diamond clip at the time of her

death, Mr. Berger. Now, since the state still has that clip in its possession, I

would by all means, Mr. Mason, be my guest.

Introduce it if you care to.

Thank you.

Now, do you recognize this clip, Mrs. Bradshaw?

Yes, it's mine.

I loaned it to Natalie that night.

Were you in the habit of lending Mrs. James valuable jewelry?

No, but she said she wanted it for an especially dressy luncheon, so I let her

take it.

I see.

And now, Mrs. Bradshaw, I believe in your statement to the police, you said

or five minutes before Mrs. James left, you looked at the beach through the

telescope in your living room and saw Randolph James there fishing. Yes.

I hoped that it would clear him, but they said it didn't. Could it have been

less than four or five minutes before Mrs. James left that you saw him? I'd

to say so, Mr. Mason, but I can't. Mr. Bradshaw.

If the Lange -James antibiotic is only of dubious value, as you stated a moment

ago, why were you then so enraged when Natalie James called on your mobile

and told you the price of her stock had gone up?

So you've been talking to Miss Lange. I was enraged because we'd already made a

deal for the stock.

Why didn't you simply tell her you weren't interested at the new price?

All right, I wanted the antibiotic.

But how would killing Natalie James help me get hold of it? You knew Randolph

James usually left the ignition key in his station wagon when he went fishing,

didn't you?

Yes. And that he usually remained on the beach for two or three hours?

Yes. Wouldn't employing the station wagon to kill Mrs. James, thus bringing

about Randolph James' conviction, have helped you get hold of the antibiotic,

Mr. Bradshaw?

A convicted murderer can't inherit.

So couldn't you then have purchased the controlling stock from Mrs. James? Speak

up, Mr. Devlin.

Ask me how things are in New York.

Of course, I had to have someone put on your New York switchboard to manage

that.

But you did the same thing, didn't you?

A bribed receptionist, two switchboard keys open simultaneously on the

switchboard. That's all it took, wasn't it?

When did you arrange it, Mr. Devlin?

When you made that long -distance call from your home here?

When you called New York just a few minutes before Randolph James made his

'clock call?

Yes.

I really wasn't Bay Shores that night.

But not for the reason you think.

The formula for the new antibiotic was with millions.

I wanted a copy of it so I could deal myself in, regardless of what happened

with Bradshaw. Then it was you who opened the laboratory safe.

I just photographed the formula and was putting it back.

When Randolph came in, I hit him and ran.

And that's all. All, you mean, except for killing Natalie James?

Oh, no.

No, I didn't kill him.

But I can tell you who did.

Tell you who I saw hosing off the station wagon that night by the seawall.

Dr. Hans Lang.

While I was walking around after leaving the beach, I heard what I thought was

an accident.

At the scene,

Mrs. James, dead, I believed.

And a woman describing to the police an old station wagon driven by a man

wearing a felt hat partially hiding his face.

And this man you decided was Randolph James?

No, not until I reached the beach and saw his old station wagon fender

and on the side a body -sized area where the dust has been swept off.

And so you washed off all the remaining dust in an effort to conceal this?

I was wrong twice.

First in believing him.

Guilty, and then trying to save him. But it seemed to me that an evil greater

wrong that a man like him should die on account of such a woman.

I am ready to atone, Mr. Mason, in any way the law sees fit. Perhaps you can

clarify something else.

On the next day, Dr. Lang, were you the person who telephoned the fisherman who

was on the beach that night?

And did you threaten to shoot his dog if he ever fished again at Bay Shores?

And the person who telephoned this threat to kill your dog, would you

his or her voice if you heard it again?

Yes.

Have you heard this voice any time today?

Yes. The voice belongs to the person who calls himself Marion Devlin.

Devlin?

Well, in that case, would you please take the stand again, Mrs. Bradshaw?

How is it you didn't go out to see what had happened?

The screech of tires, a woman screaming?

An impact of car and body only a short distance from your house? And only

moments after Natalie James had left?

I didn't hear anything. I went out right after Natalie.

Out where? And with whom?

Shall I tell you with whom, Mrs. Bradshaw?

And wasn't the where the whispering sands in?

All right.

Supposing that I did have dinner with Marion Devlin. Is that so wrong?

And how many dinners have you had with him?

Thirty? Forty?

Enough to give Natalie James adequate grounds for blackmail?

Blackmail. You recognize these, Mrs. Bradshaw?

Your diamond ring?

Your diamond bracelet?

Both were, as was your diamond clip in Natalie James' possession.

I lent them to her.

Oh, no, you didn't.

You testified you weren't in the habit of lending her jewelry.

You recognize this, Mrs. Bradshaw?

An old hat of your husband's, but in the crown, strands of your hair.

Left there when you forced it down over your head to make it appear a man was

driving the station wagon when you killed Natalie James.

No. How could I have used the station wagon? You took it before she arrived.

You'd hidden it near the house, so all you had to do was return it after

her down.

Tell us about it.

Tell us how Devlin then tried to help you by...

frightening away the fisherman he thought might give Randolph James an

Natalie was insatiable.

Night after night, she'd come down to my house. She'd sit there drinking.

She asked for more and more.

All the rest of my life, she would have gone on blackmailing me. I had to kill

her. And I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for your meddling.

For months, I've known that fisherman when the dog was blind. I knew he was

blind. I knew he was blind.

All right, Perry.

Come on, Paul.

Don't tell me I'm not even going to get one day off. Face your way.

I just thought you'd like to know that Berger called the office and said he'd

recommended a suspended sentence for Dr. Lang so he could carry on with his

work. Now that he's got that fake fisherman in custody, he's going to

book at him.

Seems the guy's a distant cousin of Marion Devlin's with a record as long as

that line of yours.

Good. Perry, tell me something.

What first gave you the idea the guy was a fake?

Oh, and he testified he was too busy fishing to pay any attention to Randolph

James.

A good fisherman always keeps his eye on the other fishermen around him.

All right, so I'm not a fisherman. So why?

To make sure they're not catching any bigger fish than he is.

Ask a stupid question.