New York ? Martha Stewart was “very hurried and harsh and direct” in a call to ImClone Systems headquarters on the day she dumped her stock in the company, a former ImClone secretary testified Monday.

Emily Perret, secretary to ImClone chief Sam Waksal, said Stewart asked her what was going on with ImClone stock. Perret said she answered that she did not know and would leave a message for Waksal to call Stewart back.

The call took place Dec. 27, 2001. The government says it happened just after Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone.

Perret said on cross-examination that Stewart’s tone that day was no different from her tone on other days when she called.

The government also put into evidence Perret’s log of Stewart’s call that day: “Martha Stewart something is going on with ImClone and she wants to know what.”

Stewart and her co-defendant, broker Peter Bacanovic, are accused of lying to investigators about why Stewart sold the shares of ImClone stock just before bad news sent the stock tumbling.

Earlier Monday, the judge in the case ruled that Douglas Faneuil, the government’s star witness, would be allowed to testify beginning this afternoon.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum was a boost for prosecutors because Faneuil’s testimony — which had been postponed last week — is the most critical piece of their case.

The judge did not elaborate on the ruling.

Martha Stewart enters Manhattan federal court in New York. Alexis Stewart is pictured behind her mom Monday. Stewart faces charges including conspiracy, obstruction of justice and securities fraud in the trading of ImClone Systems stock.

Prosecutors were forced to reconfigure their case after the judge postponed the testimony of Faneuil, a former brokerage assistant at Merrill Lynch & Co.

Faneuil had been set to testify Thursday. But late Wednesday, the government turned over to defense lawyers documents that could damage the credibility of Faneuil’s testimony.