Evening star., 1927-04-03

!
There when it happened? You
saw the murder committed?" The
| lieutenant seemed at once amazed and
| incredulous. Just where were you!
| In the storeroom?"
| mo: the murder was committed ir
Cages bedroom, and the body was
afterward removed to the storeroom
| by the murderer"
For a moment Culligore's aston
| ishment was so great that he forgot
to maintain his aim. He gathered
himself quickly, but his face bore a
look Of bewilderment.
He moved the body, eh? / wonder
why. II the job was done by a GER
tain person 1 have in mind, I don't
see what object he could have in car.
rying the corpse from Cages bed
room to the storeroom. The natural
thing would have been to leave the
body on the spot. You're not kidding
me?"
Absolutely not" The Phantom
grinned at Culligore's perplexity. Evi-
IDENTIFY the lieutenants theories and
calculations had been completely up
set by what he had just heard. who
is the certain person you had in
mind, Culligore?"
Never mind that Let me get this
straight. You were in Cages bed
room when Mrs. Trippe was mur-
dered?'
Not in the bedroom, but The
Phantom checked himself on the
point of explaining that he had wit
messed the murder from his place of
concealment in the narrow opening
back of the window frame. In a flash
1t dawned upon him that he had an
other advantage over the detective.
He had found the loophole in the sit
uation for which his mind had been
searching for the last 10 minutes.
Culligore, of course, was not aware
of the existence of the tunnel The
stairs leading to the cellar were at
the Phantom's back. If he could
elude the detective long enough to
slip down the steps and crawl into the
mouth of the tunnel, he would be
temporarily sa.fe. 1t was slender
chance, but ne had not other.
Where we're you them" demanded
Culligore
MY secret" The Phantom as
sumed mysterious expression. mean.
while e6ging ever so slightly toward
the stairs at his back II saw Mrs.
Trippe and she saw me. She was in
a terribly frightened condition, and
she called out that some one was
killing her. Then. of a sudden, a
hand appeared holding a knife. Be-
fore / could utter a word or move a
muscle, the knife had done its work"
Culligore muttered something un-
der his breath. He scanned the
Phantom's face keenly, but what he
saw evidently convinced him of the
narrator's truthfulness. A noise.
scarcely louder than the falling of a
pin, sounded at the head Of the stairs.
The Phantom's sensitive ears detected
it, but the lieutenant appeared to
have heard nothing.
Well, what happened after that?"
The Phantom waited for a moment
before he answered. A draft faint as
a breath told him that the door at the
top Of the stairs had been opened.
He had a vague impression that
somebody was looking down on them,
and he wondered whether DIR. Bimble
or Jerome had returned. Not the
slightest flicker in his face showed
that he had noticed anything.
Il didn't see any more. The-the
curtail fell moment or two after the
blow was struck"
Culligore regarded him narrowly.
Another faint sound came from the
head OF the stairs, and in the same in
slant the draft ceased, indicating
that the door had closed. The lieu
tenant, his every faculty bent on the
task of ferreting out the thoughts in
the Phantom's mind. had heard moth
ing. He seemed inclined to doubt and
scon, but a stronger instinct com.
PEELED him to give credence to the
story he had just heard.
And ALI Won saw Of tho T1oYrrdarGy
was a hand and a knife?"
That was ALL
Do you remember the woman's
exact words?"
The Phantom searched his memory
fo1 moment. She said: He's xiii.
ing me! He's afraid I'll tell! He
locked me in She never finished
the last sentence, but she had said
enough. Evidently the murderer of
Gage knew that the housekeeper was
aware of his guilt, and imprisoned
her in the bedroom so that she would
not reveal what she knew. Later he
returned with a knife in his hand,
having decided 1t would be safer to
Kill her. The housekeeper must have
had some warning Of his arrival; per.
haps she saw or heard him coming. :"
Culligore looked as though he had
a battling problem in his mind who
do you suppose was the he she re-
ferred tor
i think that's fairly plain. She
had previously made it known that
she suspected Pinto of having mur-
dered her employer"
The lieutenant arched his brows
and seemed to be revolving a new
idea in his mind Just the same. we
can't be sure she meant Pinto, so long
as she didn't mention him by name
The fact that she suspected him once
doesn't really prove anything. Some.
thing may have happened In the
meantime that caused her to change
her opinion. That he might have
been ar entirely different person
maybe somebody she'd never seen be.
fore and whose name she didn't
know"
Possibly" admitted the Phantom
thoughtfuliy. Cullieore had turned
his thoughts into new channel
Besides" added Culligore quickly
even II Pinto wan the he she had in
mind, she might have been mistaken.
Just as you claim Gage was mis-.
taken"
Inc Phantom made another slight
movement toward the cellar stairs
I'm not at all sure Gage made the
statement Pinto claims he made. NV
private opinion isrthat Pinto is a liar
as well as murderer. What the
housekeeper said isn't the only evi.
dence / have against him. / hadn't
meant to tell what happened in the
storeroom this morning; but since I
was careless enough to leave my fin
gerprints on the handouts, / might
as well come out with It,"
n
"ider as the Phantom related what
nad occurred In the storeroom during
the early morning hours. When the
story was finished he seemed stunned
and the dazed look in his eyes told the
Phantom his chance had come.
For an instant he fiexed his mus.
cles for action. then executed q swift