Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-18

! however, he had Steadled hlmselr, ana
a raucous chuckle voiced his opinion
of the Phantom's last statement.
Say, you amateur dicks make me
laugh The Phantom had nothing to
do with it, eh? Well, If he didn't COM
NIT this murder, maybe you'll tell us
who did"
The Phantom. quiveringly alert,
strolled across the floor and back
again. There was a bland smile on his
lips and the amused twinkle in his
eyes concealed the tension under
which his mind was laboring.
That's asking lot. of an amateur
quired Maybe it will help you, how
ever, TO know how the situation looks
to a layman. You say you are willing
to swear that the murderer was not
in the room when you broke In. 1t is
almost equally certain, viewing the
matter in the natural order of things,
that he could not have left the room
between the commission of the crime
and your forCible entrance. There
fore"
He broke off, feeling violent rush
of blood to the head. He had been
talking against time, hoping to find "A
way of diverting Pinto's suspicious
from himself. Suddenly ii struck him
that this rambling discourse had led
him straight to the solution of the
mystery. The revelation flashed
through his mind like swift, binding
glare To hide his agitation he lighted
a cigarette. Through the spinning
rings of smoke he saw the housekeep-
ers ashen face. mouth gaping and
eyes staring with fixed intensity.
"WelR' prompted Pinto, His voice
was a trifie shaky. 4
Tho phan{orS1 him self n
We'll. as l was about to. say. if the
murderer was not in the room when
you broke in. then the circumstances
point straight to you, Mr.. Pinto, as
the murderer of SyIvanus Gage"
For a time the room was utterly
still. The policeman seemed torn be-,
tween establishment and nervous
fear. The housekeeper held her
breath, her features twisted into
smile that rendered her expression
CHASTITY.
II knew it" she cried II knew it
all the time
You must be crazy" muttered
Pinto, at last finding his voice.
Not at all. But for the fact that
you are an officer in good standing
you would have been suspected inn
mediately. In the light of all the cir
cumstances, it stands to reason that
the man who broke through the door
was the man who murdered Gage. No
one else could have done 1t. Mrs.
Trippe, do you remember how long
Pinto was alone in the room after
forcing his way in?"
The houSekeeper seemed to search
her memory. 1T took him several mo-
ments to find the electric light switch"
she mumbled haltingly. After that
well, he was in there for some time
before he came out. Maybe two min
utes, maybe five-I can't be sure"
AT any rate, long enough to drive
knife into Cages chest" There was
an exultant throb in the Phantom
tones, the eagerness of the hunter who
is tracking down his quarry. Gage.
we may assume, was awakened by the
noise when the door crashed in and
sprang from his bed. You probably
grappled in the dark. Then
Pinto interrupted with a harsh, stri-
dent laugh. "Some cock-and bull story
you're handing us! If l killed Gage,
then Mrs. Trippe here must have been
In on the job. 1t was she who called
me and told me TO force the door
The Phantom waved his hand airily.
Because she had heard "A mysterious
noise. That noise may have been pre-
arranged to give you chance to knife
all the minor details yet but the es-
sentials are clear as day. You must
have committed the murder, for the
simple reason that nobody else could
have done it,
"Yeh?" There was a vicious sneer
in Pinto's face. Maybe you'n tell me,
then, why Gage thought the Phantom
was the one who knitted him.
Because of the forged letter he had
received the day before. Besides,
Pinto, we don't know that Gage
thought anything of the kind. We
have nothing but your word for it,
You were the only witness to the dec
laration you say Gage made. A man
who will commit cowardly murder is
also capable Of telling a lie.'
Great blush veins stood out on
Pinto'S forehead. You're doing fine
for an amateur dick" he jeered "All
you've got to do now is to figger out
motive and the case will be COM
plete.'
Motive? All, yes. The Duke has
a habit of recruiting his men in queer
places. Once he had an assistant dis
trict attorney on his staff: at another
time an associate professor of philos-
ophy with a penchant for forbidden
things. Why shouldn't he have a
hard working patrolman?"
Pinto's figure squirmed beneath his
gaze.
Such a man would prove useful to
the Duke. especially if he wanted to
frame an enemy" pursued the Phan-
tom. Nobody suspects a policeman.
a man in uniform is beyond reproach.
Even II the circumstances of a crime
point straight to him as the perpe-
traitor. 1t is always easy to suspect
G0mph06V ri oIt la, 81,
who has a criminal record. / guess
you banked on that, Pinto"
his tones bespoke a free and easy
confidence, but he felt none of it. lie
believed that the murderer of Sylvanus
Gage stood before him, but his only
reason for thinking so was that, so far
as appearances went, no one else could
nave committed the crime. He was
poighantIy aware that his theory
would be laughed at and derided aid
that he himself would be subjected to
the hollow farce of trial which must
inevitably result in his conviction.
once in the clutches of the police. his
chances of clearing himself would be
extremely slender. "Well, Pinto. what
about it," His tones were clear and
family haunting. giving no hint of the
swift play of his wits. did Won take
the precaution of arranging an alibi?"
NO, / didn't" The policeman
spoke defiantly. For an instant he
fumbled about his pockets, as if
searching for something, Evidently
the object he wanted was not to be
found about his civilian garb. 81
didn't have to fix up an alibi. Saw
MIR. Adair---''
He paused for moment and came
a step closer to the Phantom.
Say" he went on, while you're
telling us so much, maybe you'll tell
us how long the Gray Phantom has
been wearing beard"
Momentarily startled by the verbal
thrust, the Phantom was unprepared
for the physical attack that instantly
f1,lI La al he L..