Evening star., 1927-04-07
The Gray Phantom's Romance
ASEUHFSHIUH HUVtHItIIt0 UJ UW z NIFSWUE AAtI U
Copyright by Street 4 Smith Corp.

| ed forever as soon as Bimbles pur-
| pose had been attained.
| While he awaited the Doctors re-
| turn the Phantom thought quickly.
| BY accepting Blmble's terms he would
only be Fastening Helen's doom, for
| the gang, having no further use for
her after they had gained their ends.
would probably put her to death
| quickly. On the other hand, by reject
| ing the conditions, he would at least
| gain time.
! In the meantime Bimble might In
| flict cruel suffering upon her, but his
| selfish interests would restrain him
| from taking her life, for once he had
| done so, his sole hold upon the Phan'
| tom would be gone.
The reasoning was plain, but he
| found it hard to reach a decision. Per-
| haps death would be merciful In COM
| parison with the tortureS that Bimble
might subject her to. He was caught
between the jaws of fearful dilemma,
and the only sane course he could
see was to play for time.
DR.. Bimble returned. "Why do
women never swoon until the worst Is
/ over?" he questioned in whimsical
| tones. Miss Hardwick Is surprising
young lady, but she is not free from
| the foibles of her sex. She had no
| sooner been taken out Of the dark
room than she promptly collapsed"
The Phantom held back the biting
| words on his tongue. but he could not
| forego look of withering contempt.
do you know" the doctor went on,
| II am almost certain that Miss Hard
wick knows where your retreat Is To-
| Gated? In fact, she let slip something
fhaH CHI T0.sk 10
| you suppose the stubborn little beauty
would tell? Not she! don't believe
| the fear of eternal fire could force her
! to speak"
He had guessed correctly, but the
Phantom carefully refrained from sig
| nifying by a look or a word that It
was so. Miss Hardwick knew about
Sea Glimpse, and it was with min
gled feelings the Phantom heard of
her refusal to reveal the secret. Had
she become aware, through some
process of divination. that her life
would be Abrfeited the moment the
information was in the doctors posses
sion, or had she been guided by other
| reasons?
so you see," continued Bimhle in
smooth tones. that you will save the
little lady from all sorts OF unpleas-
antness by acceding to my very rea.
! sonable terms. 1t would be shame If
such a charming woman should be-
come a gibbering maniac as result OF
| obstinacy on your part. Where did
you say this place of yours is stu.
ated?"
'I haven't said yet" Tho Phantom
forced laugh. Before / do, you and
l must have definite understanding.
Do you agree to set Miss Hardwick
| free the moment I have given you the
| information?"
What an unreasonable question,
my dear Phantom! L agree to do moth
ing Of the kind. l shall keep Miss
Hardwick here until J. have satisfied
| myself that you have been dealing
with me on the square and that the
directions you have given me are &C.
curate.'
Fair enough. But after you have
satisfied yourself in regard to my good
faith, what then?"
'Then,' said the doctor, and there
was not a trace of guile in his face.
Miss Hardwick shall be Immediately
@sleased."
"On your word of honor?"
"On my word of honor
''Snakep' the Phantom was tempted
to say. but he pretended to be satisfied.
Already his mind was inventing a
ruse, He would gain several hours of
valuable time by inveigling the doctor
into a search for place that had ex.
istence only in the Phantom's imagina-
ton. In the meantime several things
were likely to happen. It was Just
possible that Granger had been able to
trace the movements of the Limousine
and would come to the rescue. An any
rate, the Phantom believed that IL he
could but stave off the crisis for a
while his customary luck would once
more reassert itself.
His mind worked fast. Doubtless the
doctor knew that he had arrived in
New York less than "a hours after the
Gage murder.
Allowing for slow and infrequent
trains and the time required for news
to reach out-of-the-way places, he
would have TO choose point that was
not more than 10 or IL hours removed
from New York. With a mental pic.
ture of the map before his eyes, he
outlined a highly imaginative route to
the doctor.
Bimble made a few notes. Then he |
looked up, and for once there was
no ominous CLINT in the usually placid |
eyes.
my men will start at once" he an |
nounced. "They will be instructed to |
wire me as soon as they have reached |
their destination. / hope. for Miss |
Hardwick' sake, that you have not |
tried to deceive me-
With that he was gone; but the |
softly spoken words, edged with Just |
the faintest trace of a sinister note.
fingered for a long time in the Phan- |
toms memory.
Pinto's Confession.
The Phantom awoke with a start,
vaguely conscious that he had been |
sleeping for several hours. Shortly !
after his interview with DIR. Bimble, |
he had been removed to a small, dark /
room with single shuttered window,
through which no sunlight or air
entered. The ropes around his wrists
and ankles had been removed, but his i
movements We're restricted by chain |
only few feet long, one end of which
was padlocked to his right leg, while
the other was clamped to the wall.
Jerome, more tight.lipped than ever,
had brought him a meal. and he had
eaten with relish, after which he had
lain down on the cot and gone to
sleep. A lessening of his mental ten.
sion had come with the conviction
that Helen was in no immediate dan
ger and would be safe until the doctor
heard from his messengers, which he
probably would not do until after mid
night.
He had slept soundly, and now he
was refreshed in body and mind. He
inspected his surroundings with keen
eye. The little room was admirably
adapted to the purposes of a cell.
Even If he were inclined to shout for
help the shutters doubtless would rem
der such an effort useless. The room
was sparselyE lighted by an electric
bulb in the ceiling. and he noted that
the door. walls and floor had sub
stantial appearances. The only objects |