Evening star., 1927-03-23

minutes he would make a discovery of
tremendous Importance in relation to
the Gage murder mystery. Every
thing depended upon whether the per-
son on the other side would give the
nail the proper twist.
Minutes dragged by on leaden feet.
The Phantom felt his heart pound
chokingly against his ribs, its loud
beats almost drowning the slight me-
taliic sounds coming from the other
side. After what seemed hours of
nerVe-racking suspense, sharp and
sudden click caused him to start vio-
lently. and he almost lost his insecure
footing.
Then the window frame began to
turn glare of light struck his eyes
as the opening wedge widened. With
great, eager gulps he drank in the air
coming from the aperture. A minute
naSSed, and then a face. strained and
ashen, was thrust into the opening.
1t was Mrs. Trippe. the housekeeper.
For an instant she stared into the
Phantoms startled eyes.
Hes killing mer' she cried. He's
afraid III tell. He locked me in----"
She jerked her head to one side.
Slight though she was, she almost
filled the narrow opening, and he
could see only a small strip of the
room at her back. Suddenly shiver
coursed down her spine. A hand was
projected beyond the wall, and he
caught glimpse of steel flashing in
the light Then, in quick succession,
came a scream and Il thud, and the
woman slid from the window SILL
1t had happened so quickly that the
Phantom had not time to utter a word
or raise a hand. Now, before he could
move a muscle, the window frame
slammed shut He heard a slick sig
nifying that the frame was caught in
the steel clutches of the mechanism.
He pressed his shoulders against it,
but to no avail, and he knew from his
previous attempt that the effort was
useless. Filled with horror at what he
had just seen he Slid down the incline
between the walls and began to work
back toward the cellar.
Finally, after endless jerks and
twistings, he reached the end of the
tunnel, and there n fresh shock
awaited him. His feet brought up
a gainst a solid obstruction. Shove
against it as he might, the little door
would not yield to his frenzied pres
sure. For a little he lay still on
his back, thinking. His mind was
heavy and his thoughts fitted about
in circles, but finally it came to him
that while he was at the other end of
the tunnel some one must have placed
a heavy weight against the door.
He was trapped.
Once More at Bay.
Only one thought stood out clearly
in the Phantom mind as he lay on
his back in the tunnel breathing the
suffocating fumes of the damp earth, |
and surrounded by silence and a
darkness SO profound that he felt as |
If a vast void was separating him |
from the world of the living. His |
senses were numbered and his brain |
had ceased to function, but some |
how his mind grasped the realization |
that this was the end Of the Gray /
career.
The fate awaiting him seemed as in
aXorable as the darkness that sur
rounded him. He had faced great |
dangers and had found himself in fear
full predicaments before, but never had |
death appeared as certain and inevi- |
table as now. Through his dazed con-
sciousness filtered a resolution to meet |
death, even in this hideous form, with |
the same unconcern and stoicism with |
which he had accepted the favors des
tiny had streWn in his path. The |
thought brought q feeble smile to his |
lips, and he hoped the end would come |
before the thought faded away. He
wanted the world in general and Helen |
Hardwick in particular to know he !
had died smiling.
Something, he did not know what.
stirred family in his mind. Instinct
lively his thoughts groped for mem
Dry that seemed dim and far away, a
that caused his body to vi
brate with a reawakening desire to
i've. Slowly, out of the whirling chaos
IN his mind, it came to him. He could
not-must not-die! He could not pass
out into oblivion with foul crime
his name. He must live in
order to revive and vindicate the faith
Helen Hardwick had once reposed in
him.
The resolve buoyed him a little,
his body to throb with a
renascent life impulse. Already his
mind felt a little clearer, and his |
and sinews were beginning to
respond to the driving force of his
will. If his parched lungs could only
get little air.
Again he placed his feet against the
door and pushed with all the strength
he could summon. He might as well
have tried to dislodge a mountain.
The implements in his pocket case had
helped him out of many a tight di-
IemrSla in the past, but they were Of
lio t1FoiI Iio"' lie Stlil Hdu IUe plSlOI |
he had taken from Helen's hand while
they stood in the closet, and for an
instant it occurred to him that the
report of a shot might penetrate the
roof of the tunnel and bring him as
A moment later he recon
sidered bitterly. If the shot were
heard, 1t would more likely bring the
police; besides, the fumes released by
the explosion might smother him to
death in few minutes.
With a great effort ha nra xS1ad auay