Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-31

porter did not once lower his eyes.
They must have got somebody else
to do it after 1 refused" he muttered,
slowly getting grip on himself.
wish l had q drink"
The Phantom was hardly listening.
His knitted browS told that his mind
was struggling with a problem.
Know an officer named Pinto?" he
asked abruptly.
II think I've heard of him.
The Phantom gave a brief summary
of his adventures since arriving in the
city. Granger listened attentively, his
eyes expressing a mingling of aston.
ishment and admiration. They opened
wide as the narrator described the
scene in the storeroom and Pinto S
peculiar behavior, and he chuckled ap-
preciatively at the account of the inn
posters visit to the Spheres office.
That's the Phantom all Overt" he
remarked when the story was finished.
Its the nerviest thing 1 ever heard
of. But what you have told me only
put few extra kinks in the mystery.
The Phantom nodded thoughtfully.
How we'll do you know Miss Hard
wick?"
Scarcely at all. / have never met
her. She called me up at the Sphere
Office the day after the murder and
asked me lot of questions. I referred
her to DIR. Bimble."
$50 she told me-
''Bimble is a nut, but he has done
several brilliant things along lines of
criminology. l was busy the day Miss
Hardwick called me up, and l got a
little jolt when she told me her name.
The thing was natural enough, of
ip6 10
be talking to the person l had been
asked to kidnap. Well, thought the
easiest way to dispose of her was to
suggest that she see Bimble."
The Phantom looked puzzled. You
never saw Miss Hardwick, and you
have talked with her only over the
telephone" he murmured. THAT
being the case, / wonder why Pinto
asked me, while we We're in the store
room this morning, If 1 knew what
had become of Miss Hardwick."
"Rumor has it that a romantic at
tachment exists between Miss Hard.
wick and the Gray Phantom. Pinto
must have heard something about it,
But at the time he put the question
he had not the faintest idea that I
was the Gray Phantom. He still
thought / was Thomas Granger. 1t
was my way of responding to the ques-
ton that aroused his suspicious. Now
he must have had some reason for
supposing that Thomas Granger knew
something of what had happened to
Miss Hardwick.
Granger considered Miss Hard.
wick may have told him about consult
ing me. But think it just as likely
that Pinto was playing bit of clever
strategy--that he had already suspect
r.I
question about Miss Hardwick in the
hope that you would betray yourself"
Perhaps The reporters theory
seemed so natural that the Phantom
wondered why it had not occurred to
him before. IF that was his purpose,
the trick worked beautifully. Tell me,
was 1t before or after the murder of
Gage that the Dukes men came to
you with the kidnapping propositions"
Granger stared hard for an instant;
then CLINT of admiration appeared in
his eyes. Gray Phantom, you ought
to have been a detective. That's as
neat piece of mental acrobatics as
I've seen in many a day. The proposal
came to me few days before Gage
was murdered"
But the two plots might have been
Matched simultaneously"
They might. / see what you are
driving at. You think the two plots
were. related TO a single object. Per-
haps you are right"
Granger. you don't think I muir
dered Cage"
No" after long pause but
neither can / tell you who did. You,
of course, are going on the presump-
ton that Pinto is the cnlprit'
The Phantom looked trifie Devil
dered. The reporter had read his
mind.
Granger chuckled. II can see in
which direction your mind is work
Ing. You think the bolted door and
other circumstances prove that no one
but Pinto could have committed the
murder. You believe that after kill
ing Gage he murdered the house
keeper in order to silence her. Pinto's
queer conduct, especially the stunt he
pulled off in the storerpom this morn
ing, is sufficient proof, to your way of
thinking, and you base your entire
case on the guess that Pinto is mem
Der of the Dukes gang"
Don't you agree with me? 1 read
between the lines of your stories in
the Sphere that you did not share the
generally accepted opinion"
Granger looked up quickly 1.-The
devil you did ] didn't mean to air
my private opinions. 1t must have
been subconscious process. To be
perfectly frank, don't know whether
l agree with you or not. I have an
idea of my own on the subject. but
it's vague as yet. Maybe I'll tell you
later"