CHAPTER XI
AN EAVESDROPPER
The Phantom shrugged his shoulders and stepped forward, concealing hismisgivings behind a smiling and carefree exterior. He knew LieutenantCulligore from past encounters with the man, and he had learned torespect him for his shrewdness as well as his sense of fairness. Nowhe looked straight into the muddy and deceptively lazy eyes of the manfrom headquarters. Once The Phantom had assisted him in solving asingularly perplexing mystery, but he knew that Culligore was not thekind of man to let sentiment interfere with duty.
There were times when it was difficult for The Gray Phantom to realizethat he was still an outlaw and that several prison sentences werehanging over his head. The poignant fact came back to him now as hegazed into the eyes of one of the keenest man hunters of the detectivebureau.
"You sure have nerve," observed Culligore, a trace of reluctantadmiration in his tones. "Don't you know there's a warrant out foryour arrest?"
"Several of them, I believe," calmly replied The Phantom.
Lieutenant Culligore took a cigar from his vest pocket and lighted itwith elaborate care. Then he turned to Starr.
"Mr. Shei's gang certainly handed you an awful wallop the othernight," he observed, gazing frowningly at the disfigured organ."That's a peach of a nose you've got."
Starr flushed angrily, but controlled himself.
"I've got a few words to say to this gentleman privately," Culligorewent on, inclining his head toward The Phantom. Starr, accepting hisdismissal as gracefully as his indignation permitted, walked out.Culligore's small eyes, twinkling humorously through a cloud oftobacco smoke, followed his progress till the door closed behind him,then he slowly turned toward The Phantom.
"Starr is my idea of a perfect gentleman," he musingly observed. "Hecan get mad clean through and still keep his coat on. Was the shotfired at you or at him?"
"Shot?" For a moment The Phantom stared bewilderedly. "How did youknow?"
"My sense of smell is fairly good," said Culligore, sniffing. "Inoticed there was powder smoke in the air the moment I walked in. Whatbecame of the bullet?"
The Phantom explained. With a listless air the lieutenant examined thepoint where the leaden slug had entered the pillar. "I'll bet a pairof pink socks that the rascal who fired the shot is a safe distancefrom here by this time. What I'd like to know is whether he was aimingat you or at Starr."
"Starr thinks the bullet was meant for him," said The Phantomthoughtfully. "He may be right, but I have my doubts. He is theimaginative type that believes he is being pursued by secret enemiesand all that sort of thing. On the other hand, I can't see why anybodyshould waste a chunk of good lead on me, unless----" He stopped short asan idea suddenly occurred to him.
"Unless Mr. Shei should have a goose to pick with you," Culligorefilled in, and The Phantom marveled at the way the detective had readhis unspoken thought. "It's always safe to look for a shower ofbullets whenever The Gray Phantom bobs up. By the way," and Culligorefrowned disapprovingly, "what's the idea? Don't you know the climatein this town is mighty unhealthy for a man like you?"
"I am aware of it." The Phantom's lips tightened into a grim line."But I had to risk it, Culligore. I couldn't sit idle while---- Butfirst let me ask you one question. Some people seem to think that I amMr. Shei. Do you agree with them?"
Culligore pulled thoughtfully at his cigar. His eyes seemed to besearching every remote corner of The Phantom's mind. "No," he saidfinally, "I don't. And I don't see it makes any difference. You're TheGray Phantom, and that's reason enough for me to pinch you. There aretimes when I hate my job, but duty is duty. I wish you hadn't shown upjust at this time. Some of the higher-ups are dead sure you are Mr.Shei, and the whole town is on tenter hooks on account of the noticesposted last night. Everybody expects Mr. Shei to strike, but nobodyknows where the blow is going to fall. You can see how things are. Whythe devil didn't you stay where you belong?"
"I couldn't," replied The Phantom. Then he regarded the lieutenantwith a slow, carefully measuring glance. Culligore was one of the fewmen he had met whom he could instinctively trust. There had beenclashes between them in the past, but the lieutenant had always foughtfairly. Choosing his words with great deliberation, The Phantomexplained why he had come out of hiding to cross swords with Mr. Shei.
"That's just like The Gray Phantom," was Culligore's comment when hehad finished. "You stick your head in the noose just because somebodyelse is copying your tricks. Well, anyhow, I admire your nerve. Toobad you and I belong to opposite camps. We could have a lot of funtracking Mr. Shei together." He shook his head as if to banish apleasing but impossible hope. "No use wishing things were different,though. I don't exactly like the idea, but I've got to take you alongto headquarters."
"You will have to take me in an ambulance, then." There was a note ofchallenge in The Phantom's tones and his figure tensed perceptibly."You'll never take me alive, Culligore. It simply can't be done. Andyou will have the scrap of your life before you take me dead. I amgoing to see this thing through if I have to fight the whole policedepartment of New York City. The fact that Mr. Shei is stealing mytactics isn't the only reason. I learned something this morning thatis of vastly more importance. By the way," and The Phantom fairlyjabbed the question at the lieutenant, "have you seen anything of MissHelen Hardwick?"
Culligore's lazy eyes opened a little wider. "Not since yesterdaymorning. She and I had quite an argument about Mr. Shei. We werestanding almost exactly where you and I are standing now. She knowshow to fence with words. I haven't made up my mind yet whether she orI got the best of the argument."
The Phantom smiled despite his impatience. "What did she think of Mr.Shei?"
"How can anybody tell what a woman thinks? You can make a guess, ofcourse, but the chances are either that you are wrong or that you aremaking just exactly the kind of guess she wants you to make. MissHardwick left me pretty much up in the air, but I have a feeling allthe time that she had discovered something that led her to think thatyou were Mr. Shei."
"Oh," mumbled the Phantom; then he stood silent for a few moments."Where did Miss Hardwick go from here?"
Culligore shrugged. "Ask me something easy. She walked out of thatdoor, and that's all I'm sure of. There was another question or two Iwanted to ask her, and that's why I dropped around here to-day,thinking she might show up again. She seemed very much wrought up overMr. Shei."
With an impetuous gesture The Phantom placed his hand on thelieutenant's arm.
"Miss Hardwick has disappeared," he announced quickly, "and I fear shehas blundered into the clutches of Mr. Shei."
"Eh?" The mask of listlessness dropped in a twinkling from Culligore'sface. He was instantly tense and alert. "What's that?"
"I called up her home this morning. Nobody seems to know what hasbecome of her. A little later I received a telephone message warningme that---- But I see I shall have to tell you the whole story in orderto make things clear." Briefly The Phantom related his encounter withMr. Fairspeckle, the events that had occurred at the apartment of theretired financier, and finally the warning message that had come overthe wire. "Now you can understand," he concluded, "why I don't intendto submit to arrest until Miss Hardwick has been found."
Culligore's cigar had gone out while The Phantom was speaking. Now helighted it again, sent a few clouds of smoke curling toward theceiling, then peered intently into The Phantom's face. Finally hejerked his head up and down as if he had seen a light.
"The thing to do," he declared, "is to take the shortest route and godirect to Mr. Shei and ask him what he has done with Miss Hardwick."
The Phantom laughed bitterly. "Beautifully simple! The only difficultyis that we haven't the slightest idea who Mr. Shei is or where to findhim. Otherwise your suggestion is capital."
A queer smile curled Culligore's lips. "Sometimes The Gray Phantomisn't playing in very good form. But then every man gets a bit foolishwhen he has a girl on the brain. Your thinking cap isn't on straightto-day, or y
ou wouldn't have let Fairspeckle pull the wool over youreyes the way he did."
"Fairspeckle? You don't think----"
"He acted queer all morning, didn't he?"
"Yes, but----"
"And didn't he try to put you to sleep by drugging your coffee?"
"True, but he----"
"And didn't you see him typing the notices with Mr. Shei's name at thebottom?"
"But the telephone message?"
"Yes, I know," said Culligore patiently. "That's where he duped you toa brown finish. You would have seen the trick at once if your thinkingmachinery had been in good condition. I don't know Fairspeckle, butfrom what you have told me he must be a sharp one. My experience hastaught me never to trust a man who can't sleep nights. It's a badconscience that keeps him awake in the first place, and a mansuffering from loss of sleep is likely to go in for any kind ofdeviltry. Maybe that's what happened to Fairspeckle. Anyhow, the wayhe pulled the wool over your eyes proves he is a slick one."
"Then you think Fairspeckle is Mr. Shei?"
"If he isn't, why should he be typing those notices? Just look at itthis way. Fairspeckle saw that you suspected him. He didn't like thata bit. To throw you off your guard, he pretended to suspect _you_. Youcaught him with the goods when you saw him typing the notices. Rightaway you started in denouncing him as Mr. Shei. Then, right in themidst of a dramatic moment, the telephone rings. The voice at theother end asks for you. You're told that Mr. Shei is speaking and thatMiss Hardwick will suffer unless you keep hands off. That gives you ajolt, of course, and all you can think of is the girl. You don't stopto question whether the man at the other end is really Mr. Shei. Forall you know he might be Tom Brown or Bill Jones, but you're tooexcited to think of that. I don't blame you. I'd been just as easy ifI had been in your place."
A blank look crossed The Phantom's face while Culligore was speaking.It was quickly followed by an expression of mingling comprehension andself-disgust.
"I see it now. I've been as gullible as a ten-year-old. The messagepurporting to come from Mr. Shei was meant to divert my suspicionsfrom Fairspeckle. He might have been prepared for some such emergency,or else he signaled Haiuto while I wasn't looking. The Japanese couldeasily have gotten in touch with one of the members of Fairspeckle'sgang and instructed him to call me up and give me the prearrangedmessage. But just how it was done doesn't matter. The important pointis that I was taken in. I am wondering now whether the threat inregard to Miss Hardwick was pure bluff, or whether she is really indanger."
"I wouldn't take chances," cautioned Culligore. "If I were you I wouldcall on Mr. Fairspeckle to-night and have a confidential chat withhim. He may not want to talk, but maybe you can persuade him. Ofcourse, as an officer of the law, I must warn you there mustn't be anyrough stuff." Culligore's twinkling eyes gazed toward the ceiling.
"Then you have abandoned your intention of dragging me over toheadquarters?"
Culligore did not answer directly, but the faint grin on his lips waseloquent. "I would advise you to watch your step," he said softly."The moment it becomes known that The Gray Phantom is in town, therewill be the niftiest little man hunt you ever saw. I wish you luck. Inthe meantime, I'm going to tackle the case from another angle. I'dgive a pair of pink socks to know just when, where, and how Mr. Sheiis going to strike."
He tilted his chin against his hand and lapsed into deep thought. Whenhe looked up, several minutes later, The Phantom was gone. Verysoftly, with a twinkle in his eyes, he stepped to a recess in the walltoward which he had cast an occasional furtive glance during his talkwith The Phantom. On a marble shelf extended across the niche were anumber of potted ferns, and behind them was a small window,artistically decorated to render it opaque. Culligore, noticing thatit stood open a crack, pricked up his ears and listened. From theother side came a faint, scraping sound, as if someone were hidingthere.
Culligore nodded elatedly as he tiptoed away. He seemed immenselygratified at having verified his suspicion that his interview with TheGray Phantom had been overheard.