CHAPTER XXVIII--PINTO'S CONFESSION
The Phantom awoke with a start, vaguely conscious that he had beensleeping for several hours. Shortly after his interview with DoctorBimble, he had been removed to a small dark room with a single shutteredwindow, through which no sunlight or air entered. The ropes around hiswrists and ankles had been removed, but his movements were restricted bya chain only a few feet long, one end of which was padlocked to hisright leg while the other was clamped to the wall.
Jerome, more tight-lipped than ever, had brought him a meal, and he hadeaten with relish, after which he had lain down on the cot and gone tosleep. A lessening of his mental tension had come with the convictionthat Helen was in no immediate danger and would be safe until the doctorheard from his messengers, which he probably would not do until aftermidnight.
He had slept soundly, and now he was refreshed in body and mind. Heinspected his surroundings with a keen eye. The little room wasadmirably adapted to the purposes of a cell. Even if he were inclined toshout for help, the shutters doubtless would render such an effortuseless. The room was sparsely lighted by an electric bulb in theceiling, and he noted that the door, walls, and floor had a substantialappearance. The only objects within his reach were the cot and a table.
His face fell as he took an inventory of his pockets, noticing that allthat remained of his belongings was a watch and a handkerchief. Hiswallet, with Dan the Dope's pistol, was gone, and so was the littlemetal box that on so many occasions had enabled him to squeeze out oftight corners. The chain was not heavy, but strong enough to resist allthe force he could muster, and each end was fastened in a way that lefthim no hope of escape.
"The worthy doctor is taking no chances," he muttered. "He has left meas helpless as a newborn babe. Wonder where I am."
He had no idea where the black limousine had taken him, for it hadtraveled a devious course, and he had been chloroformed before itreached its destination. He was certain he was not in Doctor Bimble'shouse, for he had searched that dwelling from cellar to attic and therehad been no room in it that resembled this one. Probably he was in someother house controlled by Doctor Bimble or one of his associates.
After all, where he was did not matter, greatly. The one thing thatconcerned him was his helplessness, for evidently the doctor had takenevery conceivable precaution against his prisoner's escape. Everythingconsidered, it was as hopeless a situation as the Phantom had everfaced.
A glance at his watch told him it was nearly four o'clock. He had eighthours in which to accomplish the seemingly impossible before the doctorshould learn from his agents that they had been sent out on a wild-goosechase. He shuddered as he contemplated what would be the consequences ifhe failed. Yet, he told himself, the course he had taken was the onlyone possible under the circumstances. If he had directed the doctor'sagents to Sea-Glimpse, Helen's usefulness to the organization would havebeen ended, and then----
He turned quickly as the door opened, admitting Doctor Bimble, with anewspaper in his hand.
"Thought you would be interested in the news about Pinto," began thedoctor, advancing somewhat cautiously and taking care not to step withinthe narrow half circle that bounded his prisoner's movements. ThePhantom regarded him languidly, for his mind was on other things.
"Has Pinto recovered consciousness?" he asked indifferently.
Bimble nodded. "Much sooner than the doctors expected, and he hascelebrated his return to consciousness by making a rather interestingstatement."
"Not a confession?" The Phantom was still speaking in dull tones. In thelast few days he had almost lost sight of the purpose that had calledhim to New York. The danger threatening Helen Hardwick had seemed farmore important than the mystery of the two murders.
"Well, you might call it that, though it probably isn't the kind ofconfession you have in mind. Pinto has made a clean breast ofeverything, but he still insists that you murdered Gage."
"That's a contradiction," mumbled the Phantom. "He is not making a cleanbreast of things so long as he denies his guilt."
"His statement sounds fairly convincing, nevertheless. He admitspractically everything except that he committed the murder. Forinstance, he frankly admits that he concealed the body of thehousekeeper and----"
"That in itself is evidence of his guilt."
"But Pinto has what looks like a satisfactory explanation. He seems tobe an honest, hard-working, unimaginative fellow, not overintelligent,and deeply devoted to his wife and baby. You probably know the type. Hesays that for months before Gage was murdered he had a queer premonitionthat something of that kind was to happen, and he never passed the housewithout an uneasy feeling. I suppose what he really means is that he hadnoticed signs of strange doings about the place, and that withoutanalyzing his impressions he found it getting on his nerves.
"Pinto reiterates his previous assertion that Gage made a dyingstatement accusing you of the crime. He admits, however, that he feltnervous about the whole affair. The poor fellow was in a very tryingposition. After forcing the door, which was bolted on the inside, andlistening to Gage's dying words, he made a careful examination of theroom, paying particular attention to the little window which was sonarrow that no grown person could possibly have crawled through it. Hedid not understand how even an accomplished person like the Phantomcould have committed the murder and escaped from the room.
"Then, all of a sudden, Pinto got panicky. Even his crude intellectperceived that it looked as though nobody but himself could havecommitted the murder. He thought of his wife and his baby, and he didnot relish the idea of being tried for murder. As he saw it, he mighteasily be convicted and sent to the chair. However, his fears provedunfounded, for nobody accused him of the crime, and Pinto could breathefreely once more."
"But what about the housekeeper?" inquired the Phantom, graduallybecoming more interested.
"I am coming to that. After the murder of Gage Pinto got into the habitof visiting the house between rounds. He was still hoping to discover away whereby the Phantom could have escaped from the room. Late onenight, according to his statement, he found the housekeeper's body inthe same room where Gage had been murdered. He says the body was stillwarm, so the woman could not have been dead long. At the discovery allhis fears returned with trebled force. The supposition, he thought,would be that the murderer of Gage had also killed Mrs. Trippe. The GrayPhantom was supposed to be in jail at the time and therefore could notbe accused of having murdered the housekeeper.
"Pinto was in a terrible quandary. Since, as he thought at the time, thePhantom could not have murdered Mrs. Trippe, it might be questionedwhether he had murdered Gage. The whole case might be reopened, in whichevent he feared the finger of suspicion must inevitably point to him.Again Pinto thought of his wife and baby, and, the more he thought ofthem, the more nervous he became. He did a foolish thing, as men oftendo when fear conquers reason. He could think of nothing to do but coverup the crime until he could get a chance to think the thing over, and sohe carried the body upstairs and concealed it behind some packing cases.Later, after it developed that the Phantom had not been in jail and hadno alibi, he saw no reason for concealing the body longer. He explainsat length what happened when he went to the storeroom to drag it out andwas interrupted by you."
Bimble smiled blandly, but he was studying the Phantom's face out of thecorner of an eye. "What do you think of Pinto's confession?"
The Phantom considered while he glanced at the papers Bimble handed him.The statement was there, just as summarized by the doctor. Granting acrude intellect and a mind not too analytical, he thought it quitepossible that an innocent man might act exactly as described in Pinto'sstatement. Further, the story had all the earmarks of truth, for aguilty mind would have tried to invent a less grotesque tale. Of asudden the Phantom found that all his calculations and theories inregard to the murder had been upset by Pinto's surprising and unexpectedexplanation.
"Why ask me?" was his reply. "You know the murderer."
"Per
haps. I was just curious to hear what you would think."
There was a wrinkle of perplexity on the Phantom's brow. Assuming thatPinto was innocent, the difficulties in the way of solving the mysteryand exculpating himself had been vastly complicated.
"If Pinto didn't do it," persisted the doctor suavely, "who do yousuppose did?"
The Phantom could not tell why, but the question gave him a mental jolt.In the past few hours his concern for Helen had claimed all histhoughts, and before that he had been so firmly convinced of Pinto'sguilt that there had been no room in his mind for other suspicions. Thepossibility that someone other than the policeman might be involved hadnot occurred to him.
He looked up and found the doctor's soft eyes searching his face with anodd intensity. Bimble seemed intent on ascertaining what deductions hisprisoner would make from Pinto's statement, and apparently this had beenthe only reason for his call.
"My question seems to have stumped you," he observed.
The Phantom shrugged his shoulders. "With Pinto eliminated, I'm entirelyat sea. In view of the bolted door and the size of the window, I don'tsee how anyone else could have murdered Gage, unless----" He checkedhimself abruptly, and of a sudden he saw a great light. In the nextinstant a smile masked his agitation. "Unless," he finished with achuckle, "I did it myself."
Bimble seemed satisfied. "Excellent logic, my friend," he murmured as hestepped to the door. With his hand on the knob he turned and fixed hisgaze on the Phantom's face. "I shall pay you another visit as soon as Ihear from my men."
His tone carried a sinister emphasis, but the Phantom scarcely noticedit.
"With Pinto eliminated," he said half aloud when the door had closed,"only one other person could have committed the murders. And I know thatperson!"
The Gray Phantom's Return Page 28