CHAPTER XV
DR. TAGALA
Helen's little wrist watch showed a quarter past four.
Getting up from the chair, she roamed aimlessly about the room.Presently she stopped at the table and gazed down. The initials shehad heedlessly scrawled in the dust were still there. The fainttracings that had betrayed her knowledge of Mr. Shei's identity seemedfraught with fate now. With a few idle strokes of the hand she hadsigned her own death warrant.
She could not have mistaken the sinister gleam she had seen in Slade'seyes as he looked down at the letters in the dust. His eyes hadspelled her doom just as surely as the tracings on the table spelledthe name by which Mr. Shei was known to the world at large. And theslam with which he had closed the door told even more eloquently thanwords that her life was forfeit.
Suddenly she felt a little hysterical. The fatal secret she hadlearned, the spectacular intrigues of Mr. Shei, even the scrawl in thedust seemed so trivial now that she felt an impulse to laugh. It wasgrotesque, she thought, that such a little thing as a couple ofinitials traced on the surface of a table should mean the blotting outof her life.
The house was very silent. No one had entered the room since Slade'sdeparture, and she had spent the intervening hours in a state ofmusing detachment. Her thoughts and fancies flitted about in circles,and she had a curious impression that only her mind was functioningand that her emotions were numb. The slanting rays of the sunglimmered pleasantly on the furniture and she wondered abstractedlywhether she should ever see the sunlight of another day. She glanceddown at her dress, trimmed with delicate touches of red, and thethought struck her that perhaps she was wearing it for the last time.It was odd, she mused, that the prospect held no terror for her, andthat her only feeling was a sense of dull, aching void.
Voices in the hall outside started her out of her reverie. The GrayPhantom's name, spoken in excited tones, sent an emotional quiverthrough her being and awoke her from her lethargy. Sensations, gentleand stimulating ones, stirred in the depths of her consciousness.
"The Gray Phantom," she whispered, looking pensively at the door. Hehad inspired her with emotions that she had never been quite able tounderstand. At times they had terrified her by their strangeness andpower, for she had felt as if they were rousing new impulses withinher and sweeping her along toward an unknown destiny. His career,bright and swift as the flash of a meteor, had intrigued herimagination even while she felt awed and a little frightened at thestories she heard about him. Of late he had tried to throw off theshackles of the past and start a new life, and she had watched hisefforts with a strange and bewildering sense of sponsorship.
The voices in the hall had ceased now, but the name that had beenspoken was still echoing in her ears and vibrating against hiddencords in her consciousness. Of a sudden the prospect of death, which afew minutes before she had contemplated without fear, filled her withdread and poignant regrets. The mere mention of a name had inspired inher a vehement desire to live.
She tiptoed to the door. It did not surprise her that Slade had leftit unlocked. The picket fence, the ferocious Caesar, and the attendantsmade such a precaution unnecessary. She stepped out in the hall, thenlooked hesitantly about her, but she could see nothing of the menwhose voices she had heard a few moments ago. At the end of the hall adoor stood open, and she moved silently in that direction. Entering,she ran her eyes over long white benches on which were bottles, jars,and queer-looking apparatus. There was a reek of chemicals in the air,and she guessed it was a laboratory of some sort. It all seemed alittle strange to her, but in the next moment her attention wasengaged by voices coming through a partly open door at one side of thelarge room.
"Oh, it's serious enough," one of them was saying, and she instantlyknew that the speaker was Slade. "The Gray Phantom is the only manalive who can queer Mr. Shei's game."
The words were spoken in a tone of reluctant respect that gave Helen athrill. Coming from an enemy, it was a striking tribute to ThePhantom's genius and power.
"Ah, The Gray Phantom! I have heard the name. One of your fascinatingmaster criminals, is he not?" The second man spoke with theexaggerated precision that characterizes the educated foreigner. "Butwhy does The Gray Phantom interfere in the affairs of Mr. Shei?"
Slade chuckled grimly. "That's hard to tell, Doctor Tagala. Perhapsfor a number of reasons. Maybe he dislikes to see another man excelhim at his own game. There's such a thing as professional jealousyeven among crooks, you know. All we know for certain is that hearrived in New York the day Mr. Shei's notices were posted. One of ourmen saw him, and he was watched almost from the moment of his arrival.His actions indicated plainly that he had gone on the warpath againstMr. Shei. Confound the infernal meddler!"
"But Mr. Shei is a resourceful man," observed Doctor Tagala. "Hesurely can devise some means whereby this impudent fellow may berestrained."
"He has already done so. As you know, he motored back to New Yorkearly this morning, but I had a long-distance telephone conversationwith him a few minutes ago. He made a very good suggestion, but theexecution of it will have to be left to you."
"To me?"
"You remember hearing me speak of the young lady who came here lookingfor The Gray Phantom. Her name is Helen Hardwick, and she is much tooastute for her own good. She's learned a number of things that won'tbear repeating, and among them is the identity of Mr. Shei. Of course,as soon as I found out how much she knew, I saw that she would have tobe put out of the way, and I told Mr Shei so over the telephone. Heover-ruled my plan; or, rather, he suggested an improvement."
"What was it?"
"To let the young lady remain on earth five or six days longer; inother words, until Mr. Shei had cashed in his chips. You see, doctor,The Gray Phantom has quite a crush on the young lady, and he wouldrather go through hell fire than have a single hair on her head hurt."
Helen felt the blood rushing to her head.
"I am beginning to comprehend," remarked Doctor Tagala. "It is Mr.Shei's plan to keep The Gray Phantom in check by threatening toinflict harm on the young lady. An excellent idea, but a triflevague."
"Oh, there's nothing vague about it, and it involves something farmore substantial than mere threats. Can't you guess, doctor?"
There came an interval of silence. Evidently Doctor Tagala wasexercising his imagination. Helen crept a little closer, then peeredthrough the narrow crack between the door and the jamb. Only two orthree feet from her, with his lips curled into a leer, sat Slade. Hereyes traveled a little farther until she saw Doctor Tagala, andsuddenly she caught her breath. It required all her self-control tokeep from betraying her presence. She had seen the face twice before,first in the Thelma Theater and later at the window of the room inwhich Slade had interviewed her shortly after her arrival atAzurecrest, and on each occasion the sight had given her a chill. Thecoarse and brutal features, framed by black hair that reached almostto the shoulders, stood out in sharp contrast to the man's culturedspeech and polished manners. Again, as she saw the brutish lips andthe flaming eyes, she received an impression of something evil andloathsome. She leaned weakly against the wall, and then she heardagain Doctor Tagala's voice.
"I am very poor at making conjectures. You will have to enlighten me."
"Well, then, Mr. Shei's orders are that you are to inoculate the younglady with the laughing fever. You will calculate the dose just as youdid in the cases of the seven millionaires. The Phantom will be toldthat the antidotes will be administered on the one condition that hegoes back to his bailiwick and keeps his hands out of Mr. Shei'saffairs. That will keep him on his good behavior for a week, and bythat time Mr. Shei will have cleaned up."
"And the young lady?"
Slade laughed unpleasantly. "She knows too much, as I have alreadytold you. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Much knowledge isapt to prove fatal. You will merely forget to administer the antidotewhen the time comes."
Doctor Tagala gave a rumbling laugh. Helen felt a sudden chill. Sheleaned wea
kly against the wall. Inoculation with what Slade had calledthe laughing fever seemed far more dreadful than death itself.
"By the way, doctor," Slade went on, "I hope the antidote is safelyhidden?"
"You may rest assured on that point," Tagala declared. "I have hiddenit so securely that not even Mr. Shei knows where to find it."
"Good. That being the case, our seven millionaire friends would be ina bad fix if a sudden misfortune should befall you."
"Nothing on earth could save them," said Tagala emphatically. "Thesecret is in my exclusive possession. No other man could diagnose themalady, much less prescribe a remedy. The lives of the seven gentlemenare absolutely in my hand."
"Then there isn't the slightest chance of Mr. Shei's plans fallingthrough?"
"Not the slightest. The seven gentlemen will pay Mr. Shei's price, andwithin a week we shall all be rich beyond the dreams of avarice." Thegloating tones hinted that Doctor Tagala's imagination was luxuriatingin enchanting visions. "By the way, when do we inoculate the younglady?"
"Better wait till evening," suggested Slade. "There will be lessdanger of interruption then."
Helen turned away. She feared an involuntary cry of horror wouldbetray her if she remained longer. Steadying herself with greatdifficulty, she stole out of the laboratory and slipped back into herroom. Her watch showed half past five, and the inoculation wouldprobably not take place for an hour or two. In the meantime she wantedto think and if possible find a way of escape, but the fierce poundingof the blood against her temples seemed to preclude clear thinking.
Her only distinct thought was that she must flee from Azurecrest nomatter what dangers and difficulties she might encounter. She feltthat The Gray Phantom would gladly fling his life away in order toprotect her, but in this instance his hands were tied. He could notmake a single move without rendering her predicament worse, and thatfact would restrain him, much as he might rebel against his enforcedinaction. Mr. Shei's men would point out to him that her safetydepended on an unresisting attitude on his part. He could not knowwhat she had just learned from the conversation between Slade andTagala, that it was their intention to take her life, anyway.
Somehow, she told herself, she must manage to escape from the horrorsawaiting her at Azurecrest. Even being clawed and torn by the savagedog seemed preferable to the slightest touch of Doctor Tagala's hand.She shuddered whenever her imagination conjured up a vision of hisrepelling features, and a hoarse cry rose in her throat at thought ofbeing inoculated with the fearful malady. Miss Neville's maniacaloutbursts were still ringing in her ears, and she remembered thehideous strains that had poured from the lips of the dying woman inthe Thelma Theater.
The recollections filled her with sickening terror. With ghastlyvisions floating before her eyes, she rushed blindly from the room.The hall was deserted, and she scurried down the stairs as if pursuedby a monster. She reached the outer door without hindrance, and aflickering hope began to stir within her as she scanned the widestretch of lawn surrounding the house. The long shadows cast by thetrees gave her an additional sense of safety. Swiftly, without abackward glance, she started to run. Her hopes rose higher and higheras she plunged into the thick shadows among the trees. In a fewmoments now, if her flight remained unnoticed, she would have reachedthe fence. Somehow she would manage to scale it, or maybe she couldfind an opening somewhere.
She quickened her pace, but of a sudden a low, rumbling growl sent achill through her veins. She stopped, stood crouching behind thescraggy trunk of a hemlock, and glanced wildly in all directions. Withgreat leaps and skips, a huge, black form was rushing toward her, itsteeth gleaming ominously between slavering jaws. In a few moments itwould be at her throat, and then---- Once more a vision of DoctorTagala's repulsive features filled her with dread. Again she lookedabout her, then raced swiftly in the direction where the shadows werethickest. Behind her the underbrush crackled beneath the paws of thesavage beast. In a moment or two he would be snapping at her heels.
Again hope rose within her. A squatty shed loomed within a narrowclearing. With the strength of frenzy she sped toward it. If she couldreach it before the dog could overtake her, she would be temporarilysafe. A great terror urged her on with the speed of the wind. Now thedog was snatching at the hem of her fluttering skirt, but she wasalready at the door. With a final exertion of strength she pushed itopen and rushed in, then slammed it shut behind her. With a deepbreath of relief she lurched against the wall. Suddenly she recoiledas from a blow.
"What are you doin' here?" queried a gruff voice.
She stared into the dusk around her. A few wisps of waning sunlightstraggled in through a small window in the rear. Gradually, as hereyes grew accustomed to the dusk, she descried a stocky figure leaningover a shovel. It was the sour-faced individual who had opened thegate for her on her arrival at Azurecrest. Little by little, as herpupils responded to the dim light, she took in each detail of thescene. An amazed gasp slipped from her lips.
An oblong space had been torn up in the center of the flooring and oneach side of it were little mounds of dirt. Instinctively she steppedcloser and looked down into a rectangular hollow. She had a weirdsensation that she was looking into a grave, and with a shudder sheglanced up into the man's face.
"What--what's that?" she asked hoarsely, indicating the hollow.
The man guffawed. "Better not ask questions, miss. This is a nastyjob, and you'd better clear out."
He looked aside just then, and she followed his glance. In a corner ofthe shed she saw a heap vaguely resembling a human form. Her feetseemed to drag her forward in spite of her horror, and she lifted theblanket that covered the figure. Then she stood rigid, her tightlydrawn lips stifling the cry that rose in her throat. At once sherecognized the features of Miss Neville, the woman whose maniacallaughter had startled her the night she arrived at Azurecrest. Theface was white and rigid now, but the wraith of a ghastly smilelingered on her lips. A long, shuddering moan escaped her, and thenshe sank limply to the floor.
She had a weird sensation, during the hours that followed, that shewas treading on the brink of oblivion. A merciful mist seemed toobscure everything. She was dimly aware of being carried from the shedand placed on a long, white table. Through the haze that engulfed hershe glimpsed the repulsive features of Doctor Tagala. She felt a stingin the arm, and then a sickening substance raced through her veins.For a time she felt as though unseen hands were wafting her bodythrough a limitless void. Somewhere--far away, she thought--there waslaughter, and she had a curious impression that it was coming from herown lips.
Dawn came, and a flood of sunlight brightened the void through whichshe was roaming. The strange and wild fancies that had flitted aroundher throughout the night seemed to melt away, and now she saw thingsmore clearly. She was standing at a telephone, and over the wire camea voice that sounded strangely familiar. Words poured from her lips,but they seemed futile and meaningless, and then an involuntarycontraction of laryngeal muscles filled the room with wild strains oflaughter. It frightened her, and just then a hand jerked her away.
"That'll do," said a voice, and she thought it was Slade's. "The GrayPhantom has heard enough."
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