CHAPTER XVII
DOCTOR TAGALA'S DISCOVERY
A glance at his watch as he entered the secret room showed The Phantomthat daybreak was not far away. In a little while it would be highlyunsafe for him to walk about the house; besides, the execution of hisnext move depended for its success on darkness and quiet. Tojeopardize his project by a reckless move would be the height of follyand might result in disastrous consequences. Much as his fears andanxiety urged him to immediate action, The Phantom decided to waittill the following night.
He lay down on the cot and slept by snatches. Now and then, as a faintbut terrifying sound came down the ventilator shaft, he awoke with astart. Peals of unnatural laughter, sounding remotely in the darknessof the hidden chamber, started a cold sweat on his forehead. By sheerphysical force he would shut out the sounds, knowing that for thepresent he could do nothing, but the mutterings that fell from hislips and the convulsive clenching of his hands boded no good for Mr.Shei and his followers.
Morning came, and he tried to fix his mind on his forthcoming move. Agrim look came into his face as he contemplated the step he was aboutto take. Ordinarily he would have shrunk from it in disgust, for itwas an expedient he had never employed in the past. Now, however, withthe life of Helen Hardwick in danger, he must employ whatever meansmight prove effective. It was no time for niceties or scruples.Besides, there was no reason why he should be restrained by ethicalconsiderations when dealing with blackguards like Mr. Shei and hisretainers.
The hours dragged. A troubled look on his face, The Phantom paced thefloor of the narrow chamber. His plans for the night were completeexcept for one detail. Cudgel his brain as he might, there was onesmall but important matter that continued to puzzle him. Evening came,and the solution of the difficulty still eluded him. He was a littlefaint from hunger, for he had not eaten for twenty-four hours, and hewondered if his brain would not work better after a visit to thepantry. In a little while the house would quiet down for the night,and then he could safely leave his hiding place.
At last he was ready for action. He gave his automatic a carefulinspection. Into his pocket he put a coil of thin but strong ropewhich he had unearthed from an old chest. Then he turned off the lightand ascended the spiral stairway. After listening in vain for sounds,he tiptoed out in the hallway, then down the main stairway. The entirehouse seemed immersed in sleep, and even the strained laughter hadstopped for a time. Evidently the occupants of the house, neverguessing that he was hiding in their very midst, supposed that TheGray Phantom had left Azurecrest.
He felt more alert after gratifying his hunger in the well-stockedpantry. By the back stairway he returned to the second floor. Silentas a shadow he walked down the hall, pausing briefly before every doorand listening. It was important that he should locate Doctor Tagala'sroom, for his whole plan revolved around the scientist. Also, he wasanxious to take the doctor completely by surprise.
At one of the doors he stopped longer than before the others. A faintreek of chemicals filtered through the keyhole, and in a vague sensethe odor suggested Doctor Tagala's nearness. Neither light nor soundcame through the tiny opening, so evidently there was no one in theroom. The door was locked, but a simple operation with one of thetools in his case opened it readily, and he stepped inside.
He peered sharply into the darkness before he thought it safe to snapon his electric flash light. As the small point of light played overfloor and walls, he knew at once that the room was a chemicallaboratory. Chemistry had always held a strong fascination for him,and his knowledge of the science was far more comprehensive than theaverage layman's. Something prompted him to glance twice at the longrows of bottles stacked on shelves around the room. Stepping closer,he read some of the labels, and suddenly he gave a faint chuckle ofelation. The problem that had puzzled him all day was at last solved.From its place on the shelf he took a small bottle containing acolorless fluid, and slipped it into his pocket. The chemical was avery ordinary one, but he expected it to serve a highly usefulpurpose.
Again he darted the electric gleam over the room. At one side was adoor, and as he bent his ear to the keyhole he heard sounds of deepand regular breathing. Something told him that the sleeper was DoctorTagala, for it seemed only logical that the scientist should occupythe room adjoining the laboratory. Quickly extinguishing his flashlight, he turned the knob and noiselessly pushed the door open, thenstepped softly in the direction whence the sounds of breathing came.Once more he brought his flash light into play, but only to assurehimself by a swift glance that the sleeper was Tagala.
A faint, triumphant grin curled his lips, and then the flashdisappeared in his pocket. For a moment, standing in utter darkness,he tensed his muscles for action. In an instant he pressed his kneefirmly against the sleeper's chest and wound his fingers tightlyaround Tagala's throat. A harsh rumble sounded in the doctor'swindpipe, but the firm clutch over his Adam's apple prevented anoutcry. He writhed, squirmed, doubled up his knees, and attempted tofight with his arms, but The Phantom gradually increased the pressureon his throat, and his struggle grew feebler and feebler. Finally,when he was nearly exhausted, The Phantom took out a cloth with whichhe had provided himself before leaving the secret room, and applied itas a gag. The doctor made only a feeble show of resistance while hisarms and legs were bound, and finally The Phantom took the limp formon his back and started from the room.
Every inch of the way was beset with perils. A board creaking underthe double weight of captor and captive might bring on a suddenattack, or one of the occupants of the house might be encountered inthe hall. But luck was with The Phantom, and in a short time he hadplaced his burden on the cot in the hidden chamber. Panting from thestrenuous exercise, he removed the gag from his prisoner's mouth, thenswitched on the light.
The doctor, breathing stertorously, his face almost black from therecent choking, wriggled his arms and legs in a futile effort to freehimself. Seeing it was hopeless, he subsided and looked dazedly abouthim. His eyes opened wide as he saw The Phantom.
"You--again!" he exclaimed.
The Phantom smiled at sight of his stupefaction.
"You didn't suppose I would give up so easily; did you, doctor? Youdon't seem particularly pleased to see me. No doubt you thought I leftAzurecrest after the fizzle last night. I suppose you are wonderingwhere you are. It is enough for you to know that you will never leavethis room until we have had an understanding, and that for the presentyou may regard yourself as my prisoner. Your confederates will neverfind you, and you may as well reconcile yourself to the fact that theyare unable to help you."
Tagala, gradually recovering breath and wits, looked balefully at ThePhantom.
"You--you will suffer for this!" he muttered thickly. Again he strainedat the cords around his ankles and wrists, but he soon saw that it wasuseless. "We know how to deal with meddlers."
The Phantom smiled complacently. As yet it had not occurred to hisprisoner to cry for help, and The Phantom had no fear of the result ifhe should do so. Though Slade and the others were not far away, theywere as harmless as if they did not exist. Save for the ventilatingshaft, the room was practically soundproof, and the exits were socompletely hidden that they would never be able to locate the chamber.
"We shall see," was his calm response. "Mr. Shei appears to be a veryshrewd man, but even he has his limitations. The infirmities of ageare beginning to show a marked effect on his strategy. He is too oldfor this sort of thing."
"So," said the scientist in queer tones, "you think you know him?"
The Phantom nodded. "I had an encounter with him some years ago, andhe proved to me then that he had extraordinary astuteness. As a matterof fact, he was a little too much for me. The other day I ran into himby accident, and we had quite a pleasant little chat."
Tagala lay motionless on the cot while his eyes, slowly recoveringtheir customary brilliance, searched The Phantom's face.
"The police are laboring under the delusion that _you_ are Mr. Shei,"he dryly obs
erved.
"Oh, well, the police are not particularly bright at times." ThePhantom shrugged. "Now, doctor, you and I are going to have a veryserious talk. I was outmaneuvered last night, but this is my round. Ishall convince you by a very simple method that it will be wise foryou to place the antidote in my hands."
Despite his humiliation and physical discomfort, the doctor gave acontemptuous laugh.
"Fool!" he snorted. "Every move you make is fore-doomed to failure. Wehave provided against every possible emergency. Our plan is already acertain success. Only this afternoon Mr. Shei telephones me from NewYork that everything is going well. A group of the most celebratedphysicians in America have held several consultations withoutpractical results. They are utterly at a loss to diagnose the diseaseor to prescribe even a palliative. Poor idiots! It took me years toperfect the toxin, and they have only a few days in which to combatits effects. On the seventh day after the inoculation, the sevensubjects will be doomed unless the antidote is administered in themeantime. After the seventh day it will be too late. Mr. Shei told methat two of the subjects are already in a mood to discuss terms.Perhaps by to-morrow they will place half of their fortunes at Mr.Shei's feet."
"You seem very confident of success," observed The Phantom.
"Our success is already assured. In a few days I shall be wealthierthan I ever before dreamed of being. Some people scoff at money, butit is an excellent thing for all that. All my life, while pursuing myscientific investigations, I have had my eye on what you Americanscall the main chance. I never dreamed that I should realize my hopesthrough an accidental discovery. Ever hear of the datura plant?"
The Phantom shook his head.
"It grows in great profusion in my native soil, the Malay States, butit can be transplanted or produced almost anywhere. It is an oddplant, from four to six feet high, with wide-spreading branches andblack flowers that are shaped like trumpets. Children have been knownto die after eating the seeds, which are very poisonous. A few yearsago, after an extensive tour in Europe, I returned to my native landand was called upon to treat a child who had eaten a great quantity ofthe seeds. It was then I made the discovery that shall make me awealthy man in a few days. It was a mere accident, but isn't our wholelife a series of accidents?"
He smiled philosophically, for he had quite recovered from the effectsof his recent humiliation.
"If you will permit me to explain a little further," he went on, "Ithink you will understand how invincible we are and how foolish it isfor you to oppose us. The poisonous property of the datura plant isknown as daturin. It is a very curious drug. Its active principle is amixture of a kind of atropine and hyoscyamine, but the true nature ofthe component alkaloids has never been fully determined. It is one ofthe mysteries of nature. Among the symptoms of datura poisoning arehoarseness, dryness of the mouth, dilation of the pupils, disturbedheart action, bad memory, and a curious vocal affection that producesinvoluntary laughter. No chemical antidote had been either known orsuggested until I made my accidental discovery. It has suited mypurpose to keep that discovery to myself."
There was an elated smirk on his face, and The Phantom turned away indisgust.
"I came to America," continued the doctor in oily tones, "and by merechance made the acquaintance of our remarkable Mr. Shei. I shall notweary you by reciting all the details. I happened to mention mydiscovery to Mr. Shei, and his brilliant mind immediately conceivedthe idea of putting it to a highly profitable use. Like all greatthings, his plan was simplicity itself. His theory was based on thefact, so aptly stated by yourself last night, that the average run ofmortals can be most effectively controlled through the factor of fear.He suggested that if a deadly malady were communicated to a number ofwealthy men, they could easily be persuaded to pay almost any pricefor a sure antidote, especially if the antidote were the exclusiveproperty of an individual or an organization.
"That was the beginning of the idea. It required quite a littleelaboration. The chief factors in the plan were the poison and theantidote. The antidote was in readiness, but the poison had to be soadjusted that it would produce death within a specified time unlessthe antidote were administered meanwhile. If the plan was to succeed,we must be in a position to tell the subjects that they would diewithin a certain number of days unless they paid our price for theantidote. You probably know, since you appear to be an educated man,that the ancient Chinese knew how to adjust poisons so as to producedeath within a certain time. All my life I have been making specialstudies along that line, and my discoveries proved very valuable inconnection with Mr. Shei's project. Yet, for a long time, I was unableto adjust the poison with sufficient accuracy. With Mr. Shei'sassistance I fitted up a laboratory here and began making additionalresearches. It was necessary to have human subjects for theexperiments, and Mr. Shei furnished me several. Two or three, who wereinoculated in the early stages of the work, failed to react properlyto the antidote, and one or two of them were unfortunate enough todie."
"You murdered them, in plain words," suggested The Phantom curtly.
"Harsh word, my dear Gray Phantom. As a whole, the experiments werehighly successful. I discovered how to adjust the poison so as toproduce death within a specified time. We were now ready to go aheadwith the plan. Mr. Shei selected the victims, and I showed a number ofhis most trusted men how the poison was to be injected. Each of these,with an assistant, was assigned to one of the seven victims chosen byMr. Shei, and the whole number of inoculations were successfullyaccomplished the other night. In a few days----"
"What about Miss Darrow?" inquired The Phantom brusquely. "What didyou gain by murdering her?"
"Really, I wish you would drop that unpleasant word from yourvocabulary. Miss Darrow had been unfortunate enough to learn certainfacts which were detrimental to Mr. Shei. She had been watchedconstantly, and she was followed to the Thelma that night. Her actionswere peculiar, and Mr. Shei's agents suspected she was on the point ofmaking embarrassing revelations. I was in New York at the time andhappened to be within reach, so the agents communicated with me. Iarrived just in time to prevent unpleasant consequences. In anothermoment she might have made some very damaging disclosures. In fact,she had already sent a peculiarly worded note to that remarkableperson whose name eludes me."
"Vincent Starr?" suggested The Phantom.
"Precisely. Mr. Starr is one of your highly temperamental geniuses.Just how much Miss Darrow had learned will never be known, but Ithought it advisable to act promptly. The amount of poison I injectedinto her veins was carefully calculated to produce death within a fewminutes."
The Phantom mastered his sense of loathing. What he was learning mightprove highly useful later on.
"Wouldn't a knife thrust have been quicker and safer?" he suggested."Even in the few minutes between the inoculation of the poison andMiss Darrow's death she might have blurted out all she knew."
"There was slight danger of that. The poison always blunts one'smental faculties, especially when given in such a large dose. It wasvery unlikely that Miss Darrow would speak coherently in the briefinterval while the poison acted. A quick thrust with a knife wouldperhaps have been safer, but we needed the moral effect."
"The--_what_?"
The satisfied gleam in the doctor's eyes testified that he was quiteat ease once more, despite the cords that incapacitated him foraction.
"Yes, the moral effect was valuable. You see, the seven victimsselected by Mr. Shei had to be impressed with the deadliness of thepoison. Unless they were thoroughly convinced that the poison wouldkill, they might not have been amenable to reason. Miss Darrow'sdeath, coming just a day or two before the seven were inoculated, wasa valuable object lesson."
An oily smile creased the scientist's swarthy features. Once more,despite his uncomfortable position, he seemed hugely content.
"No doubt," admitted The Phantom ironically. "Mr. Shei doesn't seem tohave overlooked anything. What I can't understand is why you, a man ofscientific attainments, should consent to do the biddin
g of such ablackguard."
"Wealth is a very excellent thing," said Tagala musingly. "It is evenmore desirable than fame. Mr. Shei has put me in the way of acquiringa great fortune, so why should I not serve him?"
"And what are you going to do with the money after you have acquiredit by such vile methods, granting that your scheme succeeds?"
"Enjoy life, my friend." The doctor's repulsive features were wreathedin smiles. "I have a great capacity for appreciating the beautifulthings in life. Nature works by contrasts. She treated me veryshabbily as far as physical characteristics are concerned, but by wayof compensation she gave me a taste for the only things that reallymatter. I intend to surround myself with luxuries that an Indianmaharajah might envy. I intend to feast my eyes on the costliest andthe best the world can produce. Now perhaps you understand?"
The Phantom nodded. Inwardly he tingled and glowed, but his faceshowed nothing but boredom and disgust. The insight he had justobtained into Tagala's character would have an important bearing onhis plan.
"And now that we understand each other," the doctor continued, "let usterminate this rather dreary farce. This little room is pleasantenough, but I never sleep well in strange places, and these cords arenot inducive to repose."
"You will be free to go wherever you please as soon as we have settledthe little matter I mentioned a moment ago."
"Ah! Then you persist in your foolish determination. Your experiencelast night should have convinced you of the futility of your efforts,but I see you are as stubborn as ever."
"More so," The Phantom assured him. "I have discovered a new weaponsince last night. Before you leave this room, you will have told mewhere the antidote is hidden."
Tagala grinned insolently. He tilted his head back against the pillowand complacently regarded The Phantom.
"You are very amusing," he murmured. "I thought that----"
He stopped and looked toward a corner of the ceiling. The Phantomfollowed his glance, and his figure tensed perceptibly. From somewhereabove their heads came strains of soft, lilting laughter, edged nowand then with a hysterical vibration. A pallor began to spread overThe Phantom's face.
"There, my dear Gray Phantom," said the doctor elatedly, "is youranswer."
The Phantom clenched his fingers spasmodically. His face was hard andhis eyes held a strange gleam.
"You are mistaken, doctor." He clipped off the words with sinisterprecision. "Until a moment ago I had silly scruples about employing mylatest weapon. After hearing that," and he inclined his head towardthe corner of the ceiling, "I have concluded that any methods are fairwhen dealing with scoundrels of your type."
"That is obviously true," assented Tagala cheerfully. "The onlydifficulty is that any methods you employ are certain to proveineffective. Please don't make any more threats against my life. Ishould laugh, and that would be impolite."
The Phantom came a step nearer the cot. "No," he said grimly, "I haveno intention of doing anything so futile. I have the best reason inthe world for not wanting you to die just yet. Also, I have discovereda much more effective way of dealing with you."
An odd emphasis in his tones seemed to impress the doctor. A flickerof uneasiness crossed his face, but it was gone in a moment.
"Ah!" he murmured derisively. "I might have foreseen it. You mean toforce me to surrender the antidote by torturing me. It is animprovement on your previous method, but it will prove just asuseless. Torture is unpleasant but I can endure any amount of it."
"Mistaken again, doctor. Torture is a little too crude, and I am notsure you are the type of man that could be influenced by it. The planI have in mind is subtler and surer. You told me a moment ago thatyour highest aim in life is the enjoyment of beautiful things and thepursuit of pleasure."
"I told you the truth." This time there was a trace of bewilderment inTagala's tones.
From his pocket The Phantom drew the bottle he had taken from thelaboratory. He studied the label with a preoccupied air, then held itso the man on the cot could read the inscription. Tagala's eyenarrowed in perplexity.
"I have been told," said The Phantom casually, "that a single drop ofthis fluid, when injected into the eye, is sufficient to causeblindness."
The doctor's hands and feet strained spasmodically against the cords.A quick muscular contraction told that The Phantom had found hissensitive spot.
"Blind men are not particularly appreciative of the luxuries andpleasures you so vividly described a while ago," The Phantom went on.His voice was soft, but there was a faint throb to his tones. "Whatgood will it do a man to accumulate costly and beautiful things if hecan't see them?"
A grayish tinge crept into Tagala's face. His eyes, with a look ofhorror lurking in their depths, were fixed rigidly on The Phantom'sface.
The Phantom held the bottle to the light. A faint but ominous smilewas playing about his lips.
"Just a drop of colorless liquid!" he murmured. "But what a differentcomplexion it would put on your prospects, Tagala! All the money youhope to get through Mr. Shei would be only so much rubbish. All thewealth in the world couldn't relieve your misery. Don't you think youhad better reconsider?"
The scientist's lips fluttered, but no words came. A look ofabhorrence accentuated the repulsiveness of his face.
With a quick movement The Phantom stepped toward the cot. The doctorwiggled and squirmed, but was unable to move.
"Perhaps, just to convince you that I am in earnest, I had betterbegin by blinding the left eye now," The Phantom went on, bendingslightly over the trembling man. With two fingers of one hand hepressed back the lids of the doctor's left eye while holding thebottle in the other. The scientist rolled from side to side, but thefirm pressure of The Phantom's knee against his chest checked hisefforts. Finally, as The Phantom was tilting the little bottle againstthe exposed eye, a great sigh of horror broke from the doctor's lips.
"Stop!" he cried, almost overcome by terror. "You have won. I will doanything you demand. Only don't blind me!"
The Gray Phantom Page 17