He darted across the floor before the others had recovered from their amazement. Pushing and wriggling, he reached the opposite wall. He fumbled along its surface until he found a hidden lever. At his touch a narrow door slid noiselessly open. Beyond it was the tunnel by which he had entered the house upon his arrival. For an instant, before closing the door behind him, he paused in the opening.
“Starr,” he called, an ecstatic throb in his tones, “The Gray Phantom always wins in the end.”
The door closed, and The Phantom started toward the other end of the tunnel. Starr and his men would remain prisoners in the chamber until the police could reach Azurecrest and take them into custody.
With a brisk step, wholly unconscious of the pain in his shoulder, The Gray Phantom hurried toward the light of day—and Helen.
[CHAPTER XXIII—THE END OF THE GRAY PHANTOM]
A thin and stoop-shouldered old man, with a kindly gleam in his sunken eyes, gave The Phantom a warm handclasp when, three days later, he walked into the drawing room of the Hardwick’s residence.
“How is Miss Hardwick?” was his first question.
“As well as ever, sir,” declared her father. “The antidote seems to have worked like a charm. I needn’t tell you that I am deeply grateful to you, and——” He paused and looked uncertainly at The Phantom. “I wonder if you can ever forgive me for intercepting those letters. I was a meddlesome old fool.”
“You did what you thought best, Mr. Hardwick. Anyway, all’s well that ends well. Please don’t think about the matter.”
“Thank you for saying that. I’ll call my daughter immediately.”