Miss Dale gave an amused laugh. “One of Mr. Shei’s agents saw you in Times Square the morning you arrived. You have been watched ever since. Mr. Shei has sources of information that would amaze you if I were to tell you about them. And he is just as resourceful in other ways. Don’t you think you had better swallow your pride and comply with his wishes?”
“Suppose I were to refuse?” The Phantom temporized, trying hard to restrain his impatience.
Miss Dale looked straight into his eyes. There was a hint of cruelty in her tightly compressed lips.
“There are ways of breaking even such a stubborn will as yours,” she coldly declared. “The young lady is absolutely in Mr. Shei’s power. That gives him a means of persuasion that ought to impress even you. Nothing in the world can save her if you disobey his wishes.”
Her tones carried an emphasis that caused The Phantom to give her a sharp glance. There was a curl to her lips and a gleam in her eyes that impressed him even more strongly than her words. His mind worked quickly.
“If Mr. Shei will return Miss Hardwick safely to her home, I will leave New York on the next train,” he promised.
She laughed frigidly. “You must think Mr. Shei is a fool. He would lose his hold over you the moment he released Miss Hardwick, and what guarantee would he have that you would carry out your promise?”
“My word of honor.”
“It would be enough under ordinary circumstances, but not in this case. Evidently you do not realize the gravity of Miss Hardwick’s position, or you would not quarrel with Mr. Shei’s terms.” She shrugged her slight shoulders. “Well, you shall soon be convinced that Mr. Shei is not to be trifled with. From Miss Hardwick’s own lips you shall learn what a desperate predicament she is in. After that, my dear Phantom, I think you will be more amenable to reason.”
There was a question on The Phantom’s tongue, but just then the car drew up in front of an apartment house facing Central Park, and Miss Dale conducted him through an ornate entrance, then up three flights in the elevator, and a little gasp of admiration escaped The Phantom as they passed into an exquisitely furnished apartment. Save for the prevalence of the feminine touch, exemplified in gorgeous but meaningless trifles and gewgaws, it met the emphatic approval of The Phantom’s discriminating eye.