“Wait a moment,” commanded Miss Dale as he reached the door, and a subtle quality in her tone caused him to stop. “How impulsive you are, my dear Phantom. I suppose you mean to rush madly off to Azurecrest and rescue the fair damsel. Stop and think for a moment. Surely you don’t imagine I would have told you Miss Hardwick’s whereabouts unless I had been absolutely certain that you were powerless to act.”
The Phantom saw the weight of the argument at once. He moved away from the door.
“Glad you are willing to listen to reason,” murmured Miss Dale. “You see, you could accomplish nothing at all by going to Azurecrest alone. The place is very carefully guarded by a little army of picked men, not to mention a few savage dogs. Of course, you might ask the police for assistance, supposing that you were on good terms with them, but what would be the result? If Mr. Shei and his followers are put in jail, Miss Hardwick will die, and so will the seven others. In fact, if anything at all happens to Mr. Shei and the members of his organization, the antidote will be irrevocably lost. I believe you grasp the idea, don’t you?”
The Phantom’s expression showed that he did. There was a baffled look in his eye that testified to his thorough appreciation of Mr. Shei’s ingenious precautions.
“In other words,” Miss Dale went on, her tones now soft and purring, “you have the best reasons in the world for not wishing the police to annoy Mr. Shei. In a way, Mr. Shei has compelled you to become an ally of his as a result of having Miss Hardwick in his power. It is really an excellent arrangement. And the police, when they understand the situation, will not be inclined to risk the lives of the seven wealthy men by forcing Mr. Shei to take extreme measures. Ah, you are beginning to understand at last that Mr. Shei is practically invulnerable.”
“So it would seem,” mumbled The Phantom, at last finding his voice.
“And don’t you think you had better be reasonable and accept Mr. Shei’s conditions? If you decide to be sensible, the antidote will be administered to Miss Hardwick as soon as Mr. Shei’s plans are consummated, and she will not be one whit the worse off for her experience. On the other hand, if you choose to be disagreeable——” Miss Dale paused significantly.
The Phantom’s tense face bespoke a great mental effort. One by one he reviewed the details of Mr. Shei’s brilliant precautions. He could not see a loop-hole anywhere. As far as his imagination could stretch, the only result of obstinacy would be certain death for Helen. Yet the cup of defeat was a bitter draft. Never before had The Gray Phantom surrendered to any man; but now the life of one dear to him was in danger. He made his decision promptly.
“Mr. Shei wins,” he announced with a bow. Then he walked out, oblivious of the triumphant smile that curled Miss Dale’s lips. His brow was clouded as he descended in the elevator and walked out on the sidewalk. He was aware that the dragnet was thrown out and that he was endangering his liberty by going about so boldly, but arrest and imprisonment seemed a minor matter now. For the first time in his life he was a defeated man. Worse still, he could not rid himself of fears concerning Helen’s safety.
Presently he paused as a new and even more disturbing thought flashed through his mind. He had accepted Mr. Shei’s terms in the hope that by doing so he would insure Helen’s safety. He wondered if he had been too gullible, and he dodged into a doorway while considering the question. He had been under a terrific tension the past few days, and his mind had not been working with its customary agility. Now it occurred to him that he had nothing but Miss Dale’s word for it that Helen’s life would be spared if he yielded to Mr. Shei’s terms. He had relied on her promise, not because of blind faith in her, but rather because Mr. Shei would gain nothing by killing Helen. He was merely using her as a means of suasion whereby to hold The Phantom in leash and prevent interference with his plans, and once she had served his purpose there was no reason why he should do her harm.