“You might have known that you would be expected to take part in the gang’s activities. You didn’t expect to be a member only in name?”
“Well, I thought I could stall for a while, till I got the dope I wanted. You see, I was hoping they wouldn’t ask me to do any of the rough stuff till I had been a member for a while. I soon discovered my mistake.”
“And so the big story will never materialize?”
“I’m afraid it won’t. My obituary is the only kind of story that’s likely to grow out of this adventure of mine. The Duke’s crew doesn’t stand for any nonsense. I’ve been told that members who don’t obey orders usually disappear under mysterious circumstances. I never got next to the inner circle of the gang. I suppose they didn’t trust me because I took a drink too many now and then. Anyhow, I didn’t get the stuff I was after. I was a sort of probationer, reporting to one of the big chief’s lieutenants, and I didn’t get as much as a glimpse of the inner sanctum.”
“Too bad, Granger.” The disappointment written on the reporter’s face seemed so ludicrous that the Phantom could not repress a smile. “Maybe it isn’t too late yet. By the way,” starting suddenly from his chair, “have you any idea where Helen Hardwick is?”
For a moment or two the reporter lay rigid on his back; then he jumped up and stared in dumfounded amazement at the Phantom.
“Why do you ask?” he inquired hoarsely, after a pause during which each man looked the other straight in the eye.
“Answer my question and I’ll tell you my reason for asking it.”
Granger swallowed hard. “Has anything happened to Miss Hardwick?”
“She has disappeared. Left her home two days ago and hasn’t been heard from since. Her father has asked the police to search for her.”