“Haven’t you forgotten something?” The Phantom suddenly called to mind his own theory of the crime. “One other person could have committed the murder without a knowledge of the tunnel.”
“Yes, I know,” said the doctor wearily. “You are thinking of Officer Pinto. The possibility that he might be the guilty one occurred to me as soon as I saw the newspaper account, but the probabilities of the case controverted that view. Officer Pinto is an honest, dull-witted, conscientious soul—nothing else. That kind of man doesn’t com——”
The jangling of a bell in front of the house interrupted him. There was a humorous twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the Phantom over the rims of his spectacles. Helen inhaled sharply.
“The police have come to search the house, I think,” Doctor Bimble murmured languidly. “My man Jerome—an estimable fellow, by the way—is already admitting them. In a few moments they will be coming this way. Of course, if I tell them that I have seen nothing of a fugitive, they will go away without making an extended search.”
Vanardy stiffened. His head went up and his eyes narrowed; then he glanced quizzically at the doctor. It seemed to him that Bimble had stressed the word if, as though a condition were implied.
“Well, Vanardy?” The anthropologist’s tone was light and playful. Sounds of distant footfalls reached their ears. The Phantom’s darting eyes rested for an instant on one of the skeletons, and in a twinkling he understood. He laughed shortly, for the idea impressed him as grotesquely humorous.
“I see,” he said quickly. “You’ll say the necessary word to the police if I agree to dedicate my earthly remains to your private hall of fame.”
“You grasp my meaning exactly. But the time is short and I sha’n’t press you for a definite promise. Only give me your word that you will consider the proposition.”
“Very well; I’ll consider it,” promised the Phantom. “But I warn you that I have no burning ambition to become a skeleton for some time yet.”
A pleased grin wrinkled the doctor’s face. The footfalls, mingling with gruff voices, were coming closer, signifying that the searchers were rapidly approaching the laboratory.