“Yes, sir, every piece,” Fink declared.
“The remains were covered, you say?”
“Yes, sir; with a sheet, but that is gone,” said the undertaker.
“It certainly looks like a genuine case of body snatching,” Chick remarked. “Assuming that your misgivings are warranted, Nick, and that Margate tricked us with a drug and afterward revived, he surely would have put on his clothing before departing. He would not have left here unclad, or wrapped only in the missing sheet.”
“Drug be hanged!” Doctor Nolan said derisively. “That’s nonsense. That theory hasn’t feet to stand on.”
“It does seem highly improbable,” added Chief Hadley, gravely shaking his head. “I see no reasonable grounds for such a suspicion. It appears dead open and shut that the corpse was stolen.”
“We must, then, find positive evidence of it,” Nick replied. “The crooks must have left their tracks. It won’t do to remain in any uncertainty concerning the death of Margate. This matter must be positively settled.”
“Settled!” Doctor Nolan scornfully blurted. “It already is settled. There’s no question about it.”
Nick Carter did not reply. He saw nothing to be gained by an argument in support of his seemingly absurd suspicions.
Taking a powerful lens from his pocket, Nick fell to inspecting the floor, the sill of the open window, and the outside of the faded green blinds.