“By Jove, this is a most extraordinary case,” Chick then said, a bit grimly. “Have you now any doubt, Nick, that Margate still is alive?”
“Not the slightest,” Nick replied. “I have felt from the first that that was the case.[{19}]”
“But how could he have accomplished——”
“Oh, the circumstances admit of only one explanation,” Nick interposed. “Margate had, when we cornered him, some kind of a drug or compound which, when swallowed, instantly produced a physical condition so closely resembling death that it deceived not only us, but also Doctor Nolan and the undertaker.”
“It did, indeed.”
“The condition, which was probably a form of catalepsy, evidently lasts a definite number of hours, depending in a measure upon the health and strength of the subject, and concerning which Margate must have been perfectly informed.”
“Surely.”
“He took the one chance that, if supposed to be dead, he would throw off the effects of the drug and revive at such a time and in such surroundings as would permit of immediate flight.”
“The drug evidently ceased to be effective between four o’clock and daylight.”
“Undoubtedly,” said Nick. “That would have served him admirably if he had remained in Fink’s back room. He could have arisen and quietly dressed himself, his garments having been left in the room, and he could easily have made his escape.”