“We have plenty of time,” he said, “and I would like to get a few more whiffs out of this cigar before I throw it away. Tell me, Max, how do you account for that resemblance?”
“What resemblance?”
“Between the pirate and the count.”
“Why, I have not thought to try to account for it. I suppose it is one of those extraordinary coincidences which are always inexplicable.”
“Did you ever happen to run across a coincidence which was entirely inexplicable, Max?” asked Nick.
“Why, yes, I think so.”
“Well, I have not.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“I meant that the things we denominate by the rather vague term ‘coincidence’ inevitably have a direct relation between them, if you take the trouble to trace each one to its original source.”