“Well, what’s the verdict, Doctor Marvin?” he inquired. “You say you have made a thorough examination of the body.”
“Not quite,” corrected the physician, glancing at a leather bag on the floor. “There are parts of the body of which I wish to make a microscopic examination and subject to chemical analysis. I do say, however, that you should have been a physician, Mr. Carter, despite the fact that you would be badly missed in your present vocation.”
“You mean, I infer, that you wonder why I so quickly suspected that Todd did not die from natural causes,” said the detective.
“Exactly. On what do you base your suspicion?”
“On several facts, doctor, which are hardly worthy of mention,” Nick said indifferently. “The surrounding circumstances, Todd’s outward indications of good health, a lingering expression denoting mingled fright and horror, evinced also by an unusual dilation of his pupils—these, together with a singular abnormal appearance of the skin near the lips and nostrils. But the result of your own examination is much more material,” he abruptly digressed. “What is your opinion?”
“The same as your own,” said Doctor Marvin more gravely.
“You found——”
“That there was absolutely no organic disease. His vital organs were apparently in a perfectly healthy condition. I can discover no natural cause for Todd’s sudden death.”
“Did you notice the singular condition I have mentioned?” Nick inquired.
“I did,” said the physician. “I detect it, or a somewhat similar condition, in the tissues of the lungs. They have a curious, withered or cauterized appearance.”