In that fierce heat it was almost instantly consumed, and only the faintest smell of burning flesh escaped into the cellar.
The corpse from which the arm had been taken lay upon the floor. Nick could not see it plainly, but his heart leaped wildly.
There was but one explanation of Dr. Jarvis' conduct.
Under the cloth in the laboratory above, Nick had seen the outline of a body.
Whose, then, was this man giving to the flames?
It could not be any but Chick's!
Evidently the doctor had, by some fiendish trick, succeeded in overcoming his powerful watcher, and he was now removing all trace of the body, preparatory to his own flight to the ends of the earth.
The horror of this thought was almost too much for Nick's iron nerves.
If this was Chick's body, all human help was now vain.
What should be done to secure the most certain retribution?