And the permanence of the body under other conditions is admirably shown in the case of Doctor Parkman, of Boston, U.S.A., in which identification was actually effected by means of remains collected from the ashes of a furnace." "Then we may take it," said Jervis, "that the world has not yet seen the last of John Bellingham." "I think we may regard that as almost a certainty," replied Thorndyke.
"The only question--and a very important one--is as to when the reappearance may take place.

It may be to-morrow or it may be centuries hence, when all the issues involved have been forgotten." "Assuming," said I, "for the sake of argument, that Hurst did murder him and that the body was concealed in the study at the time the search was made.

How could it have been disposed of?
If you had been in Hurst's place, how would you have gone to work ?" Thorndyke smiled at the bluntness of my question.
"You are asking me for an incriminating statement," said he, "delivered in the presence of a witness too.

But, as a matter of fact, there is no use in speculating _a priori_; we should have to reconstruct a purely imaginary situation, the circumstances of which are unknown to us, and we should almost certainly reconstruct it wrong.

What we may fairly assume is that no reasonable person, no matter how immoral, would find himself in the position that you suggest.