One of the two executors is a mere abstraction--a sort of algebraical problem with no answer." "I think that difficulty could be overcome," said Thorndyke.
"I don't see how," retorted Jervis.

"If the body is deposited in a certain place, A is the executor; if it is somewhere else, B is the executor.

But, as you cannot produce the body, and no one has the least idea where it is, it is impossible to prove either that it is or that it is not in any specified place." "You are magnifying the difficulty, Jervis," said Thorndyke.

"The body may, of course, be anywhere in the entire world, but the place where it is lying is either inside or outside the general boundary of these two parishes.

If it has been deposited within the boundary of those two parishes, the fact must be ascertainable by examining the burial certificates issued since the date when the missing man was last seen alive and by consulting the registers of those specified places of burial.