human
Well, Joe, there's the contract,
gpt
It seems to be a contract all right, replied Joe.
human
I haven't had time to read what it says, but that doesn't matter anyway. The only important thing is that I never signed that contract.
gpt
That seems to be a pretty good imitation of your signature at the bottom there,
human
It's even better than that, said Joe, taking the bull by the horns.
gpt
It isn't even an imitation. It's my own signature.
human
I don't get you, Matson, said McRae, a little sternly.
gpt
And it seems to me it's hardly a time for joking. There's the contract. You say you didn't sign it, and yet you admit that the name at the bottom is your own signature. How do you explain it?
human
I don't pretend to explain it, replied Joe.
gpt
There's crooked work somewhere that I've got to ferret out. Somehow or other my name, written by me, has gotten on the bottom of that contract. But I never put it there. Some rascal has, and when I find him, as I will, may Heaven have mercy on him, for I won't!
human
A fellow who would do a thing like that is taking long chances,
gpt
And how could he do it? put in Robbie.
human
The name would have to be cut from one piece of paper and pasted on another, wouldn't it?
gpt
Even admitting that they might get your name from a check or letter, I don't see how a thing like that could stand inspection for a minute, chimed in Willis.
human
Even if it were so well done that an eye couldn't detect it, a microscope would give it away.
gpt
And you can bet that the reporters who hunted up this thing haven't overlooked any bets, said Brennan.
human
They knew that the signature was the nub of the whole thing and if there was anything phony about the paper they'd have got next at once.
gpt
It's a horrible mixup! cried Joe, who felt that he was being enmeshed in a net of circumstantial evidence which he might find it impossible to break.
human
Let me read the story first from end to end. Then, perhaps, I'll find some clue that will solve the mystery.