Explore "The Chase of the Golden Plate" by Jacques Futrelle on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Faithfully, phonographically even, Hatch repeated to The Thinking Machine the conversation he had had with Doctor Walpole, indicating on the person of the eminent scientist the exact spot of the wound as Doctor Walpole had indicated it to him. The scientist listened without comment to the recital, casually studying meanwhile the three crimson drops on the glass.
"Every step I take forward is a step backward," the reporter declared in conclusion with a helpless grin. "Instead of showing that Dick Herbert might not have stolen the plate I am proving conclusively that he was the thief -- nailing it to him so hard that he can't possibly get out of it. " He was silent a moment. "If I keep on long enough," he added glumly, "I'll hang him."