第53章名画失窃案(4)
"Mallorydoesshowanoofhumanintelligen'the?"hesaidatlastquizzically。
"NotthatIever;remarkedTheThinkiily。
"Buthefouure,"Hatsisted。
"Ofcoursehefoundit。Itutthereforhimtofind。"
"Putthereforhimtofind!"repeatedthereporter。"Didn'tJe?"
"Ifhedid,he'safool。"
"Well,ifhedidn'tstealit,whoputitthere?"
"DeLesseps。"
"DeLesseps!"echoedHatch。"Whythedeucedidhestealafiftythousand-dollarpidputiti'strunktobefound?"
&hinkiedaroundiahiment。"Attimes,Mr。Hatch,Iamabsolutelyamazedatyourstupidity,"hesaidfrankly。"IderstanditinamanlikeMallory,butIhavealwaysgivefanastute,quick-wittedman。"
Hatchsmiledatthereproach。Itwasimehehadheardofit。ButnothingbearingontheprobleminhandwassaiduntiltheyreachedTheThinkingMae'sapartments。
"Theoioninmymind,Mr。Hatch,"saidthestistthen,"iswhetherornotIshouldtakethetroubletorestoreMr。Kale'spictureatall。Heisperfectlysatisfied,andwillprobablyhedifference。So—"
ðing。"GreatScott!"heexclaimed。"DoyoumeaurethatMalloryfoundwas—"
"Acopyinal,"supplemeist。"PersonallyIknownothiart;therefore,Iotsayfromobservationthatitisacopy,butIknowitfromthelogicofthethiheinalwastheframe,theknifeswervedalittleattheupperrighthahevasremainioldmethat。ThepicturethatMr。Malloryfounddidnotdihthetheframe。Theisobvious。"
"AnddeLessepshastheinal?"
"DeLessepshastheinal。Howdidhegetit?Inanyoneofadozehaverolleditupandstuderhisighthavehadafederate。ButIdon'tthinkthatanyordiheftealedtohim。Iamgivifclever,asImustthe>
"Forinstance,heaskedforpermissiontocopytheWhistler,whichyousawwasthesamesizeastheRubens。Itwasgranted。Hecopieditpractiderguard,alwayswiththecethatMr。Kalehimselfwoulddropin。Ittookhimthreedaystocopyit,sohesays。Hewasaloheroomallthattime。HekMr。Kalehadideaadva,whatwouldhavebeeohavecopiedtheRubensinoil?Hecouldhaveremoveditfromtheframeimmediatelyafterhevaseditover,ainapositionnearhimwhereitcouldbequicealedifhewasied。Remember,thepictureisworthfiftythousanddollars;therefore,wasworththetrouble。
"DeLessepsisanartist—weknowthat—ahamahi,hehadnofears。osehisideaallalongwastousethecopyoftheRubensasasortofdecotawaywiththeinal。YousawthatMallorydidn'tknowthedifferewassafeforhimtosupposethatMr。Kalewouldn't。Hisoilhecouldgetawaygracefullywasofsomecritioisseur,perhaps,seeingthecopy。Hisboldnessweseereadilyihathepermittedhimselftodiscoverthetheft;thathediscovereditafterhehadvoluoassistMr。Kaleinthegeneralwthepithegallery。JusthowheputthepiJenning'strunkIdon'thappentoknow。Weemanyways。"Helaybahisispeakieadilyturnedupward,fingersplacedpreciselytiptotip。
"Theonlythingremainingistogogetthepicture。ItisindeLesseps'roomnow—youtoldmethat—aissafe。Idaresayheknowsthatifhetriedtorunawayitwouldiablyputhimundersuspi。"
"ButhowdidhetakethepitheKalehome?"askedHatch。
"HetookitwithhimprobablyunderhisarmthedayheleftthehousewithMr。Kale,"wastheastonishingreply。
Hatchwasstaringathimieramomeistaroseaheadjoiningroom,aelephoherejingled。Whehepickeduphishataogether。
DeLessepswasiheirtup,aheyversedoftheerallyfortenminutes,whilethestist'seyeswereturnedinquirihereabouttheroom。Atlastthereothedoor。
"ItisDetectiveMallory,Mr。HatarkedTheThinki;Openthedoorforhim。"
DeLessepsseemedstartledforjusto,thenquiallory'seyeswerefullofquestioered。
"Ishouldlike,Mr。Mallory,"begahinkily,"tocallyourattentiontothisr。Kale'spicturebyWhistler—overthemantelhere。Isn'titext?Youhaveseentheinal?"