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第53章 名画失窃案 4(第1页)

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?"

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