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?"