Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 When the kids stepped out of the elevator, Uncle Warren was waiting in the hallway. "Thank you for leaving me a note, but it's past your bedtime, Donny" "Is the detective still here?" Dink asked. "No, he left a few minutes ago," his uncle said. "He checked for fingerprints and took samples of the orange peels and juice." They walked into the kitchen. The orange peels were gone, but the floor was still sticky. Patches of white fingerprint powder made blotches on the

当孩子们走出电梯时，沃伦叔叔正在走廊里等着。 “谢谢你给我留了张便条，但是你该睡觉了，唐尼。”“侦探还在这儿吗?”丁克问道。 “没有，他几分钟前就走了，”他叔叔说。 “他检查了指纹，并采集了橘子皮和橙汁的样本。” 他们走进厨房。 橘子皮没了，但地板还是黏糊糊的。 白色的指纹粉在指纹上留下了斑点

counter and kitchen table. The empty fruit bowl was in the sink. "Do you know Mrs. Cornelius?" Dink asked his uncle. Uncle Warren smiled. "A lot of people know Corinne Cornelius," he said. "She was a Broadway actress years ago. She lives in the apartment right below this one. We have tea together all the time. Why do you ask?" Dink told his uncle what they'd learned from Roger. "Mrs. Cornelius might have seen the thief on her balcony" he said. "Maybe she can tell us what he looks like!" "Donny Mrs. Cornelius is quite old," his uncle said. "And I'm afraid her eyesight is failing." Uncle Warren looked around his kitchen and sighed. "I should clean up, but I'm exhausted. This mess will have to wait till morning," he said. "Now off to bed, kiddos." "We'll help you tomorrow," Ruth Rose said. "Thank you, my dear. Sweet dreams, everyone," Uncle Warren said as he padded toward his bedroom. "I don't know about you guys," Ruth Rose said, "but I couldn't sleep a wink right now."

柜台和厨房桌子。 空水果盘在水池里。 “你认识克奈尔斯夫人吗?”丁克问他的叔叔。 沃伦叔叔笑了。“很多人都知道科琳·科尼利厄斯，”他说。 “她多年前是百老汇的女演员。 她住在这间公寓的正下方。 我们经常一起喝茶。 你为什么这么问?”丁克把他们从罗杰那里学到的东西告诉了他叔叔。 “康奈利夫人可能在阳台上看到了小偷，”他说。 “也许她能告诉我们他长什么样!”“唐尼·康奈利太太年纪很大了，”他叔叔说。 “而且我担心她的视力正在衰退。” 沃伦叔叔环顾厨房，叹了口气。 “我应该打扫一下，但是我太累了。 这个烂摊子只能等到明天早上了。” “现在睡觉去吧，孩子们。”“我们明天会帮你的，”露丝·罗斯说。 “谢谢你，亲爱的。祝大家做个好梦。”沃伦叔叔边说边朝卧室走去。 “我不知道你们怎么样，”露丝·罗斯说，“但我现在一点也睡不着。”

"Me either," Dink said. The three headed for the living room. Ruth Rose sat next to Dink on the sofa, and Josh plopped down on the carpet. "I've been thinking," Ruth Rose said. "How many people knew your uncle had a valuable painting in his apartment?" "Roger might have known about it," Dink said. Josh sat up. "Of course!" he said. "Roger's the crook!" "But he was at the door all night," Dink said. "That's what he told us," Ruth Rose said. "He could have been lying. Does Roger have the key to this apartment?" "Guys, my uncle and Roger are friends," Dink protested. "Plus, he's worked in this building for ages." "Don't you watch TV?" Josh asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "The butler—I mean, the doorman—did it!" Dink laughed. "You're crazy. No way Roger snuck up here and stole that painting." Josh got up and walked into the kitchen. Dink heard the refrigerator door open and close. "Well, who else knew about it?" Ruth Rose asked.

“我也是，”丁克说。三个人朝客厅走去。 露丝·罗斯坐在丁克旁边的沙发上，乔希扑通一声坐在地毯上。 “我一直在想，”露丝·罗斯说。 “有多少人知道你叔叔的公寓里有一幅珍贵的画?”“罗杰可能知道这件事，”丁克说。 乔希坐了起来。“当然!”他说。 “罗杰是骗子!”“但他整晚都在门口，”丁克说。 “他就是这么告诉我们的，”露丝·罗斯说。 “他可能是在撒谎。 罗杰有这间公寓的钥匙吗?”“伙计们，我叔叔和罗杰是朋友。”丁克抗议道。 “另外，他在这栋楼里工作了很长时间。” “你不看电视吗?”乔希问，上下摆动着眉毛。 “是管家——我是说，是门卫干的!”丁克笑了。 “你疯了。罗杰不可能溜到这里来偷那幅画的。” 乔希站起来，走进厨房。 丁克听到冰箱门打开又关上的声音。 “那么，还有谁知道这件事?”露丝·罗斯问。

"How about Miss Booker?" Josh said when he came back. He was carrying a handful of grapes. "She told us she used to swing on a trapeze. Maybe she climbs buildings now. Plus, she knew we were all out of the apartment during the block party." Ruth Rose nodded. "She's the building manager, so I'll bet she has keys to all the apartments. She wouldn't have to climb the building!"

“布克小姐怎么样?”乔希回来时说。 他手里拿着一把葡萄。 “她告诉我们她曾经在空中荡秋千。 也许她现在爬楼了。 而且，她知道街区派对的时候我们都不在公寓里。” 露丝·罗斯点点头。“她是大楼管理员，所以我敢打赌她有所有公寓的钥匙。 她就不用爬楼了!”

"But how would she know my uncle even had the painting?" Dink asked. "Dink, remember your uncle said one of Miss Booker's jobs is delivering packages?" Ruth Rose said. "Maybe she brought the painting up to your uncle. He might have told her what was inside the wrapping." "And she might have told Roger," Josh said. "Heck, maybe they did it together. Roger could've been the lookout while she was up here stealing the painting!" "And tossing orange peels all over the place?" Dink said. "Wouldn't that be kind of dumb?" "Maybe she did that on purpose," Ruth Rose said. "Leaving orange peels on the balcony would make it look like the crook climbed down the building." "Yeah," Josh said, "and that would make us think it was someone who didn't have keys." "Okay, but what about the juice all over the kitchen?" Dink asked. "Why would Miss Booker do that?" "Easy" Josh said, "she wanted to confuse the cops."

“可是她怎么知道我叔叔有那幅画呢?”丁克问道。 “丁克，还记得你叔叔说过布克小姐的工作之一是送包裹吗?”露丝·罗斯说。 “也许她把画拿给你叔叔看了。 他可能告诉了她包装里是什么。” “她可能告诉了罗杰，”乔希说。 “见鬼，也许他们是一起干的。 她在这儿偷画的时候，罗杰可能在那儿放哨!”“还把橘子皮扔得到处都是?”丁克说。 “那不是有点傻吗?”“也许她是故意的，”露丝·罗斯说。 “在阳台上留下橘子皮会让人觉得这个骗子是从楼里爬下来的。” “是啊，”乔希说，“那样我们就会以为是没有钥匙的人干的。” “好吧，那厨房里到处都是果汁怎么办?”丁克问道。 “布克小姐为什么要那么做?”“简单，”乔希说，“她想迷惑警察。”

Dink yawned, then stood up and stretched. "Well, whoever it was did a good job confusing me!" He walked out to the balcony and looked up at the stars. High in the sky, he made out the blinking lights on an airplane. He wondered where the plane was coming from. Josh and Ruth Rose came and stood next to him. "I thought of someone else who might have known about the painting," Ruth Rose said. "Who?" Dink asked. "Mrs. Cornelius," she answered. Dink stared at her. "But she's old and can't see well," he said. "My uncle told us that a little while ago." "He also told us she used to be an actress," Ruth Rose said. "Besides," Josh added, "you don't need perfect eyesight to steal a painting." "But if Mrs. Cornelius is the crook, why would she tell Roger she saw someone on her balcony?" "Maybe she did it to keep anyone from suspecting her," Ruth Rose said.

丁克打了个哈欠，然后站起来伸了个懒腰。 “好吧，不管是谁，都把我弄糊涂了!”他走到阳台上，抬头看星星。 在高高的天空中，他辨认出一架飞机上闪烁的灯光。 他想知道飞机是从哪里来的。 乔希和露丝·罗斯过来站在他旁边。 “我想到了其他可能知道这幅画的人，”露丝·罗斯说。 “谁?”丁克问道。她回答说:“哥尼流夫人。” 丁克盯着她。“但她年纪大了，看不清楚，”他说。 “我叔叔刚才告诉我们的。” “他还告诉我们她曾经是个演员，”露丝·罗斯说。 “再说了，”乔希补充说，“偷一幅画并不需要完美的视力。” “但如果科尼利厄斯夫人是骗子，她为什么要告诉罗杰她看到有人在她的阳台上?”“也许她这样做是为了不让任何人怀疑她，”露丝·罗斯说。