Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 In the photograph, the painting stood on a table. Part of a window was also visible, with buildings in the distance. Josh asked, "What's this doing in the alley?" "I think I know," Ruth Rose said. "The thief must have used this picture to identify the

在照片中，这幅画放在一张桌子上。 一扇窗户的一部分也清晰可见，远处是建筑物。 乔希问:“这东西怎么会在巷子里?”“我想我知道，”露丝·罗斯说。 “小偷一定是用这张照片来辨认。

painting. After he stole it, he threw the picture away." "If the thief tossed the picture here, that means he probably did climb down the balconies," Dink said. "You mean she," Josh said. Ruth Rose shook her head. "But if Miss Booker did it," she asked, "why would she tell us she can climb buildings? Wouldn't that just point the finger at her?" "Maybe she's giving us false clues," Josh said. "She tells us she can climb the building and drops this picture in the alley. But all the time, she probably just went through the front door with her key." "No matter who stole the painting," Dink said, "the crook's fingerprints should be on this picture." He carefully slipped the snapshot inside his shirt. "We have to show it to my uncle!" The kids ran down the alley to the front of the building. Weekend traffic whizzed by. A few people hurried toward the subway stop. A man in gray work clothes was sweeping up litter. A mound of litter stood at the entrance to the alley. As the kids walked past, Josh accidentally

绘画。他偷了画后就把它扔掉了。” 丁克说:“如果小偷把画扔在这里，那就意味着他很可能是从阳台上爬下来的。” “你是说她，”乔希说。 露丝·罗斯摇了摇头。“但如果是布克小姐做的，”她问道，“她为什么要告诉我们她能爬楼呢?” 那不是把矛头指向了她吗?”“也许她给了我们错误的线索，”乔希说。 “她告诉我们，她可以爬上楼，把这张照片扔到巷子里。 但她可能一直都是拿着钥匙从前门进去的。” “不管是谁偷了这幅画，”丁克说，“这幅画上都应该有罪犯的指纹。” 他小心地把照片塞进衬衫里。 “我们得把它拿给我叔叔看!”孩子们顺着小巷跑到大楼前面。 周末车辆呼啸而过。 几个人匆匆走向地铁站。 一个穿灰色工作服的人正在清扫垃圾。 小巷的入口处有一堆垃圾。 孩子们走过的时候，乔希不小心

kicked the pile. "Hey watch your step there, young fella," said the man with the broom. "Sorry," Josh said, stepping away from the litter. Using his foot, he scraped the stuff back together. Then he knelt down and picked something out of the debris. "Hey, guys, look!" Josh held up an orange peel. The man with the broom chuckled. "There was a block party here last night," he said. "A guy had a trailer with an orangutan and a pony parked right here. Man, that orangutan sure ate a lot of oranges!" Dink took the peel from Josh and looked at it carefully. Caught in the peel was a long orange hair. Ruth Rose peered over Dink's shoulder. "It's just like the hair Josh found in the kitchen!" she said. Josh looked back up the alley. "Guys," he said, "Miss Booker didn't climb up those balconies. That orangutan did!" Ruth Rose's eyes grew wide. "Orangutans are great climbers!" she said.

踢了一脚。“嘿，小伙子，小心脚下。”拿扫帚的人说。 “对不起，”乔希说着，从垃圾堆旁走开。 他用脚把那些东西刮了起来。 然后他跪下来，从废墟中捡了个什么东西。 “嘿，伙计们，看!”乔希拿起一个橘子皮。 拿扫帚的人咯咯地笑了。 “昨晚这里有个街区聚会，”他说。 “有个人开着一辆拖车，里面停着一只猩猩和一匹小马。 天哪，那只猩猩肯定吃了很多橙子!”丁克从乔希手里接过果皮，仔细地看了看。 皮里夹着一根长长的橘黄色头发。 露丝·罗斯从丁克的肩膀上偷看着。 “就像乔希在厨房里发现的头发一样!”她说。 乔希回头看了看小巷。 “伙计们，”他说，“布克小姐没有爬上那些阳台。 是那只猩猩干的!”露丝·罗斯睁大了眼睛。 “猩猩是伟大的攀登者!”她说。

"And they have long orange hair and eat fruit!" said Josh. Dink stared at Josh and Ruth Rose. "You mean you think the orangutan is the thief?" "Why not?" Josh said. "People train orangutans to do all kinds of stuff. Why couldn't one be taught to steal a painting?" Dink tapped the snapshot inside his shirt. "If you're right, his fingerprints should be on this," he said. "Do orangutans even have fingerprints?" Ruth Rose asked. Dink shrugged. "Whoever gave him the picture would have left his fingerprints, too." "His trainer!" Josh said. Ruth Rose nodded. "Yep. The orangutan might have taken the painting, but the real thief is the person who taught him how!"

“他们有长长的橙色头发，吃水果!”乔希说。 丁克盯着乔希和露丝·罗斯。 “你是说你认为猩猩是小偷?”“为什么不?”杰克说。 “人们训练猩猩做各种各样的事情。 为什么不能教别人偷画呢?”丁克拍了拍衬衫里的照片。 “如果你是对的，这上面应该有他的指纹，”他说。 “猩猩有指纹吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 丁克耸耸肩。“给他照片的人肯定也留下了指纹。” “他的教练!”杰克说。露丝·罗斯点点头。 “是的。猩猩可能拿走了画，但真正的小偷是教它怎么做的人!”