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

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

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.

"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!"

该页暂无翻译