Problem of the Stolen Rubens
雅克·福特雷尔 / Jacques Futrelle
雅克·福特雷尔（Jacques Futrelle，1875—1912），美国推理小说家。在他的推理短篇小说中，最著名的是《思想机器》。 脍炙人口的侦探小说为他在侦探小说界赢得了较高的声誉。
Matthew Kale made fifty million dollars out of axle grease, after which he began to patronize the high arts. It was simple enough: he had the money, and Europe had the old masters. His method of buying was simplicity itself. There were five thousand square yards, more or less, in the huge gallery of his marble mansion which were to be covered, so he bought five thousand square yards, more or less, of art. Some of it was good, some of it fair, and much of it bad. The chief picture of the collection was a Rubens, which he had picked up in Rome for fifty thousand dollars.
Soon after acquiring his collection, Kale decided to make certain alterations in the vast room where the pictures hung. They were all taken down and stored in the ball room, equally vast, with their faces toward the wall. Meanwhile Kale and his family took refuge in a nearby hotel.
It was at this hotel that Kale met Jules de Lesseps. De Lesseps was distinctly French, the sort of Frenchman whose conversation resembles calisthenics. He was nervous, quick, and agile, and he told Kale in confidence that he was not only a painter himself, but was a connoisseur in the high arts. Pompous in the pride of possession, Kale went to a good deal of trouble to exhibit his private collection for de Lesseps' delectation. It happened in the ball room, and the true artist' s delight shone in the Frenchman' s eyes as he handled the pieces which were good. Some of the others made him smile, but it was an inoffensive sort of smile.
With his own hands Kale lifted the precious Rubens and held it before the Frenchman' s eyes. It was a "Madonna and Child, " one of those wonderful creations which have endured through the years with all the sparkle and color beauty of their pristine days. Kale seemed disappointed because de Lesseps was not particularly enthusiastic about this picture.
"Why, it' s a Rubens!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, I see, " replied de Lesseps.
"It cost me fifty thousand dollars."
"It is perhaps worth more than that, " and the Frenchman shrugged his shoulders as he turned away.
Kale looked at him in chagrin. Could it be that de Lesseps did not understand that it was a Rubens, and that Rubens was a painter? Or was it that he had failed to hear him say that it cost him fifty thousand dollars. Kale was accustomed to seeing people bob their heads and open their eyes when he said fifty thousand dollars; therefore,
"Don' t you like it? " he asked.
"Very much indeed, " replied de Lesseps; "but I have seen it before. I saw it in Rome just a week or so before you purchased it."
They rummaged on through the pictures, and at last a Whistler was turned up for their inspection. It was one of the famous Thames series, a water color. De Lesseps' face radiated excitement, and several times he glanced from the water color to the Rubens as if mentally comparing the exquisitely penciled and colored modern work with the bold, masterly technic of the old.
Kale misunderstood the silence. "I don' t think much of this one myself, " he explained apologetically. "It' s a Whistler, and all that, and it cost me five thousand dollars, and I sort of had to have it, but still it isn' t just the kind of thing that I like. What do you think of it? "
"I think it is perfectly wonderful!" replied the Frenchman enthusiastically. "It is the essence, the superlative, of modern work. I wonder if it would be possible, " and he turned to face Kale, "for me to make a copy of that? I have some slight skill in painting myself, and dare say I could make a fairly creditable copy of it."
Kale was flattered. He was more and more impressed each moment with the picture. "Why, certainly, " he replied. "I will have it sent up to the hotel, and you can—"
"No, no, no!" interrupted de Lesseps quickly. "I wouldn' t care to accept the responsibility of having the picture in my charge. There is always a danger of fire. But if you would give me permission to come here—this room is large and airy and light, and besides it is quiet—"
"Just as you like, " said Kale magnanimously. "I merely thought the other way would be most convenient for you."
De Lesseps drew near, and laid one hand on the millionaire' s arm. "My dear friend, " he said earnestly, "if these pictures were my pictures, I shouldn' t try to accommodate anybody where they were concerned. I dare say the collection as it stands cost you—"
"Six hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars, " volunteered Kale proudly.
"And surely they must be well protected here in your house during your absence? "
"There are about twenty servants in the house while the workmen are making the alterations, " said Kale, "and three of them don' t do anything but watch this room. No one can go in or out except by the door we entered—the others are locked and barred—and then only with my permission, or a written order from me. No, sir, nobody can get away with anything in this room."