Newspaper Chase

The time is one o’clock in the morning.

The place is the Ritesville town artArt - мистецтво gallery.

A window opens andAnd - та a man comes in. His name is Harry Black, andAnd - та he is a thief.

It is dark in the artArt - мистецтво gallery, but Harry has a light. He looks acrossAcross - через, поперек the room at a painting.

“There it is!” he says.

Harry moves quickly acrossAcross - через, поперек the room. He stands andAnd - та looks at the painting.

“A million dollars for this?” he thinks. “I don’t understand it.”

But he takes a knife from his coat.

Then he takes the painting very, very slowly from its frame.

Harry goes back acrossAcross - через, поперек the room to the window, but he walks into a table. There is a beautiful blue glass vase on the table. It falls on the floor andAnd - та breaks into a hundred pieces.

Harry smiles. “Is that a million-dollar vase?” he thinks. “It isn’t now!”

He runs acrossAcross - через, поперек the pieces of glass to the window.

Harry has a room in Mrs. Allen’s rooming house. He goes quietly up to his room andAnd - та closes the door.

Mrs. Allen andAnd - та her daughter, Janey, areAre - бути, перебувати; ар sleeping. They don’t hear him.

In his room, Harry takes the painting from his bag. He puts it in a newspaper, then he puts the newspaper under his bed.

In the morning, Janey Allen is in the kitchen. She is putting old bottles into a box.

“Recycling is important,” Janey thinks.

On the TV, a reporter is at the Ritesville artArt - мистецтво gallery. He is talking about the painting.

“It’s a million-dollar painting,” he is saying. “Here’s a photo of it.”

Now the reporter is talking about the blue glass vase. “It’s in a hundred pieces now,” he says.

Janey looks at the photo of the vase, then she asksAsks - запитує, питає her mother, “Do you have anyAny - який old bottles?”

“No,” Mrs. Allen says. “That’s allAll - всі, увесь, все, весь, цілий, ко..., Janey. But the newspaper recycling truck is coming today.”

“Of course!” Janey says. “It’s Friday!”

Harry isn’t in his room. He is talking on his telephone to a man in Seattle. The man wants the painting, but Harry isn’t happy.

“Five thousand dollars?” Harry says. “No! It’s a million-dollar painting!… What?… No, I want fifty thousand, not five!… What?… The painting? Yes, I have it, andAnd - та it’s OK.”

Janey is looking for old newspapers. Early on Friday mornings, she takes them from every room in the house. Then later, the newspaper recycling truck arrivesArrives - прибуває, приходить, приїжд....

Janey opens Harry’s door andAnd - та looks into his room. She alwaysAlways - завжди takes his old newspapers or bottles for recycling. “AhAh - ампер!” she thinks. “There’s a newspaper under Harry’s bed.”

Janey puts the old newspapers into a black recycling box. She runs from the house andAnd - та sees the truck.

“Wait!” she says. AndAnd - та she quickly gives the box to one of the men.

Harry is coming back to the house. He sees the recycling truck, andAnd - та he sees Janey.

“It’s Friday!” he says. “The newspaper -!”

“Oh, no!”

Harry chases afterAfter - після, потім, після того як, п... the truck.

“Wait! Wait!” he says.

Janey watches him. “What is he doing?” she thinks. Harry jumps into the back of the truck.

“I want my newspaper!” he says. “Where’s my newspaper?”

But there areAre - бути, перебувати; ар thousands of newspapers in the truck

Janey walks quickly from the house to the truck.

“Why is your newspaper important, Harry?” she asksAsks - запитує, питає. “It’s two days old.”

But Harry doesn’t hear her. He is thinking, “My million-dollar painting! Where is it?”

The men from the recycling truck areAre - бути, перебувати; ар watching Harry, too. But now Janey is looking at Harry’s shoe.

“There’s some blue glass in Harry’s shoe,” Janey thinks. “Where -? Oh!

Suddenly, she remembers the photo of the blue glass vase on the TV. She looks againAgain - знову at the piece of glass in Harry’s shoe.

“Is it from the vase in the artArt - мистецтво gallery?” she thinks. “Is Harry Black the thief?”

The men from the recycling truck areAre - бути, перебувати; ар angry[ˈæŋgrɪ] сердитий, розлючений .

“We’re going now,” they areAre - бути, перебувати; ар saying. “We’re late.”

“But I want my newspaper!” Harry says.

In the house, Janey is talking to the police on the telephone. “Maybe I’m wrong,” she is saying. “But there’s blue glass in his shoe… What?… Yes, he’s looking for the newspaper now.”

Two policemen arriveArrive - прибувати, приїжджати, прих... quickly.

“Let’s look at your shoe,” they say to Harry.

Harry doesn’t understand. “What’s wrong?” he asksAsks - запитує, питає. One of the policemen takes the glass from Harry’s shoe. “This is a very expensive piece of glass,” he says. “From a very expensive vase. Remember?”

Suddenly, Harry understands. “Oh, no!” he says.

Police cars andAnd - та policemen arriveArrive - прибувати, приїжджати, прих.... The men look in the truck for the million-dollar painting. Later, they find the right newspaper-and they find the painting.

“Good work, Janey,” one of the policemen says. “AndAnd - та there’s a reward.”

“Maybe I can buy a painting with the reward!” Janey says. “I like pictures!”