[New 2026] 'The Stolen Rubens' Story in English by Jacques Futrelle | Summary | Questions and Answers | Magnolia Class 7 English.
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'The Stolen Rubens' is an extract from the Novel " Thinking Machine ", written by Jacques Futrelle. This extract is about a theft of a painting 'Rubens' from the mansion of Matthew Kale who was an art collector. Later the mystery was solved by Professor Augustus Van Dusen by his keen investigation.
# Story : "The Stolen Rubens" by Jacques Futrelle.
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Matthew Kale was an art collector. The chief picture of his collection was a Rubens. Soon after acquiting his collection, Kale decided to make certain changes in the gallery where the pictures would be hung. So, the pictures were all taken down and stored in the ball room of his house. Meanwhile, Kale and his family stayed at a nearby hotel.
At this hotel, Kale met Jules de Lesseps. De Lesseps was a Frenchman, who was not only a painter himself, but also a Connoisseur of art. Proud of his own art collection, Kale decided to show it off to impress De Lesseps.
When Kale proudly showed off the precious Rubens to de Lesseps, he was a little disappointed because de Lesseps was not particularly enthusiastic about it.
"Don't you like it?"
"Very much indeed," replied de Lesseps, "but I have seen it before."
As de Lesseps viewed the collection, a Whistler turned up. It was one of the famous Thames series, a painting done in watercolour.
De Lesseps' face lit up as he glanced from the Whistler to the Rubens, as if mentally comparing the modern work with the technique of the old.
Kale explained, "I don't think much of this one myself. It is a Whistler, and it cost me five thousand dollars.
What do you think of it?"
"I think it is perfectly wonderful!" replied de Lesseps enthusiastically. "I wonder if it would be possible for me to make a copy of that"
Kale was flattered. "Why, certainly!" he replied.
De Lesseps took one look at the vast collection of art and asked Kale, "Are you not worried about the safety of your art, while you are away from the mansion?"
"There are about twenty staff in the house while the workmen are making the alterations," said Kale, "and three of them watch this room. No one can go in or out of this room without my permission."
De Lesseps turned and glanced over the collection of pictures. "A clever thief, though," he said, "might cut a valuable painting, for instance the Rubens, out of the frame, roll it up, conceal it under his coat, and escape!'
Kale laughed pleasantly and shook his head.
Seeing the Rubens leaning carelessly against some other pictures, de Lesseps said, "Really, Mr Kale, that picture is too valuable to be left about like that." He carefully wrapped the picture in canvas and placed it on a table nearby.
A few days later, de Lesseps began his work of copying. Every day he would sit in front of the Whistler for a couple of hours, and later, go back to his hotel, with all his things, carrying his copy of the Whistler, loosely rolled up, under one arm.
In a week, the work of redecorating the gallery was completed. De Lesseps volunteered to assist in the work of rehanging the pictures. When de Lesseps ripped loose the canvas which covered the precious Rubens, he exclaimed in horror. The picture was gone! The frame which had held it was empty! A thin strip of canvas around the inside edge showed that a sharp penknife had been used to cut out the painting.
Kale rushed into Detective Mallory's office at police headquarters, with the statement that his Rubens had been stolen.
"I will put my men at work right now to recover the-the-what is a Rubens, anyway?" asked Detective Mallory.
"It's a picture!" bellowed Mr Kale. "A piece of canvas with some paint on it, and it cost me fifty thousand dollars-don't you forget that!"
In a day or two, the matter fell under the watchful eye of the reporter, Hutchinson Hatch. He decided to investigate on his own so he called on de Lesseps.
He went to the hotel where de Lesseps was staying.
"No one else was in the room, except you, all the time you were there?" asked Hatch.
"No one else."
"And I think Mr Kale said that you were making a copy of some famous watercolour, weren't you?"
"Yes, a Thames scene, by Whistler," was the reply. "That one, hanging over the mantle"
Hatch related the entire matter to his friend, the renowned professor, Augustus Van Dusen, who listened without comment. He decided to go to Mr Kale's mansion to investigate the scene of the crime.
Kale was less than warm to the detective. "I guess you fellows can't do anything with this," the millionaire assured them. "I've got the police detectives on it."
"Is Mr Mallory here now?" asked the professor.
"Yes, he is upstairs."
"May we see the room from which the picture was taken?"
Kale granted the permission with a wave of the hand. The professor surveyed the entire room. The windows were high. Half a dozen doors leading out into the hallways offered innumerable possibilities of access. After careful observation, he went over and picked up the frame from which the Rubens had been cut. For a long time, he examined it. Kale was getting more and more impatient.
Just then, the curtains of a wide door were thrown aside suddenly, and Detective Mallory entered. He carried something in his hand. He looked triumphant.
"Here is your picture, Mr Kale"
Kale gasped in relief and astonishment, and held up the canvas with both hands to examine it. The professor leaned forward to squint at the upper right-hand corner of the canvas.
"Where did you find it?" asked the professor.
"Rolled up tight, and hidden in the bottom of a trunk in the room of one of the staff," explained Mallory. "The man is now under arrest"
"Did he confess?"
"Of course not," said Mallory. "He says someone else must have hidden it there."
The professor nodded at Hatch. "I think that is all" he remarked. "I congratulate you, Mr Mallory, on finding the Rubens so quickly."
Ten minutes later, Hatch and the professor left the house and caught a taxi.
"Mallory can be rather quick, can't he?" Hatch said at last quizzically, on the way.
"Not that I ever noticed," remarked the professor crustily. "The only real question in my mind, Mr Hatch, is whether I should take the trouble to return Mr Kale's picture at all. He is perfectly satisfied, and will probably never know the difference. So..."
Suddenly Hatch understood. "Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean that the picture that Mallory found was...”
"A copy of the original," supplemented the professor. "When the original was cut from the frame, the knife swervedswerved a little at the upper right-hand corner.
The canvas remaining in the frame told me that. The picture that Mr Mallory found does not have this defect"
"So, de Lesseps has the original?"
"Yes. The only thing remaining is to go get the picture"
"But how did he take the picture from the Kale home?" asked Hatch.
"He took it with him probably under his arm every day," was the astonishing reply.
"Let us go to the hotel and meet him, shall we? I have already informed Detective Mallory to join us."
At the hotel, Hatch and the professor talked to de Lesseps about the case for ten minutes. At last, there came a knock on the door.
"It is Detective Mallory, Mr Hatch," remarked the professor.
De Lesseps seemed startled for just one instant. Mallory's eyes were full of questions when he entered.
"Mr Mallory'" began the professor quietly, "could you look at this copy of Mr Kale's picture by Whistler--over the mantle here? Isn't it excellent? You have seen the original?"
Mallory grunted. De Lesseps' face blanched suddenly, and his hands closed tightly.
"Did you know, Mr Mallory," the professor went on, "that glue, putty and a few other commonplace things can be made into a paste which would cover an oil painting, and at the same time, offer an excellent canvas for watercolour work?"
There was a moment's pause, during which the three men stared at him silently.
"This copy of Whistler," continued the professor evenly, "is painted on such a paste as I have described. That paste in turn covers the original Rubens picture. It can be removed with water without damage to the Rubens, which is in oil. That is true, isn't it, Mr de Lesseps?"
There was no reply to the question-none was needed. It was an hour later, after de Lesseps was safely in jail, that Hatch asked the professor, "How did you know that the watercolour was painted over the Rubens?"
"Because it was the only way in which the Rubens could be completely lost to those who were looking for it, and at the same time be perfectly preserved."
By - Jacques Futrelle.
# Summary :
● The story revolves around an art heist and how it is eventually discovered. Matthew kale, a wealthy art collector, owns a prized painting by famous artist, Rubens, Which he proudly displays among his collection. When Kale decides to renovate his gallery, the paintings are temporarily stored in the ballroom of his mansion, and he and his family move to a nearby hotel. There, Kale meets Jules de Lesseps, a French painter and art expert. Eager to impress him, Kale invites de Lesseps to view his collection. While de Lesseps shows little enthusiasm for the Rubens, he is captivated by watercolour painting by another artist named Whistler and requested to make a copy of it. Flattered, Kale agrees.
● De Lesseps begins visiting the mansion daily to work on his copy, carrying his materials and the rolled-up copy back to the hotel each day. He also expresses concern about the security of the paintings, suggesting how easily a clever thief might steal one. Kale assures him that the room is well-guarded and that no one can enter without his permission.
● After a week, when the gallery renovations are complete, de Lesseps offers to help with rehanging of the paintings. When he unwraps the Rubens, he discovers the canvas has been cut out of its frame. Kale reports the theft to Detective Mallory, who soon claims to have found the missing painting hidden in a staff member's trunk. The staff member denies involvement, and case seems closed.
● However, reporter Hutchinson Hatch, thinking that this is perhaps not an ordinary case of a missing painting, So he decided to consult his friend, Professor Augustus Van Dusen. The professor visits the mansion and inspect the empty frame. He notices a flaw in the remaining canvas that suggests the original painting had a defect in the upper right-hand corner. When Mallory presents the recovered painting, Van Dusen observes that it lacks this flaw, clearly indicating it is a copy.
● Professor Van Dusen deduces that de Lesseps cleverly stole the original Rubens by painting the Whisteler watercolour over it using a removable paste made of glue and putty. This allowed him to hide the Rubens in plain sight and carry it out daily under the guise of transporting his copy. The professor confronts de Lesseps at the hotel in the presence of Detective Mallory and Hutchinson Hatch, revealing the truth. De lesseps is arrested, and the original Rubens is recovered, that was perfectly preserved beneath the watercolour made by de Lesseps.
# Character Sketch :
● Wealthy
● Proud
● Careless
● Clever
● Observant
● Manipulative
● Practical
● Efficient
● Less perceptive
● Curious
● Attentive
● Supportive
● Brilliant
● Observant
● Sharp-minded
# Moral of the story :
● Appearances can be deceiving : What seems obvious may hide the truth—just like the Rubens painting hidden under another (whistler) painting.
● Intelligence defeats deception : Careful observation and logic, as shown by Augustus Van Dusen, can uncover even the cleverest tricks.
# Literary Devices :
● Irony : The painting is "stolen," yet it is actually in the plain sight the whole time.
● Metaphor : "A piece of canvas with some paint on it" has material value.
● Imagery : Descriptions of the gallery, paintings, and actions like cutting, rolling of canvas.
● Symbolism : The Rubens painting symbolizes wealth and pride, especially for Matthew Kale.
# Word - Meanings :
- Curator : A person who manages a museum or art gallery.
- Connoisseur : An expert judge in matters of art.
- Enthusiastic : Showing great interest or excitement.
- Precious : Very valuable or important.
- Conceal : To hide something.
- Vast : Very large or huge.
- Volunteered : Offered to do something willingly.
- Rehanging : Hanging again.
- Exclaimed : Cried out suddenly in surprise.
- Astonishment : Great surprise.
- Trunk : A large storage box.
- Confess : To admit a crime or truth.
- Investigate : To examine carefully to find the truth.
- Surveyed : Looked at carefully.
- Impatient : Unable to wait calmly.
- Triumphant : Feeling victory or success.
- Defect : A flaw or imperfection.
- Deduced : Reached a conclusion using logic.
- Concealed : Hidden.
- Paste : A thick soft mixture used for sticking.
- Preserved : Kept safe from damage.
# Quiz : " Let's recall "
Quiz - The Stolen Rubens.
Quiz Finished!
# Question - Answers :
# Questions in the Blue-Box. :
a. Not very hopeful about the professor solving the case.
b. Being arrogant and thought the professor's attempts were unimportant.
We know this because the professor refers to him by name and says,
"Is Mr Mallory here now?"
OR
"Mallory can be rather quick, can't he?"
OR
"I have already informed Detective Mallory to join us."
# Answer these Questions (Page 07) :
a. Who had the original picture? How did he manage to escape with the original picture?
b. Who discovered the original Rubens and where?
b. Professor Augustus Van Dusen discovered the original Rubens. He exposed the truth in Jules de Lesseps' hotel room, where he revealed that the original Rubens was concealed beneath the copy of the Whistler painting hanging over the mantel. The hidden painting was then recovered, and de Lesseps was arrested.
# Answer the Questions with reference to the context (Page 08) :
“ Are you not worried... while you are away from the mansion? ”
“ Suddenly Hatch understood. ”
“ There was a moment's pause, during which the thi e stared at him silently. ”
# Think and Answer (Page 08) :
a. confident of his abilities and thought himself to be a clever thief?
b. sure that Matthew Kale would never guess that the theft had taken place?
c. certain that his method would not be discovered?
You may agree with one or more than one options.Explain your choice(s) in a few lines.
I agree with all three options (a), (b), and (c).
- De Lesseps was confident of his abilities and considered himself a clever thief.
- He believed that Matthew Kale would never suspect him or realise how the theft had been carried out.
- He was certain that his unique method of hiding the Rubens beneath another painting would never be discovered.
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