Detective Camp Read Online Free PDF Page B

with smoke coming from the chimney, all under a bright blue sky.
    Mademoiselle Musée pulled off her gloves, dropped them into a basket under the table, then pulled a fresh pair on.

    “I have finished this painting,” she said, sliding it to the center of the table. “But I will demonstrate on one that I have not yet cleaned.”
    She walked quickly into the great room and returned with a painting only as large as a book. Flipping the small painting over, she pulled out a few nails with pliers. She slid the canvas out of the frame and laid it on the table.
    The kids looked at the soiled painting. It was impossible to tell what was beneath the dirt.
    Mademoiselle Musée picked up a cotton ball and wet it from one of the bottles. “As you can see, this painting is covered with years of soot and smoke,” she said. Moving her hand in a small circle, she began gently wiping the damp cotton ball over a small section of the painting. Slowly the dirt disappeareduntil the green branches of a tree became visible.
    “That’s amazing!” Ruth Rose said. “Who painted this?”
    “I won’t know until I clean the entire painting,” Mademoiselle Musée said.
    Then she pointed to the winter-snow scene. “But that one is a Grandma Moses.”
    “Who’s she?” asked Josh.
    “My grandmother loves her paintings!” Ruth Rose said. “She was real old when she painted, right, Mademoiselle Musée?”
    “Yes, she started out as a simple farmer’s wife,” Mademoiselle Musée said, “and now some of her paintings are worth millions of dollars.”

“M-millions?” Josh said.
    Mademoiselle Musée nodded at him. “Grandma Moses was becoming well known before she died,” she said. “Now that she’s been dead for years, she’s very famous!”
    “How come she painted on wood instead of canvas?” Dink asked. He pointed to the smoothly cut edges of the Grandma Moses painting.
    “That is not wood,” Mademoiselle Musée said. “Grandma Moses lived in the country and could not buy artist canvases. But she had fiberboard in herbarn, so she often used that. It is thin, but very hard.”
    “How long does it take you to clean a painting?” Josh asked.
    “Perhaps two days for one this size,” Mademoiselle Musée answered. “Longer if I have to make repairs.”
    “How do you do that?” Dink asked.
    “The canvas can become cracked or even ripped,” Mademoiselle Musée explained. “Or when it’s on fiberboard, the paint sometimes flakes off. I make the repairs, then paint over the damaged places.”
    “Guys, we’d better get back to our cabins,” Ruth Rose said. “Thanks a lot, Mademoiselle Musée!”
    “It is nothing,” the woman said.
    The kids hurried out of the lodge and ran toward the cabins. “It’s time for chores,” Ruth Rose said. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
    The guys nodded and walked to their own cabin. They found Buzzy taping a paper on the door, next to the schedule.
    “Hi, guys,” he said. “This is a chore list. All eight of you have to pitch in, but it shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes.”
    Dink and Josh read the list. Next to Josh’s name they read SWEEP FRONT PORCH . Dink saw that his job was to straighten up the books and games shelf.
    “Where are the brooms?” Josh asked Buzzy.
    “In the closet inside the washhouse,” Buzzy told him. Josh hiked over while Dink began organizing the games and books. The other six boys were sweeping, dusting, smoothing out sleeping bags, and straightening their cubbies.
    Ten minutes later, everyone was finished.“Super job, you guys,” Buzzy said, He looked at his watch. “It’s time to head back to the lodge for your clues to find the mystery map!”
    They all ran to the picnic tables. When everyone was there, Angie stood on a bench and held up a paper bag.
    “We’ve already hidden the twenty-six map pieces,” she said. “Now you can pick your clue cards that will help you find them.”
    She walked around and let each kid put a hand in the