Mystery at the Washington Monument Read Free Page A

letters.
    “Look! He can read his name!” KC joked.
    “Ha-ha,” Marshall said. “Why—”
    SMASH!
    Marshall and KC whipped around.
    Washington was holding a paperweight in both hands. He had smacked it against the map. The glass had cracked.
    “Washington, no!” KC said. She took the paperweight away from him. “Bad monkey!”
    “Gee, maybe he doesn’t like his name after all,” Marshall said.
    Washington tapped on the glass with his paws, over and over.
    Marshall picked up Washington andcarried him to the bed. The monkey jumped right off and leaped back onto KC’s desk. He again began tapping on the map of Washington, D.C.
    “Maybe he really
can
read his name,” KC said. She wasn’t joking anymore.
    She and Marshall stared at each other for a minute. Could this monkey read?
    “I know how we can test him,” Marshall said slowly. “Come on!”
    Marshall carried Washington to a hallway where there was no furniture. A red carpet ran the length of the hall. The only objects were pictures on the walls and a long row of statues of past presidents. Each marble statue sat on a pedestal. The president’s name was carved into the base of the statue.
    “Okay, I’m going to put him down andsee what he does,” Marshall said. He set Washington on the floor.

    Washington scampered around for a few minutes. Every time he came close to the statue of George Washington, KC and Marshall held their breath. But every time, the monkey ran right past the statue.
    “Oh well,” Marshall said, “I guess we were wrong.”
    “Wait!” KC shouted. “Look!”
    Washington had leaped onto the statue of George Washington. The base had WASHINGTON written in large letters. The monkey started tapping it.
    Marshall scooped Washington off the pedestal and set him on his shoulder.
    “Marsh, put him down again,” KC said.
    Marshall bent to set Washington on the floor.
    “No, not there, take him way down at the end, next to the statue of Thomas Jefferson,” KC said.
    Marshall carried Washington about thirty feet down the hall. When he set him on the carpet, Washington ran back to the George Washington statue. Again he climbed up on the pedestal. Again he started slapping his paws against the president’s name.
    Marshall plucked Washington from the pedestal. “Maybe he’s trying to tell us that he doesn’t like George Washington,” he said. “Or Washington, D.C.,” he added, remembering the map.
    “No, Marshall, I think he likes Washington just fine,” KC said. “And I think I’ve just figured out one of our mysteries!”

5
Monkey See, Monkey Do
    Marshall sat on the floor with the monkey in his lap. “I don’t get it,” he said.
    KC dropped down next to Marshall. “In my room a few minutes ago, he hit the map on the word
Washington
, right?” she asked.
    Marshall nodded.
    “And just now, he tapped the name Washington on the statue,” KC went on. “With all these other presidents standing around, he picked Washington.”
    Marshall just looked at KC. “So what does that have to do with our mystery?” he asked.
    “Marsh, back in the Monument, which memorial stone had a hole in it?” KC asked.
    “The one from Washington State,” he said. “Oh my gosh!”
    “Here’s what I think,” KC said, petting Washington. “I think someone snuck this monkey into the Monument last night. The light we saw must have been from a flashlight.”
    “Okay, I’m with you,” Marshall said.
    “That person had trained Washington to climb up to that state of Washington memorial stone and hit on the
o”
KC continued. “When he smacked the
o
, he broke through it. That’s what made the broken plaster that Butch showed us.”
    “Holy moly!” Marshall said. “But why would someone do that?”
    “There must have been something hidden in that hole!” KC said. “Something important enough to sneak in with a trained monkey to get it.”
    “Like what? Gold? Money? Jewels?” Marshall’s eyes lit up.
    KC shrugged. She had no idea