heâd be twenty-eight feet tall!â
A man and woman were standing in front of the statue with a little kid who was sucking his thumb. The man was snapping pictures. The cameraâs flash blazed each time the shutter clicked.
Suddenly the man pulled his camera away from his face. He stared at thestatue, then said, âI donât believe it!â
âWhat?â the woman asked.
The man pointed upward toward Lincolnâs left hand. âHis thumb is gone!â the man said.
KC and Marshall rushed forward. âOh my gosh!â KC cried. âOne of his thumbs
is
missing!â
Where Lincolnâs left thumb should have been, there was just a stump.
The man grinned down at his son. âThatâs what happens when people suck their thumbs,â he joked.
âDo you suppose the thumb just fell off?â the woman asked.
âIf it did, it should be here,â the man said, glancing down at the area near the statue. âBut itâs not.â
âCome on, Daddy,â the little boy said.âYou promised we could see the Air and Space Museum!â
The family hurried away, passing two men coming up the steps. One was tall and skinny. The other was short and stumpy, like a fire hydrant.
They were wearing gray work shirts with NATIONAL PARK SERVICE stitched over the pockets.
âDid you come about Lincolnâs thumb?â KC asked when the men reached the statue.
âWhat thumb?â the tall man asked.
Marshall pointed up to Lincolnâs left hand. âThat thumb, only itâs gone,â he said.
Both men stood under the statue gazing up.
âWell, Iâll be darned,â said the tall man. âIt was here a while ago, wasnât it, Stub?â
The man named Stub nodded. âRighto, Ralphie. When I dusted his hands, Abe had both his thumbs,â he said.
âWhy did you dust him?â KC asked.
âWeâre cleaning the statue for the ceremony tonight,â Stub answered. âWe just took a little coffee break. When we left, he still had his thumb!â
Ralphie pulled a snapshot out of his pocket and handed it to KC. âSome tourist took this and gave it to me,â he said.
KC and Marshall looked at the picture. In it, Stub was standing on the black ladder with a dusting cloth in one hand. The ladder was up on the platform, leaning against Lincolnâs right knee.
KC and Marshall could easily see that Lincoln still had both his thumbs.
2
Mr. President,
We Have a Problem
âDo you mind if I go up on your ladders for a minute?â KC asked. âI want to see that hand close up.â
Ralphie shook his head. âSorry, miss,â he said. âWe could get in trouble for letting a civilian use our equipment.â
âIâm not exactly a regular civilian,â KC said. âMy mother is married to President Thornton.â
Both men gawked at KC.
âYouâre that kid?â Stub asked. âThe First Daughter?â
KC nodded. âIâm KC Corcoran,â she said with a big smile. âAnd if you let meclimb up there, Iâll tell the president how helpful you were.â
âOkay, miss, I guess itâll be all right,â Ralphie said. He climbed up onto the platform and stood next to Lincolnâs feet.
Stub lifted the black ladder off the floor and handed it up. Ralphie leaned the ladder against Lincolnâs right knee.
âOkay, come on up, miss, but be careful,â Ralphie said, looking down at KC.
Stub held the lower ladder for her, and KC scampered up with her camera strap around her wrist. Then she climbed up the black ladder. At the top, her nose was only inches from Lincolnâs left hand.
âWhat do you see?â Marshall asked.
âIt looks like the thumb broke off,â KC said.
âKC, what do you mean? We
know
thethumb broke off,â Marshall said.
âI mean, I donât think it was cut off, like with a saw or something,â KC said.
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