Chapter 10

Chapter 10 "This wig itches!" Josh complained. He, Dink, and Ruth Rose were hiding behind the desk in the hotel lobby. Josh was dressed as the ghost, complete with wig, robe, and makeup. "It won't be long now," Dink said, glancing at the clock. It was almost noon!

第十章“这假发好痒!”杰克抱怨道。 他、丁克和露丝·罗斯躲在旅馆大厅的桌子后面。 乔什打扮成鬼魂，戴着假发，穿着长袍，化着妆。 “不会太久了，”丁克瞥了一眼钟说。 快到中午了!

"Eatch, Rail, and Roock had better hurry up," Josh said. "I'm gonna suffocate in this dumb dress!" From where he was hiding, Dink could see the rest of the lobby. Mr. Linkletter was sitting on the sofa with his aunt and uncle. On the other side of the lobby, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers were playing cards with Linda Gomez, the reporter from the Green Lawn Gazette. Next to her sat a man with a camera. "What if they don't come?" Ruth Rose whispered. Dink smiled and pointed at the front door. "I think they just did!" Three men walked into the lobby. One was tall, one was medium, and one was short and round. Each was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and blue tie. "They look like three penguins!" Josh said. Mr. Linkletter hurried over to the men, then led them back to his aunt and uncle.

“伊奇、瑞尔和洛克最好快点。”乔希说。 “我穿这条蠢裙子会窒息的!”从他躲藏的地方，丁克可以看到大厅的其余部分。 林克莱特先生和他的叔叔婶婶正坐在沙发上。 在大厅的另一边，杰弗斯夫妇正在和《绿草坪公报》的记者琳达·戈麦斯打牌。 她旁边坐着一个拿着照相机的男人。 “如果他们不来怎么办?”露丝·罗斯低声说。 丁克微笑着指着前门。 “我想他们刚刚做到了!”三个人走进大厅。 一个高个子，一个中等身材，还有一个又矮又圆。 每个人都穿着深色西装，白衬衫，系着蓝色领带。 “他们看起来像三只企鹅!”杰克说。 林克莱特先生急忙走过去，把他们带回到他的叔叔和婶婶那里。

The tall man shook hands with Mr. Spivets. "I am Fletcher Eatch," he said. "I am Randolph Rail," the medium-sized man said, sticking out his hand. "And I am Miles Roock," the short man said, shaking hands in turn. Mr. Spivets nodded at the men. "Have you brought the papers?" he asked. Fletcher Eatch beamed. "We certainly have!" he said. He handed Mr. Spivets an important-looking document. Randolph Rail removed an envelope from his briefcase. "And here's the check." Miles Roock whipped a gold pen out of his pocket. "All we need is your signature, Mr. Spivets," he said.

高个子男人和斯比韦茨先生握了握手。 “我是弗莱彻·伊奇，”他说。 “我是伦道夫·瑞尔，”这个中等身材的男人伸出手说。 “我是迈尔斯·洛克，”矮个子男人一边说，一边轮流握手。 斯比韦茨先生朝他们点点头。 “文件带来了吗?”他问。 弗莱彻·伊奇笑了。“当然有!”他说。 他递给斯比韦茨先生一份看起来很重要的文件。 伦道夫·瑞尔从他的公文包里拿出一个信封。 “这是账单。”迈尔斯·洛克从口袋里抽出一支金笔。 “我们只需要你的签名，斯比韦茨先生，”他说。

Mr. Spivets looked sadly at his wife. Then he took the pen and started to sign the document. Just then Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers walked up. "Look, Todd!" Mrs. Jeffers said. "It's the movie producers!" "What a surprise," her husband said. "We were just talking about the movie you're going to film here in the hotel!" Mr. Spivets paused. "What's this about a movie?" he asked suspiciously. "Um…" began Fletcher Eatch. "Well…" started Randolph Rail. "W-we can explain!" said Miles Roock. "There's no need to explain," said Linda Gomez. She stood up and walked toward the men. "I'm a reporter from the Green Lawn Gazette. Tomorrow my column will tell the whole town how you tried to trick these people into selling their hotel!" The three men stared at Linda, then at the Jefferses. Finally their eyes landed on Mr. and Mrs. Spivets. Fletcher Eatch turned pink. Randolph Rail went white.

斯比韦先生伤心地看着他的妻子。 然后他拿起笔开始在文件上签名。 就在这时杰弗斯夫妇走了过来。 “看,托德!”杰弗斯太太说。 “是电影制片人!”“真是个惊喜，”她丈夫说。 “我们刚刚在酒店里谈论你要拍的电影!”斯比韦茨先生停顿了一下。 “这和电影有什么关系?”他怀疑地问。 “嗯……”弗莱契·伊奇开始说。 “嗯……”伦道夫·瑞尔说。 “我们——我们可以解释!”迈尔斯·洛克说。 “没有必要解释，”琳达·戈麦斯说。 她站起来，朝那几个人走去。 “我是《绿草坪公报》的记者。 明天，我的专栏将告诉全镇的人，你是如何哄骗这些人卖掉他们的旅馆的!”三个人盯着琳达，然后又盯着杰斐逊一家。 最后，他们的目光落在了斯比韦茨夫妇身上。 弗莱彻·伊奇脸红了。 Randolph Rail变成了白色。

Miles Roock turned purple. There was dead silence in the Shangri-la lobby. And then a ghost in a spiky white wig floated up from behind the desk. "Go hooome," it moaned in a creepy voice. "Go home before it's toooo laaatel" Everyone in the lobby—except Eatch, Rail, and Roock—started to laugh. "I guess I won't be needing this," Mr. Spivets said. He ripped the document he was holding into pieces. "W-what are you doing!" Fletcher Eatch spluttered.

迈尔斯·洛克脸红了。 香格里拉大厅里一片死寂。 接着，一个戴着白色假发的鬼魂从桌子后面飘了出来。 “滚回家去。”它用令人毛骨悚然的声音呻吟着。 大厅里的每个人——除了伊奇、瑞尔和洛克——都笑了起来。 “我想我不需要这个了，”斯比韦茨说。 他把手里拿着的文件撕成碎片。 “你——你在干什么!”弗莱彻·伊奇吞吞吐吐地说。

"You agreed to sell this hotel!" Randolph Rail said. "You can't back out of a deal with Eatch, Rail, and Roock!" said Miles Roock. Mrs. Spivets stood up next to her husband. "Eatch, Rail, and Roock?" she said. "You should rearrange the letters in your names to Cheat, Liar, and Crook!" "And now," Mr. Spivets said, "I think it's time for you gentlemen to leave."

“你同意卖掉这家酒店!”伦道夫·瑞尔说。 “你不能背弃和伊奇、瑞尔和洛克的交易!”迈尔斯·洛克说。 斯比薇太太站在她丈夫旁边。 “伊奇、瑞尔和洛克?”她说。 “你们应该把名字里的字母重新排列成骗子、骗子和骗子!”“现在，”斯比韦茨先生说，“我想是你们两位先生离开的时候了。”