Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Mr. Linkletter led the kids to his office. The room was small, with just a desk and three chairs. On one wall hung a painting of the hotel. A framed picture of an elderly couple stood on the desk. "Please sit down," Mr. Linkletter said. The kids sat. Mr. Linkletter opened a desk drawer and took out a paper bag.

林克莱特先生把孩子们带到他的办公室。 房间很小，只有一张桌子和三把椅子。 一面墙上挂着一幅旅馆的画。 桌子上放着一对老夫妇的相框。 “请坐，”林克莱特说。 孩子们坐了下来。林克莱特先生打开书桌抽屉，拿出一个纸袋。

"Mint?" he asked. Each of the kids took a mint from the bag and popped it into their mouths. Mr. Linkletter looked inside the bag, then popped a mint into his mouth, too. He sank back into his chair. "This is terrible," he said. "Mine tastes okay," Josh said. "I think it's lemon." Ruth Rose nudged Josh. "I think he means the ghost," she said. Josh blushed. "Oh, sorry."

“薄荷?”他问。每个孩子都从袋子里拿出一颗薄荷糖，塞进嘴里。 林克莱特看了看袋子里的东西，然后也往嘴里塞了一颗薄荷糖。 他倒在椅子上。 “这太可怕了，”他说。 “我的味道还行，”乔希说。 “我想是柠檬。”露丝·罗斯推了推乔希。 “我想他指的是那个鬼，”她说。 Josh脸红了。“哦,对不起。”

"As I was saying," Mr. Linkletter went on, "it all started two days ago, on Friday. It was almost midnight. I was closing my office when a guest ran into the lobby. She was yelling about a ghost on the third floor!" "Did she say what the ghost looked like?" Dink asked. Mr. Linkletter smoothed his hair. "She said it was all white—except for the black holes where its eyes should have been!" The three kids looked at each other. Josh's mouth was hanging open. Mr. Linkletter rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. "Anyway," he went on, "that guest checked out. Last night, more guests saw the ghost. Again, it appeared at midnight. Today all those guests checked out." Mr. Linkletter shook his head. "This ghost is ruining our business!" "Did any of the guests say where the ghost went after they saw it?" Ruth Rose asked. "Apparently it just floats away and disappears," he answered. "Did you see the ghost, too?" Dink asked.

“正如我所说的，”林克莱特先生接着说，“一切都始于两天前，星期五。 已经快半夜了。我正要关办公室的时候，一个客人跑进了大厅。 她在大喊三楼有鬼!”“她说鬼魂长什么样了吗?”丁克问道。 林克莱特先生捋了捋头发。 “她说除了眼睛上的黑洞外，它都是白色的!”三个孩子面面相觑。 乔希张着嘴。 林克莱特先生揉了揉太阳穴，好像头痛似的。 “不管怎样，”他接着说，“那个客人已经退房了。 昨晚，更多的客人看到了鬼。 它又一次出现在午夜。 今天所有的客人都退房了。” 林克莱特摇了摇头。 “这个鬼毁了我们的生意!”“有客人说过鬼魂出现后去了哪里吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 “显然它只是漂走了，消失了，”他回答说。 “你也看见鬼魂了吗?”丁克问道。

"No. I went upstairs, but all I saw was a dozen terrified guests!" Mr. Linkletter picked up the picture of the elderly couple on his desk. "This is my aunt and uncle, Florence and Ebenezer Spivets. They've owned the Shangri-la ever since they were first married, forty-seven years ago." He looked at the kids. "They're very worried. I don't know what will happen to the hotel if this ghost business continues…" For a minute, nobody said anything. Finally Mr. Linkletter stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, "I have to tell my aunt and uncle that the Shangri-la Hotel won't be having a foliage week this year." The kids thanked Mr. Linkletter and headed back out into the lobby. "Guys, we've gotta do something!" Dink whispered. "But what can we do?" Ruth Rose asked. Just then Livvy hurried over to them. "What'd he say?" she asked. "He told us about the ghost," Ruth Rose said. She described it for Livvy.

“没有。我上了楼，但我只看到一打吓坏了的客人!”林克莱特先生拿起桌子上那对老夫妇的照片。 “这是我的姨妈和姨父，弗洛伦斯和埃比尼泽·斯比韦茨。 自从他们47年前结婚以来，香格里拉就一直是他们的。” 他看着孩子们。“他们非常担心。 我不知道如果这种鬼生意继续下去，旅馆会怎么样……”一时间，谁也没有说话。 最后，林克莱特先生站了起来。 “现在，如果你不介意的话，”他说，“我得告诉我的叔叔婶婶，香格里拉酒店今年不会有赏花周了。” 孩子们谢过林克莱特先生，然后回到大厅。 “伙计们，我们得做点什么!”丁克低声说。 “但是我们能做什么呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 就在这时，李维匆匆向他们走来。 “他说什么?”她问。 “他告诉了我们关于鬼魂的事，”露丝·罗斯说。 她向利维描述了这一切。

"So there really is a ghost in the hotel!" Livvy said. She looked nervously over her shoulder. "What's Mr. Linkletter gonna do?" "I don't know," Dink answered. He looked at Josh and Ruth Rose. "But we're gonna try to help, right?" "Good luck!" Livvy said. "I'll be down in my cubbyhole eating lunch." She opened a small door next to the elevator and disappeared. "How're we s'posed to help?" Josh asked Dink. "We don't know anything about ghosts!" "Well, I know one thing," Dink said. "No ghost is shutting down the Shangri-la if I have anything to do with it!" "Dink is right," Ruth Rose said. "Mr. Linkletter is our friend. We have to think of something!" Suddenly the elevator door opened. A figure in white stood staring out at them. "It's the ghost!" Josh screamed.

“这么说酒店里真的有鬼了!”Livvy说。 她紧张地回头看了看。 “林克莱特先生会怎么做?”“我不知道，”丁克回答。 他看着乔希和露丝·罗斯。 “但我们会尽力帮忙的，对吧?”“祝你好运!”Livvy说。 “我会在我的格子间里吃午饭。” 她打开电梯旁边的一扇小门，消失了。 “我们该怎么帮忙呢?”乔希问丁克。 “我们对鬼一无所知!”“嗯，我知道一件事，”丁克说。 “只要跟我有关系，就不会有什么鬼让香格里拉关门!”“丁克说得对，”露丝·罗斯说。 “林克莱特先生是我们的朋友。 我们得想想办法!”突然，电梯门开了。 一个穿白衣的人站在那里盯着他们。 “是鬼!”Josh尖叫。