Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The three kids stood frozen as the elevator door slid shut again. For a minute, no one moved. Then Ruth Rose reached over and punched the UP button for the elevator. "What're you doing!" Josh squeaked. "Following the ghost," she said.

"Are you crazy?" Josh said. "What if ghosts don't like kids?" "Gee, Josh," Dink said. "I thought you didn't believe in ghosts." "Unless I see one with my own eyes," Josh said, "and I just did! Let's get out of here!" The elevator door opened. "Too late, Josh," Dink said. He and Ruth Rose pulled Josh into the elevator with them. Dink pushed the button marked 2. "We'll check each floor," he said. When the door opened on the second floor, the hallway was empty. "Two more floors," Ruth Rose said, pushing the number 3 button. But they didn't see the ghost on the third or fourth floor, either. "There are no more floors," Dink said, looking at the panel of buttons. "Good, let's go home!" Josh said. "What's this one for?" Ruth Rose asked, pointing to a black button without a number. "Maybe you push it for emergencies," Dink said.

She shook her head. "Nope. This red one says EMERGENCY." Dink shrugged. "There's only one way to find out," he said. He pushed the black button. The elevator creaked, then slowly started moving up. "I'm having a nightmare," Josh mumbled. "I'm not really chasing a ghost around a hotel. Any minute, I'm gonna wake up in bed!" "Don't worry Josh," Ruth Rose said with a grin. "I'll protect you." The elevator stopped with a gentle thud. When the doors opened, the ghost was waiting for them. "It followed us!" Josh screamed, jumping behind Ruth Rose. "No, you followed me!" the ghost said. "What do you want?"

Behind the white figure, a door opened. A stooped, gray-haired man stepped into the hall. The ghost pointed a thin finger at the kids. "They followed me up here, Ebenezer." The man chuckled and shuffled toward the open elevator. "Well, perhaps we should keep them!"

"NO!" Josh yelled from behind Ruth Rose. "Please let us go! If you kill me, I'll be grounded for sure!" Dink stared at the figure in white. Where had he seen that face before? Suddenly he remembered. She was the woman in the picture on Mr. Linkletter's desk! Dink stepped out of the elevator. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Spivets," he said. "I'm Dink Duncan and these are my friends Josh and Ruth Rose." "How d'you do," the man said, peering at Dink. His eyes were the color of blueberries. "You must be the three children our nephew told us about." Josh peeked at Mrs. Spivets from behind Ruth Rose. "You mean she's not the ghost?" he asked. "Of course I'm not the ghost!" Mrs. Spivets said. "Ebenezer, shall we invite these three in for cookies?" "Of course, my love." The old man smiled at the kids. "Come along, kid-dos!" The kids followed Mr. and Mrs. Spivets through a small hallway and into an old-fashioned parlor. Sunlight poured into the room. Through tall windows, the kids could see treetops across Main Street.

Dink looked around the room. The walls were covered with paintings, and he'd never seen so many books! Mrs. Spivets came in carrying a tray. "Please sit," she told the kids. She handed each of them a glass of milk. Her husband bustled in with a cookie jar shaped like a rooster. He pulled off the rooster's head. "Cookie?" he said. Each of the kids took one cookie. "Now then," Mr. Spivets said as he sat next to his wife, "what are you kids up to?" "We read about the ghost in the newspaper," Ruth Rose said. "And we came to see it," Dink said. "But we didn't!" Josh added. "Then Mr. Linkletter told us how the ghost is ruining the hotel's business," Ruth Rose continued. "So we've decided to investigate!" Mrs. Spivets stared at the kids. "Investigate?" she said. "Like detectives?" "Right," Dink said. "Did you see the ghost?" he asked Mrs. Spivets. She looked at her husband. "No, but we've heard it, haven't we, dear?"