Chapter 6

Chapter 6 "It smells awful in here," Josh muttered. "Josh, this closet is filled with cleaning stuff," Dink told him. "It's supposed to smell awful." "Could you guys whisper?" Ruth Rose said. "You want our parents to wake up and find us gone?" It was nearly midnight. Ten minutes before, the kids had snuck out of their rooms and hidden in

the closet. Josh yawned. "I should be asleep, having a great dream," he said. "Instead, I'm squashed in here like a sardine, waiting for a dumb ghost who isn't even real!" Dink grinned in the dark. "I heard that ghosts hate kids with red hair," he whispered. "Yeah? Well, I heard that ghosts eat blondhaired kids for breakfast!" Suddenly Ruth Rose put out both hands. "Shh, I think I heard something," she said. Josh snorted. "Nice try, Ruth Rose, but…" "Shh!" whispered Dink. "I heard something, too!" He pushed the closet door open a crack. All three kids peered out into the hallway. Dink heard a groan, like the wind howling through a cave. Suddenly a tall white figure appeared at the end of the hall. It gave off a shimmery white light and seemed to float above the floor. "Oh my gosh!" Josh croaked. "I wanna go back to bed!" The ghost wore a long white gown. Its hair was white and stuck up in spikes. And there were just

black, empty holes where the eyes should have been! Josh grabbed Dink's arm. It hurt, but Dink was too scared to say anything. The figure drifted slowly toward the kids' hiding place. It was carrying a long silver sword. "It knows we're in here!" Josh squeaked. The ghost paused at each door, then stopped in front of Room 202. That's our room! Dink thought. "Diiiiinnnnk," the ghost moaned. "Goooo hooooome! Thiiiis plaaace is daaaangerous!" Every hair on Dink's head stood up. He felt cold, as if someone had opened a window. The ghost floated to the next room. This time it moaned, "Josssh, go hooome. Leave before it's toooo laaate!"

Outside Room 204, the ghost moaned its final message: "Ruth Rose, take your faaamily and leave nooow!" Then the ghost drifted back the way it had come. Seconds later, the hallway was empty. Ruth Rose jumped up and shoved the door open. "Come on, let's see where it went!" she said. "Who cares where it went!" Josh said. "I'm outta here!" "Come on, Josh," Dink said. "I promised Mr. and Mrs. Spivets we'd get rid of the ghost. And we only have till morning!" "But what if it gets rid of us instead!" Dink grabbed Josh's arm and started down the hall. He stopped and listened at Room 202. He heard his father snoring, and grinned. Suddenly Josh stuck his nose in the air. "What's that smell?" he said. Dink shrugged and kept walking. Ruth Rose had reached the end of the hall. "It disappeared," she said when they were standing together. "I smell it here, too," Josh said. "Smell what?" Ruth Rose asked.

"I don't know," Josh said. "But it reminds me of something," Around the corner, the kids found a gray metal door. A red sign on the door read FIRE EXIT. "Maybe it went through there!" Ruth Rose whispered, pointing at the door. Dink held his breath, then slowly pushed the door open. The kids peered into the stairwell. They saw dark steps going up and down. "Should we split up and check it out?" Dink asked. "No way!" Josh said. "We stick together!" Dink grinned at his friend. "Still think the ghost is a joke?" Josh made a face at Dink. "Guys," Ruth Rose said. "How did the ghost know our names and which rooms we were in?" "Maybe it has supernatural powers!" Josh said. "Or maybe the ghost is really someone in the hotel," Dink added. "Someone who knows us!" Ruth Rose nodded. "I think the ghost came out tonight looking just for us." "You mean to scare us away, like it did the other people?" Dink asked. Ruth Rose nodded again.

"Well, it worked!" Josh said. "Let's hit the trail!" "Hey, what's this?" Ruth Rose asked. She plucked a white hair off the doorframe. Dink examined the hair. "The ghost had white hair like this," he said. "Yeah," Ruth Rose said, "but ghosts don't lose hair, people do!" Suddenly the door to Room 204 opened. Ruth Rose's father popped his head out. "Okay, you guys, time to hit the sack."