Chapter 9

Chapter 9 "So you really are the ghost?" Ruth Rose asked. Mr. Jeffers nodded. "That was me last night," he said. "Cindy here was the ghost the first two nights." He looked at the kids. "Weren't you asleep in your rooms when I came by?"

第九章“这么说你真的是鬼了?”露丝·罗斯问。 杰弗斯先生点点头。“昨晚就是我，”他说。 "辛迪是前两晚的鬼魂" 他看着孩子们。“我来的时候，你们不是在自己的房间里睡觉吗?”

"We hid in a smelly closet and saw you!" Josh said. Mr. Jeffers smiled. "Do I make a good ghost?" "You sure scared me!" Josh said. "But why did you do it?" Ruth Rose asked. "We're both actors, and we're broke," Mrs. Jeffers said. "A few weeks ago, three men came up to us after a rehearsal and asked if we wanted a job." "So we told them sure!" her husband said. "The men told us to check into the Shangri-la and scare the guests away. We came up with the ghost costume ourselves." "How do you make it glow?" Josh asked. "I glued a string of tiny lights inside the gown," Mrs. Jeffers said. "The battery was under the wig." Her husband smiled. "And I thought of hiding the tape recorder in the basement dumbwaiter. The noise went all through the hotel walls!" "But that's so mean!" Ruth Rose said. "If the hotel closes, what will happen to Mr. Linkletter and Livvy and Mr. and Mrs. Spivets?" Mr. Jeffers put up his hands. "Who said anything about the hotel closing?"

“我们躲在一个臭柜子里看见了你!”杰克说。 杰弗斯先生笑了。“我是个好鬼吗?”“你吓到我了!”杰克说。 “可你为什么要这样做呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我们都是演员，而且我们身无分文，”杰弗斯太太说。 “几周前，排练结束后，有三个男人走过来问我们要不要找份工作。” “所以我们告诉他们可以!”她的丈夫说。 “那些人让我们入住香格里拉酒店，把客人吓跑。 幽灵服装是我们自己设计的。” “你怎么让它发光?”杰克问。 “我在礼服里面粘了一串小灯，”杰弗斯太太说。 “电池在假发下面。” 她丈夫笑了。“我想把录音机藏在地下室的升降机里。 那声音穿过了旅馆的墙壁!”“可那太卑鄙了!”露丝·罗斯说。 “如果酒店关门了，林克莱特先生、李维先生和斯比韦茨夫妇会怎么样?”杰弗斯先生举起双手。 “谁说酒店要关门了?”

"Mr. and Mrs. Spivets did," Dink said. "They're selling the hotel because of you!" "What?" Mrs. Jeffers said. "But Mr. and Mrs. Spivets are supposed to know all about the ghost act. So is Mr. Linkletter." "Look," said Mr. Jeffers. "The three guys who hired us told us that the hotel is going to be used in a horror movie. Scaring guests away is supposed to be great publicity. All the guests are going to get their money back, plus free passes to the movie." "And we're supposed to get starring parts in the movie!" his wife said. "It's a big break for us!" The kids looked at each other. "But Mr. and Mrs. Spivets don't know anything about any movie," Ruth Rose said. "Neither does Mr. Linkletter. They're really upset because they're going to have to sell the hotel. Today!" "Yeah," Josh said. "Mrs. Spivets was crying and everything!" "We even saw the letter from the real estate company," Dink said. "Their names were something like Peach or Roach." "Eatch, Rail, and Roock?" Mr. Jeffers suddenly asked.

“斯比韦茨夫妇送的，”丁克说。 “因为你，他们要卖掉酒店!”“什么?”杰弗斯太太说。 “可是斯比韦茨先生和太太应该知道所有关于幽灵表演的事。 林克莱特先生也是。”“看，”杰弗斯先生说。 “雇用我们的三个人告诉我们，这家酒店将被用于拍摄一部恐怖电影。 把客人吓跑应该是很好的宣传。 所有的客人都会拿回他们的钱，外加免费电影票。” 他的妻子说:“我们应该在电影中担任主演!” “这对我们来说是一个重大突破!”孩子们面面相觑。 “但是斯比韦茨夫妇对任何电影都不了解，”露丝·罗斯说。 林克莱特也不这么认为。 他们真的很沮丧，因为他们将不得不卖掉酒店。 今天!”“是的，”乔希说。 “斯比薇太太哭得厉害!”“我们甚至看到了房地产公司的来信，”丁克说。 “它们的名字是桃子或罗奇之类的。” “伊奇、瑞尔和洛克?”杰弗斯先生突然问道。

"That's them!" Dink said. "They've been trying to buy the hotel for a long time, but Mr. Spivets refused to sell. Until now." Mr. Jeffers looked at his wife. "Oh, no," he said. "Eatch, Rail, and Roock are the men who hired us!"

“那是他们!”丁克说。长期以来，他们一直试图收购这家酒店，但斯比韦茨拒绝出售。 直到现在。”杰弗斯先生看着他的妻子。 “哦，不，”他说。“伊奇、瑞尔和洛克是雇我们的人!”

His wife had gone from happy to sad. "No wonder they told us not to talk to Mr. Linkletter about the movie. There never was one!" Her husband shook his head. "All they wanted was the hotel—and we helped them get it!" "I feel terrible," Mrs. Jeffers said. She turned to her husband. "Todd, isn't there anything we can do?" Mr. Jeffers looked at the kids. "Do you think it's too late?" he asked. "Have they actually sold the hotel yet?" Dink glanced at the clock over the counter. "They're signing the papers at noon," he said. "But I think I know how you can get rid of Eatch, Rail, and Roock and save the hotel at the same time!"

他的妻子从高兴变成了悲伤。 “难怪他们告诉我们不要和林克莱特谈论这部电影。 从来就没有!”她的丈夫摇了摇头。 “他们想要的只是酒店——我们帮他们得到了!”“我感觉糟透了，”杰弗斯太太说。 她转向丈夫。 “托德，我们就不能做点什么吗?”杰弗斯先生看着孩子们。 “你觉得现在太晚了吗?”他问。 “他们真的把酒店卖了吗?”丁克瞥了一眼柜台上的钟。 “他们将在中午签署文件，”他说。 “但我想我知道怎样才能除掉伊奇、瑞尔和洛克，同时保住旅馆!”