9 A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE

CHAPTER 9 A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE It was starting to get dark outside. Margaret climbed the rope ladder first, and the other girls passed their suitcases, sleeping bags, and flashlights up to her. She piled everything on the porch and unlocked the door. The other girls climbed the ladder, grabbed their things, and crawled inside the tree house. Claire closed the door behind them and turned on her flashlight. Kaz, Little John, Mom, and Pops passed through the water bottle and expanded partway back to their normal sizes. It was too crowded to expand all the way.

第九章一个躲藏的好地方外面开始变黑了。 玛格丽特先爬上绳梯，其他女孩把行李箱、睡袋和手电筒递给她。 她把所有的东西都堆在门廊上，打开了门。 其他女孩爬上梯子，抓起自己的东西，爬进树屋。 克莱尔关上了他们身后的门，打开手电筒。 卡兹、小约翰、妈妈和爸爸穿过水瓶，又变回了原来的大小。 它太拥挤了，无法一直扩张下去。

They looked around, but didn't see any other ghosts in the tree house. "Maybe the ghost is hiding," Little John said. "Where?" Kaz asked. "I don't know." Little John shrugged. "But he always comes back. So maybe he never really leaves." It was a possibility, Kaz thought. Where could a ghost hide in here? "What makes you so sure there's a ghost in this tree house, Margaret?" Kenya asked as she plopped down on a red pillow. Olivia plopped down on a green pillow beside her. Margaret and Claire unrolled their sleeping bags. "I don't know if I dreamed this or it really happened," Margaret said. "But last night while I was asleep, I heard this voice. It said there was a ghost in the tree house."

他们四处看了看，但没有看到树屋里还有别的鬼。 “也许鬼魂藏起来了，”小约翰说。 “在哪里?”Kaz问道。“我不知道。” 小约翰耸了耸肩。“但他总是回来的。 所以也许他从来没有真正离开过。” 这是有可能的，卡兹想。 鬼能躲在这里吗？ “玛格丽特，你凭什么这么肯定树屋里有鬼？”肯雅一屁股坐在一个红色枕头上问道。 奥利维亚扑通一声坐在她身旁的一个绿色枕头上。 玛格丽特和克莱尔打开了睡袋。 “我不知道这是我的梦还是真的发生了，”玛格丽特说。 “但昨晚我睡觉的时候，我听到了这个声音。 它说树屋里有个鬼。”

"That was me," Kaz told Claire. "It wanted me to go out to the tree house and bring a water bottle that was half full of water and then pour the water on the ghost," Margaret added. Kenya and Olivia giggled. Claire shot Kaz a look. "I can explain—" he started to say. "That had to be a dream," Olivia said to Margaret. "I thought so, too," Margaret said. "I got up and went to the window, but I didn't see anything in the tree house. I've definitely seen a ghost out here other nights, though. So has Henry. Then this morning, I heard a ghost in my room. It wasn't in the tree house anymore. It was in my room. It told me to get Claire."

“那是我，”卡兹告诉克莱尔。 玛格丽特补充说：“它想让我去树屋，拿一个装了半瓶水的水瓶，然后把水倒在鬼魂身上。” 肯雅和奥利维亚咯咯地笑起来。克莱尔看了卡兹一眼。 “我可以解释——”他开始说。 “那一定是个梦，”奥利维亚对玛格丽特说。 “我也这么想，”玛格丽特说。 我起身走到窗前，但我没有看到树屋里有任何东西。 不过我确实在别的晚上看到过鬼。 亨利也是。今天早上，我听到房间里有鬼。 它不在树屋里了。 它在我的房间里。它让我去找克莱尔。”

"How does it know Claire's name?" Olivia asked. "Wait." Kenya held up her hand. "You think the ghost is in your house now?" she asked Margaret. "Then what are we doing out here?" Margaret threw her hands into the air. "I don't know if it's in my house. I don't know if it's out here. I don't know where it is!" "But you saw a ghost inside your house this morning? For real?" Olivia asked. "Well... I didn't see it. I heard it," Margaret said.

“它怎么知道克莱尔的名字？”奥利维亚问道。 “等等。”肯雅举起了手。 “你认为鬼魂现在在你的房子里吗？”她问玛格丽特。 “那我们在外面干什么？”玛格丽特把双手举到空中。 “我不知道它是不是在我家里。 我不知道是不是在这里。 我不知道它在哪儿！”“但是你今天早上在你的房子里看到了一个鬼？” 真的吗?”奥利维亚问道。“嗯…… 我没看到。我听到了，”玛格丽特说。

"How do you know it was a ghost?" Kenya asked. "Because it told me it was!" Margaret said. Kenya looked doubtful. Claire stretched her legs out in front of her. "We'll see if any ghosts visit us tonight," she said. "If not, it'll still be fun to sleep in a tree house." Kaz and his family floated around the tree house. Mom stopped in front of one window and peered outside. Pops hovered in front of the other window. Kaz and Little John drifted back and forth above the girls. "I wonder if that tree branch is hollow on the inside," Little John said out of the blue. The other ghosts and Claire all turned toward the branch. "Hmm," Kaz said. "If it is, that would be a good place for a ghost to hide." Kaz stuck his arm inside the branch. "It feels hollow," he said. He shrank down... down...

“你怎么知道那是鬼？”肯尼亚问道。 “因为它告诉我它是！”玛格丽特说。 肯尼亚看起来很可疑。克莱尔把腿伸到身前。 “我们看看今晚会不会有鬼魂来拜访我们，”她说。 “如果没有，睡在树屋里也会很有趣。” 和子和他的家人漂浮在树屋周围。 妈妈停在一扇窗前，向外张望。 老爷子在另一扇窗户前徘徊。 卡兹和小约翰在女孩们的头顶上飘来飘去。 “我想知道那根树枝是不是里面是空的，”小约翰突然说。 其他鬼魂和克莱尔都转向树枝。 “嗯，”卡兹说。“如果是的话，那将是鬼魂藏身的好地方。” 卡兹把胳膊伸到树枝里。 “感觉很空洞，”他说。 他畏缩了……下来……

down... then passed through the bark of the branch. "Our Kaz has gotten so brave," Mom said from the tree house. Having his parents and Claire so close made Kaz feel brave. He blinked his eyes a couple of times to adjust to the darkness, then looked around. He was inside a narrow, hollow tunnel inside the tree branch. Bits of dirt and dust clung to the inside of the branch. Kaz shrank down... down... down... down a little more, and swam headfirst through the tunnel. "Hello?" he called. "Is there anyone in here?" He didn't see any ghosts.

下来……然后穿过树枝的树皮。 “我们的和子变得很勇敢，”妈妈在树屋里说。 父母和克莱尔如此亲密，卡兹觉得自己很勇敢。 他眨了几下眼睛以适应黑暗，然后环顾四周。 他在树枝里的一条狭窄的空心隧道里。 一些泥土和灰尘粘在树枝的内侧。 卡兹退缩了……下来…… 下来……再往下一点，头朝前游过隧道。 “喂？”他喊道。“这里有人吗？”他没有看到鬼。