4 A GREAT IDEA

CHAPTER 4 A GREAT IDEA Who do we have here?" Beckett asked when Claire walked into the library craft room with a jarful of ghosts. Kaz and his family passed through the jar and expanded. Grandmom and Grandpop gazed up at the paper birds that dangled from the ceiling. "Beckett, these are our grandparents," Kaz said. "Grandmom, Grandpop, this is Beckett." Beckett froze when Kaz said grandparents. "Hello," Grandmom said, turning to Beckett with a friendly smile. "It's nice to meet you," Grandpop said, offering his hand.

第四章好主意谁来了？”当克莱尔带着一罐鬼魂走进图书馆的工艺室时，贝克特问道。 卡兹和他的家人穿过了这个罐子，扩大了规模。 爷爷奶奶抬头凝视着从天花板上悬挂下来的纸鸟。 “贝克特，他们是我们的祖父母，”卡兹说。 “奶奶，爷爷，这是贝克特。” 当卡兹说爷爷奶奶时，贝克特惊呆了。 “你好，”奶奶对贝克特说，脸上带着友好的微笑。 “很高兴见到你，”爷爷说着伸出手来。

Beckett took it. "It's, uh, nice to see you again," he said, not quite looking Grandpop in the eye. "Again?" Grandpop seemed confused. "Have we met before?" Mom wafted over. "Dad, this is Beckett," she said. "You know, from our haunt in the country." Haunt in the country? Grandmom's smile disappeared. "What haunt in the country?" Little John asked. Grandpop yanked his hand from Beckett's. He turned angry eyes to Kaz and Little John. "This is the ghost who was looking after you?"

贝克特拿走了。“嗯，很高兴再次见到你，”他说，没有直视爷爷的眼睛。 “再一次?”爷爷似乎很困惑。 “我们以前见过面吗？”妈妈飘飘然地走过来。 “爸爸，这是贝克特，”她说。 “你知道，就是我们在乡下常去的地方。” 在乡下出没？祖母的笑容消失了。 “乡下有什么鬼出没？”小约翰问。 爷爷从贝克特的手里抽了抽他的手。 他愤怒地看着卡兹和小约翰。 “这就是照顾你的鬼魂？”

"Why didn't you tell us?" Grandmom expanded in front of them. Kaz and Little John glanced at each other. "Tell you what?" Kaz asked. He and Little John had told their grandparents all about Beckett. "We didn't know this was the Beckett you were talking about," Grandmom said. "We can't stay here," Grandpop told Claire. "I demand that you take us back to Valley View at once." "No, no," Beckett said, raising the palm of his hand. "I'll go." "You were here first," Mom said. "We'll go." She motioned for Kaz and Little John to swim back into the jar. "What? No!" Kaz and Little John protested. "There are six of you. Seven, including the dog," Beckett said. "And only one of me. I can find a new haunt." He wafted over to Claire. "Would you mind transporting me to another haunt? Preferably one with some books?"

“你为什么不告诉我们？”奶奶在他们面前展开。 卡兹和小约翰互相看了一眼。 “告诉你吧？”Kaz问道。 他和小约翰把贝克特的事都告诉了爷爷奶奶。 “我们不知道这就是你说的贝克特，”奶奶说。 “我们不能呆在这里，”爷爷告诉克莱尔。 “我要求你马上带我们回谷景城。” “不，不，”贝克特说，举起手掌。 “我去。”“你先来的，”妈妈说。 “我们走吧。”她示意卡兹和小约翰游回罐子里。 “什么?不!”卡兹和小约翰抗议道。 “你们有六个人。七个，包括狗。”贝克特说。 “而且只有我一个人。我可以找到一个新地方。” 他飘飘然地走向克莱尔。“你介意把我带到另一个出没的地方吗？” 最好是一个有书的房间？”

Claire shook her head. "I'm not taking anyone anywhere right now!" she said. "It's dinnertime. And I don't think my parents will let me go out again after dinner. So, unless you all want to blow around in the wind outside, you're stuck here until I get home from school tomorrow." The ghosts stared at Claire. "Tomorrow then," Grandpop said firmly. "Tomorrow you'll take us back to the nursing home as soon as you return from school." "It's not fair," Little John moaned later that night while Claire and her family were asleep. "I don't want to live at Valley View with all the old people." "Neither do I," Kaz said. "I don't know why we can't all live here together. What happened at the haunt in the country? Why are Mom and Grandmom and Grandpop so mad at Beckett?" "I don't know," Little John said. "I think someone should tell us."

克莱尔摇了摇头。“我现在不会带任何人去任何地方！”她说。 “这是晚餐时间。我想我父母不会让我晚饭后再出去了。 所以，除非你们都想在外面被风吹来吹去，否则你们就被困在这里，直到我明天放学回家。” 鬼魂们盯着克莱尔。 “那就明天吧，”爷爷坚定地说。 “明天你一放学就带我们回养老院。” “这不公平，”那天晚上，克莱尔和她的家人都睡着了，小约翰呻吟道。 “我不想和所有的老人一起住在山谷景。” “我也不知道。”卡兹说。“我不知道为什么我们不能一起住在这里。 乡下那个鬼出没的地方发生了什么？ 为什么妈妈、爷爷、奶奶对贝克特这么生气？”“我不知道，”小约翰说。 “我觉得应该有人告诉我们。”

Kaz agreed. But Pops couldn't answer any of their questions because he didn't know. And Mom, Grandmom, and Grandpop gave them the same answer: "It doesn't concern you." It does too concern us if we have to leave the library, Kaz thought. If no one else was going to tell them what happened, Kaz and Little John thought they'd ask Beckett. But they couldn't find him. They searched upstairs, downstairs, and in the secret room. Beckett was nowhere to be found.

Kaz同意了。但是老爷子无法回答他们的任何问题，因为他不知道。 妈妈、奶奶和爷爷给了他们同样的答案：“这不关你的事。” 如果我们不得不离开图书馆，我们也会担心的，卡兹想。 如果没有人告诉他们发生了什么，卡兹和小约翰想他们应该问问贝克特。 但是他们找不到他。 他们搜遍了楼上、楼下和那间密室。 贝克特无处可寻。