"Martin, Ann M - Baby-sitters Club Mystery 022 - Stacey and the Haunted Masquerade" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

"Okay, I guess," Jordan replied, just as the other two triplets came running in after him.
"Byron! Adam!" said Abby. "WhatТs up?"
"We just spotted a ghost!" exclaimed Byron, who was armed with a plastic ray gun.
"A huge one!" Adam added, brandishing his own weapon, which looked suspiciously like an old vacuum-cleaner hose.
"Any ectoplasmic residue?" Abby asked, without missing a beat.
"Tons!" said Adam. "We were slimed in a big way." He grinned, as if being slimed were something to be happy about. Then he and the other two ran off, shouting something about telekinetic activity.
No sooner had they left than Vanessa showed up, with Margo and Claire in tow. "Hi, Vanessa," Abby said. "Written any new poems lately?"
"Lots," said Vanessa, who's nine and wants
to be a poet (she's already written volumes and volumes of verse). "Want to hear the one I'm working on today?" she asked. "ItТs called "The Haunting of Pike House.' ItТs going to be an epic, but so far itТs only three pages long. It starts off like this: 'Ghosts and goblins, witches and spooks, the Pike house has all kinds of kooks Ч ' "
"Make her stop!" cried Margo, covering her ears. "I already heard it five times, and I'm sick of it!"
"You're not going to throw up, are you, Margo?" asked Abby. Margo, who is seven, has a weak stomach.
"Not if she quits reading that dumb poem," Margo said.
"I like it," Claire piped up.
"ThatТs because you love witches and ghosts," said Abby, who had heard about the way Claire loves to dress up in her witch's costume. Claire is five, the youngest of the Pike kids.
"Yeah! Ghosts!" Claire cried. "I ain't afraid of no ghosts," she sang, mimicking the deep voice of the guy who sings the Ghostbusters theme song.
Mal glanced at Abby and rolled her eyes. "They're all obsessed," she said with a sigh. "I can't seem to escape that movie."
"Well, why fight it?" asked Abby. "Maybe today's the perfect day to do some real ghostbusting."
"Yea!" shouted Vanessa.
"Can we?" begged Margo.
"Ghostbusters!" yelled Claire, so loudly that her four brothers ran in to see what was up.
"What's going on?" asked Nicky.
"I have a strong feeling that this house needs to be ghostbusted from top to bottom," said Abby.
"Yea!" yelled Byron.
"LetТs do it!" shouted Adam.
"Who you gonna call?" Jordan chanted.
"GHOSTBUSTERS!" yelled all the kids at once.
"Okay, okay, let's calm down just a little," said Abby, grinning. "First, letТs divide up into teams. Mal, if you'll take the younger kids, I'll take Vanessa and the triplets."
"I want to be with Adam and Jordan and Byron!" yelled Nicky immediately.
"And I want to be with my sisters!" said Vanessa. "Who wants to do ghostbusting with you stinky old boys?"
"Okay, so you two can switch teams," said Abby, unruffled. "Now, I think Mal's team can search the basement and the first floor, and my team can check out the attic and the upstairs. Does that sound good?"
"Perfect," said Mal, who was enjoying the way Abby had taken charge. She told us later that Abby seemed to have found the perfect balance between being a baby-sitter and a pal. She was ready to have a great time playing with the kids, but she was also careful to organize activities and to keep the situation from becoming too wild.
"LetТs head out," said Byron, shouldering his ray gun.
"Hold on, buddy," said Abby. "Not so fast. First, we'd better do an equipment check. Does each team have their ghost detector all charged up?"
The kids looked at each other, bewildered.
"And what about your collection units?" she asked.
The kids looked even more confused. Abby grinned. "Don't have any?" she asked. "No problem. Who got new shoes for school this fall?"
Byron, Nicky, Margo, and Claire raised their hands.
"Still have the boxes?" Abby asked.
They nodded.
"Run and find them," she said. "We'll have our equipment ready in a second."
Sure enough, it didn't take long to transform the shoeboxes with markers and stickers, and attach straps made of string, using plenty of
tape. As soon as they were finished, Abby helped two kids on each team put the boxes on, backpack style. "Cool!" she said. "Now we're all set. LetТs see which team can catch more ghosts. Ready? Go!" She dashed up the stairs, leading her team.
Mal told us later that the rest of the afternoon flew by. The Pike house practically shook with crashes and bangs and shouts, but no permanent damage was done, and the kids had a terrific time.
Mal led her team through the downstairs and into the basement, helping them corner and capture various "ghosts" as they came across them.
"Here's a laundry ghost!" called Claire, opening the dryer door. "Catch him, quick!"
Vanessa scooped the "ghost" into her collection unit.
"There's some ectoplasm dripping down this wall!" yelled Margo.
"Take a sample," Mal told her. "We'll analyze it later, in the lab."
Meanwhile, upstairs, things were a little wilder. Mal heard the shrieks and screams, but she didn't learn the details until later, when Nicky and the triplets filled her in.
First, Abby led the boys on a search of the upstairs bedrooms. They entered each room