Read The Pinstripe Ghost for Free Online

Kate said. “He didn’t see us.”
    Just before the storage room, Mr. Williams stopped and looked around. He opened the metal door and stepped inside.
    “I knew he had something to do with this!” Mike cried.
    “Shh!” Kate said again.
    A few minutes passed. Then the door swung open. Mr. Williams came out of the storage room carrying a large brown cardboard box. The side of the box read BOOKS . He continued down the hall.
    Mike sighed and slumped against the wall. “He’s just getting his books,” he said.
    “The books are his cover,” Kate answered. “I’ll bet he goes in there and opens that vent. Then he sets something up to make that noise after he leaves. Maybe he calls someone to open the vent outside and let in cold air. It’s the perfect excuse!”
    A few more minutes ticked by. The crowd near the hot dog stand thinned out.
    “Do you think the ghost is going to show up today?” asked Mike. “It’s getting close to game time.”
    “He’ll be here,” Kate said.
    They waited and watched. Kate checked the time.
    “This is boring,” Mike groaned. He fidgeted with his baseball.
    Just then, they heard the ghostly sound. It came from right near them!
    KRRRRTT. SWWWWSSSSH. KRRRRTT
.
    “Babe Ruth’s ghost!” Mike whispered.
    “Shh,” Kate hushed him a third time. The sound ended. “Now, let’s see if Mr. Williams comes back. He’ll need to undo whatever made the ghostly sounds.”
    Nothing more happened. No sounds. No Mr. Williams. Maybe their theory wasn’t right.
    “He’s not coming, Kate,” Mike said.
    Mike was about to stand up when the door to the storeroom cracked open. After a few seconds, Sammy and his friends came out.
    Sammy was wearing the same Yankeespin-striped jersey from the day before. But the bottom front edge was stained a bright cherry red. Behind them, the door slammed shut. Sammy and his friends joined the crowd in the main hallway.

    Mike laughed. “I guess I’m not the only clumsy one around!” he said. “Sammy spilled something all over his jersey.”
    Kate jumped up. “Mike—that’s it! The PowerPunch!”
    “The PowerPunch?” Mike asked. “What’s PowerPunch got to do with anything?”
    “Not just any PowerPunch,” Kate said.
“Your
PowerPunch! Remember when you spilled it in the vent yesterday?”
    “Yeah, so what?” Mike asked.
    Kate stamped her foot. “Don’t you see?” she said. She got frustrated when her cousin didn’t keep up with her thinking.
“You
spilled the PowerPunch in the vent yesterday. I’ll bet some of it was still there today, since we didn’t clean it up. I’ll bet the red stain on Sammy’s shirt came from your spilled PowerPunch!”
    “You think he crawled through the vent? And his shirt dragged through the PowerPunch?” asked Mike. “Why would Sammy be climbing through the vent?”
    “Because he and his friends are sneaking into the stadium!” Kate said. “It all fits. It’s
not
Mr. Williams! The air-conditioning duct must start somewhere outside the stadium. Probably near a flower bed or park. That’s why we saw the dirt and wood chips on the floor of the storeroom. It came from their sneakers!”
    “That means the ghost sounds that we heard were actually Sammy and his friends crawling through the ducts,” Mike said.
    “Yes,” Kate said. “Sammy and his friends are the ghosts!”

Babe Ruth’s Ghost
    Kate sprang up and pulled the door to the storeroom open. She clicked on the light. The room was empty.
    “Hey, look at that,” Mike said. He pointed to the fresh bits of dirt leading from the back wall to the door.
    “What are you kids doing in here?” asked a deep voice.
    Mike and Kate whirled around. “Mr. Williams!” they said.
    “Didn’t I tell you two to leave the ghosts to me?” Mr. Williams asked.
    “But …,” Mike started. “We were—”
    “Never mind,” Mr. Williams said. “I’ve been looking for you.”
    “You have?” Mike asked. “Why?”
    “Bud told me you were still hunting