Text Leveling System

The Haunted Hotel

RDQ:	940	Max Word/Sent	30	Total Words	3110		Diff Words	779
Lex	730	Ave Word/.Sent	6	Hi Freq occurs	2052	66%	Hi freq	322	41.3%
AR	3.5	Long Sentences	0.4	Low Freq occurs	141	4.5%	Low freq	95	12.2%

CHAPTER 1
"Oh my gosh!" Dink cried. "There's a
ghost in Green Lawn!"
Donald David Duncan, Dink to his
friends, was reading the Sunday newspaper
on his living room floor.
Josh was sprawled on the sofa. He
was using raisins to teach Dink's guinea
pig, Loretta, to do math.
Loretta gobbled up one of the
raisins.]]
"Loretta!" Josh scolded. "If you keep
eating all the raisins, you'll never learn
to add!"
Ruth Rose was doing the crossword
puzzle. "Maybe she's trying to teach
you to subtract, Joshua," she said.
Josh tossed a raisin at her.
"I'm serious, you guys!" Dink said.
He poked his finger at the Green Lawn
Gazette's front page. "C'mere and read
this!"
Ruth Rose glanced at the newspaper.
"HEY, THAT'S MR. LINKLETTER!
 she yelled.
Josh put Loretta in her cage, then
read the headline over Dink' s shoulder.
HAUNTED HOTEL! GHOST SCARES
AWAY SHANGRI-LA GUESTS
"See, I told you, Dink said.
Josh grinned. "You don't really
believe that stuff, do you?" he asked.]]
"I'll bet it's a Halloween joke or something.
"Yeah, well, Mr. Linkletter looks
pretty unhappy in this picture," Dink
said. "And he never tells jokes!"
"Besides, Halloween isn't for two
more weeks, Ruth Rose added.
Josh snorted. "Well, I don't believe
in ghosts," he said. "Not until I see one
with my own eyes!"
"Listen to this, Dink said, reading
from the paper. "'Guests report seeing a
ghost floating down the hall at midnight.
It was carrying a silver sword!'"
Josh snorted again. "Ghosts don't
carry swords," he said.
Ruth Rose reached for her Jacket.
"Why don't we go to the hotel and see
for ourselves?"
"Great idea, Dink said,  pulling on
his sneakers.
Josh let out a big sigh. "Okay, but ]]
I'm only coming to prove that I'm
right."
The kids left Dink's house and
headed around Silver Circle.
A bunch of kids were playing soccer
at the elementary school. Their noses
were pink and Dink could see their
breath. The trees surrounding the playing
field had turned red and gold.
On Main Street, a long banner hung
between two telephone poles. Big letters
spelled out the words: GREEN LAWN
WELCOMES YOU TO FALL FOLIAGE WEEK,
OCTOBER 13-20. COME SEE OUR COLORS!
The kids stopped across the street
from the Shangri-la Hotel.
"Look!  Dink said.
People lugging suitcases were
streaming out of the hotel. One woman
was still wearing her slippers! They
were pink and fluffy, with floppy
bunny ears.]]
A newspaper reporter was trying to
interview people as they left the hotel.
"Hello, sir," she. said to one man.
"I'm Linda Gomez from the Green Lawn
Gazette. What's your reaction to the
hotel ghost?"
"No comment! the man snapped,
and hurried away.
"Let's get her to interview us,  Josh
whispered. "Maybe we'll get our names
 in the paper!"]]
"We don't know anything yet," Dink
said. "Come on, let's find Mr.
Linkletter."
The kids crossed the street and
squeezed through the crowded doorway.
Inside, Mr. Linkletter was standing
behind the front desk, listening to a
man and woman.
" ... and we demand our money
back!" the woman was saying. "We
came here to see autumn leaves, not
to be frightened by ghosts!"
Mr. Linkletter sighed. Dink noticed
that his hair was mussed and his eyes
were red.
"Of course, Mrs. Caruthers," he
said. "You'll get a refund for the entire
week. I'm sorry for this trouble. We've
never had ghosts at the Shangri-la!"
Dragging their suitcases, the couple
hurried past the kids and shoved
through the doors.]]
"Boy, they looked mad," Josh said.
"Let's go talk to Mr. Linkletter,"
Dink said.
Just then the, phone rang. Mr.
Linkletter turned to answer it.
. "Wait, there's Livvy," Ruth Rose
said. "I wonder if she knows anything."
Livvy Nugent was vacuuming the
carpet near the elevators. She wore a
white uniform with a dark blue apron.
"Hi, Livvy!" Ruth Rose said.
Livvy smiled and switched off the
vacuum. "Ruth Rose! The last time I
saw you, there was a kidnapping at the
hotel. Now we've got a ghost!"
"We read about it in the newspaper,"
Ruth Rose said. "Is it true?"
"The guests sure think so!" Livvy
said. "This place has been a madhouse
 since Friday night. Our biggest week of
the year, and the guests are running out
-the door!"]]
Josh smirked. "Does the ghost jump.
out and say 'boo?" he asked.
"Josh doesn't believe in, ghosts,"
Ruth Rose said.
"Do you?" Livvy asked her.
Ruth Rose shrugged. "I don't know,
but something's scaring the people
away."
"Did you see the ghost?" Dink
asked.
Livvy shook her head. "No, and I'd ]]
better not. When ghosts show up, I'm
out of here!"
Just then Mr. Linkletter hung up the
phone and walked over. "Ms. Nugent,
please continue with your work," he
said to Livvy.
Then he turned to the kids. "What
can I do for you, children?"
"We read about the ghost," Dink
said.
Josh rolled his eyes.]]
"And we saw all the people leaving,"
Ruth Rose said.
Mr. Linkletter' s sad eyes surveyed
the lobby. All the guests had left, and
the place was empty.
Mr. Linkletter sighed. "Apparently a
ghost is scaring away our guests," he
said.
"Maybe we can help," Dink said.
"Remember how we found Wallis
Wallace when you thought she was kidnapped?"
"I'll never forget," Mr. Linkletter
said. He looked at the three kids. His,
thin mustache twitched. His sad eyes
- squinted.
Finally he said, "Follow me, please."
He turned and marched away.]]
Chapter 2
Mr. Linkletter led the kids to his office.
The room was small, with just a desk
and three chairs.  On one wall hung a
painting of the hotel. A framed picture
of an elderly couple stood on the desk.
"Please sit down," Mr. Linkletter
said.
The kids sat. Mr. Linkletter opened
a desk drawer and took out a paper bag.]]
"Mint?" he asked.
Each of the kids took a mint from
the bag and popped it into their
mouths.
Mr. Linkletter looked inside the bag,
then popped a mint into his mouth, too.
He sank back into his chair. "This is
terrible," he said.]]
"Mine tastes okay," Josh said. "I
think it's lemon."
Ruth Rose nudged Josh. "I think he
means the ghost," she said.
Josh blushed. "Oh, sorry."
"As I was saying," Mr. Linkletter
went on, "it all started two days ago, on
Friday. It was almost midnight . I was
closing my office when a guest ran into
the lobby. She was yelling about a ghost
on the third floor!"
"Did she say what the ghost looked
like?" Dink asked.
Mr. Linkletter smoothed his hair.
"She said it was all white-except for
the black holes where its eyes should
have been!"
The three kids looked at each other.
Josh's mouth was hanging open.
Mr. Linkletter rubbed his temples as
if he had a headache. "Anyway," he
went on, "that guest checked out. Last ]]
night, more guests saw the ghost.
Again, it appeared at midnight. Today,
all those guests checked out."
Mr. Link letter shook his head. "This
ghost is ruining our business!"
"Did any of the guests say where
the ghost went after they saw it?" Ruth
Rose asked.
"Apparently it just floats away and
disappears," he answered.
"Did you see the ghost, too?" Dink
asked.
"No. I went upstairs, but all I saw
was a dozen terrified guests!"
Mr. Linkletter picked up the picture
of the elderly couple on his desk. "This
is my aunt and uncle, Florence and
Ebenezer Spivets. They've owned the
Shangri-la ever since they were first
married, forty -seven years ago."
He looked at the kids. "They're very
worried. I don't know what will happen ]]
to the hotel if this ghost business continues ...
For a minute, nobody said anything.
Finally Mr. Linkletter stood up.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," he said,
"I have to tell my aunt and uncle that
the Shangri-la Hotel won't be having a
foliage week this year."
The kids thanked Mr. Linkletter and
headed back out into the lobby.
. "Guys, we've gotta do something!"
Oink whispered.
"But what can we do?" Ruth Rose
asked.
Just then Livvy hurried over to
them. "What'd he say?" she asked.
"He told us about the ghost," Ruth
 Rose said. She described it for Livvy.
"So there really is a ghost in the
hotel!" Livvy said. She looked nervously
over her shoulder. "What's Mr.
Linkletter gonna do?"]]
"I don't know," Dink answered. He
looked at Josh and Ruth Rose. "But
we're gonna try to help, right?"
"Good luck!" Livvy said. "I'll be
down in my cubbyhole eating lunch."
She opened a small door next to the
elevator and disappeared.
"How're we s'posed to help?" Josh
asked Dink. "We don't know anything
about ghosts!"
"Well, I know one thing," Dink said.
"No ghost is shutting down the Shangri la
if I have anything to do with it!"
"Dink is right," Ruth Rose said. "Mr.
Linkletter is our friend. We have to
think of something!"
Suddenly the elevator door opened.
A figure in white stood staring out at
them.
"It's the ghost!" Josh screamed.]]
Chapter 5
The three kids stood frozen as the elevator
door slid shut again.
For a minute, no one moved. Then
Ruth Rose reached over and punched
the UP button for the elevator.
"What're you doing!" Josh squeaked.
"Following the ghost," she said.
"Are you crazy?" Josh said. "What if
ghosts don't like kids?"]]
"Gee, Josh," Dink said. I thought
you didn't believe in ghosts."
"Unless I see one with my own
eyes," Josh said, "and I just did! Let's get
out of here!" The elevator door opened.
"Too late, Josh," Dink said. He and
Ruth Rose pulled Josh into the elevator
with them.
Dink pushed the button marked 2.
"We'll check each floor," he said.
When the door opened on the second
floor, the hallway was empty.
"Two more floors," Ruth Rose said,
pushing the number 3 button.
But they didn't see the ghost on the
third or fourth floor, either.
"There are no more floors," Dink
said, looking at the panel of buttons.
"Good, let's go home!" Josh said.
"What's this one for?" Ruth Rose
asked, pointing to a black button without a number.]]
.Maybe you push it for emergencies;" Oink said.
She shook her head. "Nope. This red
one says EMERGENCY."
Dink shrugged. "There's only one
way to find out," he said. He pushed the
black button. The elevator creaked,
then slowly started moving up.
"I'm having a nightmare," Josh
mumbled. "I'm not really chasing a
ghost around a hotel. Any minute, I'm
gonna wake up in bed!"
"Don't worry, Josh," Ruth Rose said
with a grin. "I'll protect you."
The elevator stopped with a gentle
thud.
When the doors opened, the ghost
was waiting for them.
"It followed us!" Josh screamed,
jumping behind Ruth Rose.
"No, you followed me!" the ghost
said. "What do you want?"]]
Behind the white figure, a door
opened. A stooped, gray-haired man
stepped into the hall .
The ghost pointed a thin finger at
the kids. "They followed me up here,
Ebenezer."
The man chuckled and shuffled
toward the open elevator. "Well, perhaps
we should keep them!"
"NO!" Josh yelled from behind Ruth
Rose. "Please let us go! If you kill me,
I'll be grounded for sure!"
Dink stared at the figure in white.
Where had he seen that face before?
Suddenly he remembered. She was the
woman in the picture on Mr.
Linkletter' s desk!
Dink stepped out of the elevator.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Spivets," he said.
"I'm Dink Duncan and these are my
friends Josh and Ruth Rose."
"How d'you do," the man said, peering at Dink.]]
 His eyes were the color of
blueberries. "You must be the three
children our nephew told us about."
Josh peeked at Mrs. Spivets from
behind Ruth Rose. "You mean she's not
the ghost?" he asked.
"Of course I'm not the ghost!" Mrs.
Spivets said. "Ebenezer, shall we invite
these three in for cookies?"
"Of course, my love." The old man
smiled at the kids. "Come along, kiddos!"
The kids followed Mr. and Mrs.
Spivets through a small hallway and
into an old-fashioned parlor.
Sunlight poured into the room.
Through tall windows, the kids could
see treetops across Main Street.
Dink looked around the room. The
walls were covered with paintings, and
he'd never seen so many books!
Mrs. Spivets came in carrying a ]]
tray. "Please sit," she told the kids. She
handed each of them a glass of milk.
Her husband bustled in with a cookie
jar shaped like a rooster. He pulled off
the rooster's head.
"Cookie?" he said.
Each of the kids took one cookie.
"Now then," Mr. Spivets said as he
sat next to his wife, "what are you kids
up to?"
"We read about the ghost in the
newspaper," Ruth Rose said.
"And we came to see it," Dink said.
"But we didn't!" Josh added.
"Then Mr. Linkletter told us how
the ghost is ruining the hotel's business,"
Ruth Rose continued. "So we've
decided to investigate!"
Mrs. Spivets stared at the kids.
"Investigate?" she said. "Like detectives?"
"Right," Oink said. "Did you see the ]]
ghost?" he asked Mrs. Spivets.
She looked at her husband. "No, but
we've heard it, haven't we, dear?"
He nodded. "Two nights in a row!
Dreadful noises coming from the walls.
And a voice calling out my name!
'Ebenezer,' it said, 'go away, go away!"'
Josh gulped. "It knew your name?"
"The voice spoke to me, too," Mrs.
Spivets said. "It said, 'Flo, leave- this
place!"'
She began to cry into a lace hanky.
Mr. Spivets patted his wife's hand.
"We've just made a difficult decision,"
he told the kids. "We're going to sell the
hotel. Some real estate Company in
New York wants to buy it."
"Sell the Shangri-la!" Dink blurted.
"But you can't!" Ruth Rose said.
"We were going to leave the
Shangri-la to our nephew," Mrs. Spivets
said. But now ]]
"Now it looks as if the hotel will go
to Eatch, Rail, and Roock,  Mr. Spivets
 said.
"Who are they?" Ruth Rose asked.
"They're the three partners in the
real estate company," Mr. Spivets said.
"They've been after us to sell for
. months."
He crossed to a small desk and
 pulled out a letter. "They want to tear
 down the Shangri-la and build a high.
 rise in its place!" he said.
Mr. Spivets placed the letter on the
tea tray. "Mrs. Spivets and I don't want
to sell, but we don't know what else to
 do. Somehow we feel as if we've failed
our guests."
He looked down at his wife. "I telephoned
the real estate people this
morning. They will be here tomorrow
 with papers for us to sign."
Mrs. Spivets looked up. Her eyes  ]]
were red. "Isn't there anything else we
can do?" she asked.
Ebenezer Spivets took his wife's
hand in his. I would do anything for
you, dear, but I'm too old to fight
ghosts."
"Well, we're not!" Dink said, springing
to his feet. "We'll find the ghost and
get rid of it, too!" He looked at Josh and
Ruth Rose. "Right, guys?"
"Right!" Ruth Rose said.
Mr. Spivets beamed. "You're hired!"
he said.
Josh groaned. "Can I have another
cookie?" he asked.]]
Chapter 4
"How are we gonna get rid of a ghost?"
 Josh asked in the elevator. "Even if I did
 believe in it."
"I don't know yet," Dink answered.
"But we can't let those real estate guys
tear down the Shangri-la!"
The elevator door slid open. Mr.
Linkletter was standing behind his
desk, just staring into space.]]
"Let's go to my house,' Dink whispered. "We can make a plan while we
eat.
"Yes!" Josh said. "Those cookies
weren't big enough to fill up a flea!"
Dink laughed. "Not everyone has a
stomach like the Grand Canyon, Josh!"
They headed up Main Street, then
followed Silver Circle around the
school to Dink's house.
Dink got out the peanut butter and
bread. Josh found a bag of pretzels. Ruth
Rose poured milk for everyone.
Make my sandwich extra fat," Josh
ordered. I'm fainting from hunger!"
Dink pushed the peanut butter and
bread toward Josh. "I'm not your servant,
your royal highness!"
Josh grinned and began building his
sandwich.
"Okay," Dink said, sitting at the
table. How do you get rid of a ghost?"]]
"First you have to prove that there is
one," Josh said, taking a big bite of his
sandwich.
"You still don't believe there's a
ghost at the hotel?" Ruth Rose
asked.
Josh swallowed and shook
 his head. Nope."
He lined up four pretzels
 on the table. "We talked to
Livvy, but she hadn't seen the
ghost," Josh said. He picked
up a pretzel and ate it.
"Then we asked Mr.
Linkletter if he'd seen the
ghost, but he said he hadn't." Josh ate
 another pretzel.
He picked up the  last two pretzels.
"Mr. and Mrs. Spivets didn't see the
ghost either, they just heard noises!"
Josh popped the pretzels in to his
 mouth. Guys," he said as he chewed,]]
"nobody we talked to saw the ghost. So
maybe there is no ghost!"
Dink and Ruth Rose stared at Josh.
"He's right,' Ruth Rose said after a
minute. "Everyone we talked to said
someone else had seen the ghost."
"So what should we do?' Dink asked.
 We have to see the ghost for ourselves,"
Ruth Rose said.
Dink blinked. "But how do we do
that?" he asked.
Josh licked peanut butter from his
fingers. "Well, we could start by finding
someone who really did see the ghost."
"But everyone who saw it checked
out of the hotel," Ruth Rose said.
Oink swallowed the last of his sandwich.
"We have to talk to those people,
he said. "Maybe Mr. Linkletter will
help us."
"Good idea  Ruth Rose said. "Let's
go back to the hotel."]]
"No dessert?" Josh asked.
"Wipe off your milk mustache and
come on!" Dink said.
The kids hurried back to the hotel.
Mr. Linkletter looked up as the kids
came in. "I hear you had a chat with my
aunt and uncle," he said.
"They hired us to get rid of the
 ghost!" Dink informed him.
The corners of Mr. Linkletter' s
mouth wiggled. It was almost a smile.
"And do you have a plan?" 
"Sort of, Ruth Rose said. "But we
need the names and phone numbers of
the guests who saw the ghost.
 Mr. Linkletter shook his head.
Sorry. Our guests, even the ones who
 leave, pay for privacy.
"Well, are there any guests left at
all?" she asked.
Mr. Linkletter pointed to a man and
woman reading in a corner of the lobby.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: No support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Few descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Chapters

Sequence of Events: Chronological

Features

Integral Setting

Simple problem/solution

Topic

Ghosts

Tricking

Fears

Problem Solving

Low Frequency Words

apparently	blurted	bustled	c'mere	caruthers
chasing	cubbyhole	d'you	decision	drawer
dreadful	duncan	eatch	ebenezer	elderly
elementary	elevator	elevators	emergency	estate
fashioned	florence	foliage	gazette	gazette's
gobbled	gomez	gonna	gotta	grounded
guinea	gulped	haired	halloween	haunted
headache	headline	highness	hotel's	how're
hunger	informed	interview	kidnapped	kidnapping
linkletter	lobby	lugging	madhouse	mussed
mustache	nephew	nervously	nightmare	nudged
nugent	ourselves	parlor	partners	peering
pretzel	privacy	prove	raisin	raisins
refund	roock	rooster's	royal	s'posed
scaring	servant	shangri	shoved	shrugged
shuffled	shutting	smirked	smoothed	spivets
sprawled	springing	squinted	suitcases	surrounding
surveyed	swallowed	sword	swords	terrified
twitched	vacuum	vacuuming	wallis	what'd
what're