A few moments later, Mr. Worth reappeared in Courage's attic room with
Courage and Alden. Courage quickly motioned to Alden to be quiet.
Alden nodded and whispered to Mr. Worth, "Where are we?"
"We are at Courage's house. But we must be quiet because Courage's owner's are asleep."
Mr. Worth closed his eyes for a second as if concentrating on something. A few seconds later, several ghostly children appeared in the room.
Alden just stared wide-eyed at the children.
Mr. Worth spoke quietly to keep from waking up Muriel and Eustace. "Children, this is Alden. Come and introduce yourselves."
One by one, the thirteen children introduced themselves to Alden. After they had finished their introductions, Mr. Worth told the children what had happened. There were many questions asked by the children and Alden did his best to answer all of them.
"So, we still have no idea what is on those tablets." one of the older boys said.
"I think I have some idea what is written on those tablets." Mr. Worth walked over to the window with his back facing the group. "When I was alive, I studied a lot about history. I was especially interested in ancient cultures. I've read many things about people who believed that wandering spirits could be captured and turned into slaves. Some of these people used magic spells to hold these wandering spirits captive."
Alden suddenly turned pale. "Do you think I accidently captured somebody's ghost when I read those things?"
Mr. Worth shook his head. "No, these spirits appear to be far to old for you to have captured them. Besides, you would have had to know what you were doing to be able to capture a wandering spirit. I think you released several spirits that were held captive within those tablets. But now they are stuck here waiting for the one who imprisoned them to take command of them."
Alden looked relieved. "So what do we do now, find a way to get them back in the tablets?"
Mr. Worth turned and glared at him with glowing red eyes. "NO! It was a horrible thing that they were captured and enslaved in the first place. I will NOT have them returned to captivity!!"
The the look in Mr. Worth's eyes and the anger in his voice sent Courage hiding under the cot. Several of the children crawled under the cot to comfort the shaking dog.
Alden looked ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. But, what can we do to get them to stop haunting me and this whole town?"
Mr. Worth's eyes returned to their normal color as he calmed down. "I don't know. I'll need to look at those tablets before I can even begin to try to answer that question. Even then, I can't guarantee that I can come up with the answer."
Courage quickly crawled out from under the cot and jumped up and down as though he had an idea.
Mr. Worth looked over at him. "What are you trying to say, Courage?"
Courage danced from foot to foot trying to think of a way of getting his idea across. The computer was turned off and he wasn't sure that he could get it to come back on again with the electrical storm still going strong outside. Finally, he turned into a perfect image of Shirley then back into himself.
"I know!" one of the girls said excitedly, "She's the one who was with Courage that night he gave us back the necklace!!"
Mr. Worth nodded. "I remember. She was the one who wrote the spell that Courage used to summon us for help."
"She looks a little like the lady who made the necklace for us doesn't she?" one of the younger boys asked, "I remember when the lady brought the necklace into the tomb and put it around your neck."
"You mean what was left of my neck." Mr. Worth smiled in amusement at the way Courage and Alden reacted to what they were hearing. "Yes, I believe the lady who made this necklace is related to the one who was with Courage when he brought it back to us."
Alden glanced down at his watch. "It should be daylight in about four hours. Can I stay here for the rest of the night? I don't really want to try to go back to my car with those things following me."
Mr. Worth looked down at Courage who nodded and pointed to the cot. Courage then went into a quick charade turning himself into a caution sign then mimicking Muriel and Eustace. Alden's watched open mouthed as Courage tried to convey his message.
Mr. Worth grinned. "I think he's trying to tell us that it's okay for you to stay here as long as we are careful not to let his owners know that you are here."
"Uh-huh uh-huh." Courage nodded.
"I think we should all get some rest. The children and I are not used to staying awake day and night and our energy drains quickly when we spend too much time awake." Mr. Worth moved to the of the room and sat down.
Alden looked surprised. "Ghosts sleep?" he asked as he sat down on the cot.
"It's not really sleep so much as we just sort of become quiet to recharge our energy." Mr. Worth closed his eyes. "We are also completely invisible when we're resting."
Several of the children sat down around Mr. Worth and moved close to him as if for protection. The remaining children moved into various positions around the room as if to keep watch. They began to chant something quietly and the whole room somehow began to feel safe.
Courage whined softly and looked in the direction of Muriel and Eustace's room. Mr. Worth opened his eyes and said, "Don't worry. I doubt that those other spirits will come into the house with all of us here like this."
Courage padded over to where Mr. Worth and the children were sitting and curled up at their feet. Slowly the ghosts in the center of the room disappeared leaving only the 5 children guarding the room.
Alden nodded and whispered to Mr. Worth, "Where are we?"
"We are at Courage's house. But we must be quiet because Courage's owner's are asleep."
Mr. Worth closed his eyes for a second as if concentrating on something. A few seconds later, several ghostly children appeared in the room.
Alden just stared wide-eyed at the children.
Mr. Worth spoke quietly to keep from waking up Muriel and Eustace. "Children, this is Alden. Come and introduce yourselves."
One by one, the thirteen children introduced themselves to Alden. After they had finished their introductions, Mr. Worth told the children what had happened. There were many questions asked by the children and Alden did his best to answer all of them.
"So, we still have no idea what is on those tablets." one of the older boys said.
"I think I have some idea what is written on those tablets." Mr. Worth walked over to the window with his back facing the group. "When I was alive, I studied a lot about history. I was especially interested in ancient cultures. I've read many things about people who believed that wandering spirits could be captured and turned into slaves. Some of these people used magic spells to hold these wandering spirits captive."
Alden suddenly turned pale. "Do you think I accidently captured somebody's ghost when I read those things?"
Mr. Worth shook his head. "No, these spirits appear to be far to old for you to have captured them. Besides, you would have had to know what you were doing to be able to capture a wandering spirit. I think you released several spirits that were held captive within those tablets. But now they are stuck here waiting for the one who imprisoned them to take command of them."
Alden looked relieved. "So what do we do now, find a way to get them back in the tablets?"
Mr. Worth turned and glared at him with glowing red eyes. "NO! It was a horrible thing that they were captured and enslaved in the first place. I will NOT have them returned to captivity!!"
The the look in Mr. Worth's eyes and the anger in his voice sent Courage hiding under the cot. Several of the children crawled under the cot to comfort the shaking dog.
Alden looked ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. But, what can we do to get them to stop haunting me and this whole town?"
Mr. Worth's eyes returned to their normal color as he calmed down. "I don't know. I'll need to look at those tablets before I can even begin to try to answer that question. Even then, I can't guarantee that I can come up with the answer."
Courage quickly crawled out from under the cot and jumped up and down as though he had an idea.
Mr. Worth looked over at him. "What are you trying to say, Courage?"
Courage danced from foot to foot trying to think of a way of getting his idea across. The computer was turned off and he wasn't sure that he could get it to come back on again with the electrical storm still going strong outside. Finally, he turned into a perfect image of Shirley then back into himself.
"I know!" one of the girls said excitedly, "She's the one who was with Courage that night he gave us back the necklace!!"
Mr. Worth nodded. "I remember. She was the one who wrote the spell that Courage used to summon us for help."
"She looks a little like the lady who made the necklace for us doesn't she?" one of the younger boys asked, "I remember when the lady brought the necklace into the tomb and put it around your neck."
"You mean what was left of my neck." Mr. Worth smiled in amusement at the way Courage and Alden reacted to what they were hearing. "Yes, I believe the lady who made this necklace is related to the one who was with Courage when he brought it back to us."
Alden glanced down at his watch. "It should be daylight in about four hours. Can I stay here for the rest of the night? I don't really want to try to go back to my car with those things following me."
Mr. Worth looked down at Courage who nodded and pointed to the cot. Courage then went into a quick charade turning himself into a caution sign then mimicking Muriel and Eustace. Alden's watched open mouthed as Courage tried to convey his message.
Mr. Worth grinned. "I think he's trying to tell us that it's okay for you to stay here as long as we are careful not to let his owners know that you are here."
"Uh-huh uh-huh." Courage nodded.
"I think we should all get some rest. The children and I are not used to staying awake day and night and our energy drains quickly when we spend too much time awake." Mr. Worth moved to the of the room and sat down.
Alden looked surprised. "Ghosts sleep?" he asked as he sat down on the cot.
"It's not really sleep so much as we just sort of become quiet to recharge our energy." Mr. Worth closed his eyes. "We are also completely invisible when we're resting."
Several of the children sat down around Mr. Worth and moved close to him as if for protection. The remaining children moved into various positions around the room as if to keep watch. They began to chant something quietly and the whole room somehow began to feel safe.
Courage whined softly and looked in the direction of Muriel and Eustace's room. Mr. Worth opened his eyes and said, "Don't worry. I doubt that those other spirits will come into the house with all of us here like this."
Courage padded over to where Mr. Worth and the children were sitting and curled up at their feet. Slowly the ghosts in the center of the room disappeared leaving only the 5 children guarding the room.