Mr. Worth and the children gently laid Courage down on the kitchen rug.
Courage took a look around the kitchen to see that it was a mess.
Everything that was in the cabinets had been dragged out and tossed onto
the counters and floor. Several drawers were left open as if they had been
gone through. Even the refrigerator door was open as if it had been
searched too.
Seeing the refrigerator door open reminded Courage of how hungry he was. Slowly, he dragged himself to the refrigerator and began to look for something to eat. Luckily, Muriel was the type of person who put leftovers in the refrigerator and forgot about them. Courage found some beef stew that Muriel had cooked two days before. He tried to drag the heavy bowl out of the refrigerator but he was too weak. He stopped to catch his breath.
Mr. Worth noticed the dog's struggle and came to the rescue. He removed the bowl from the refrigerator and put some of the stew in a pan to warm up. "I'll have this ready for you in a moment, Courage. Do you have a bowl that you normally eat out of?"
Courage dragged himself over to the bowl that Eustace sometimes made him eat from. One of the children came up and patted Courage before taking the bowl to Mr. Worth.
A few minutes later Mr. Worth placed the bowlful of stew in front of Courage. "Be careful, Courage, it's kind of hot."
Courage waited for a few seconds then sniffed the stew to see if it had cooled down enough. When the steam no longer burned his nose he began to eat. The food was exactly what he needed to get some of his strength back.
"Feel better now?" Mr. Worth took the empty bowl and washed it.
Courage nodded weakly. He could stand up much more easily but his energy still felt drained.
Mr. Worth sat down at the table and stared off into space as if thinking about something. "If we had one of those apples, we could begin to work on finding the antidote to wake up Muriel and Eustace."
Courage looked over at the garbage can. The apple he had thrown away was still in there. He turned to Mr. Worth then pointed back at the garbage can.
Mr. Worth got up to look. "Good job Courage!" He took the apple from the garbage can and held out one hand to Courage who grabbed on tight. A second later they were in the attic room in front of Courage's computer.
Mr. Worth cut a small piece off of the apple and gave it to Courage. Courage put the piece of apple in a small drawer on the front of a device that was connected to the computer. Several lights flashed on the device and a few seconds later the computer voice began to speak. "The apple has been poisoned with a tranquilizer that is made from a rare plant which is found only in a few places around the world. This plant became well known among several ancient tribes who used a drug made from the plant to tranquilize entire groups of enemy warriors. In low doses, the tranquilizer found in this apple can put a person into a zombie like trance. Higher doses of this tranquilizer have been known to cause a person to fall asleep until the antidote is given. If the person is not given the antidote within five days, then they fall into a deep coma and, eventually, die. This piece of apple contains only a small amount of that tranquilizer, however, the entire apple would easily be enough to put a person into a deep sleep."
Courage nearly fell to pieces when he heard this. "Muriel!!"
Mr. Worth reached around Courage and began to type. A few seconds later the computer spoke again. "The antidote is made up from several plants which can be found in this area." The printer came to life and began to print out the list of plants with pictures of each plant and instructions for making the antidote. Mr. Worth typed a few more words and several copies of the list were printed.
Courage sat in the chair frozen with panic. Muriel and Eustace had been sleeping since yesterday evening. This only left four and a half days to find all the plants and make the antidote.
Mr. Worth tried to calm the dogs fears. "Don't worry, Courage. If I have all of the children search these plants out, then we'll have what we need in no time at all."
Courage looked up at Mr. Worth then typed something into the computer. The computer voice spoke for him, "What will we be doing while the children are searching for the plants?"
"You and I will be trying to figure out what that Katz fellow is up to." Mr. Worth turned away from Courage and the computer and disappeared.
Courage slowly made his way downstairs to find Mr. Worth handing the lists to the children who were seperated into six pairs. Each pair was given directions on where to search, which plants to collect, and where to wait once they had collected the plants they had been sent to look for. Finally, all but one of the children disappeared.
Mr. Worth turned to the boy that was left behind. "You will stand guard here. Don't worry if Katz or any of his friends come into the house. Just keep an eye on these two." Mr. Worth gestured to the sleeping Muriel and Eustace, "If anybody tries to do anything to them or if anything ...um...goes wrong with them, summon me immediately. Understand?"
The boy nodded. "Yes Mr. Worth. I understand."
Mr. Worth smiled at the boy. "Thank you Stephen."
Courage slowly made his way over to Muriel and whined pitifully as he sat down by her feet.
Mr. Worth knelt down by Courage and gently scratched the itchy spot behind Courage's ears. "I promise you, Courage, I will do everything in my power to make sure she's okay."
Courage looked at Mr. Worth and managed a weak smile.
Mr. Worth gave Courage a hug. "Everything will be okay. I'm sure of it. Now, you and I have work to do. We must figure out where Katz is and what he is up to."
Courage nodded. At that particular moment he was too angry to be afraid. Muriel was in serious danger and, even though it was Ma Bagge that gave her and Eustace the poison, it was Katz who was behind the whole scheme. Courage was intent on making Katz pay for what he did to Muriel.
Seeing the refrigerator door open reminded Courage of how hungry he was. Slowly, he dragged himself to the refrigerator and began to look for something to eat. Luckily, Muriel was the type of person who put leftovers in the refrigerator and forgot about them. Courage found some beef stew that Muriel had cooked two days before. He tried to drag the heavy bowl out of the refrigerator but he was too weak. He stopped to catch his breath.
Mr. Worth noticed the dog's struggle and came to the rescue. He removed the bowl from the refrigerator and put some of the stew in a pan to warm up. "I'll have this ready for you in a moment, Courage. Do you have a bowl that you normally eat out of?"
Courage dragged himself over to the bowl that Eustace sometimes made him eat from. One of the children came up and patted Courage before taking the bowl to Mr. Worth.
A few minutes later Mr. Worth placed the bowlful of stew in front of Courage. "Be careful, Courage, it's kind of hot."
Courage waited for a few seconds then sniffed the stew to see if it had cooled down enough. When the steam no longer burned his nose he began to eat. The food was exactly what he needed to get some of his strength back.
"Feel better now?" Mr. Worth took the empty bowl and washed it.
Courage nodded weakly. He could stand up much more easily but his energy still felt drained.
Mr. Worth sat down at the table and stared off into space as if thinking about something. "If we had one of those apples, we could begin to work on finding the antidote to wake up Muriel and Eustace."
Courage looked over at the garbage can. The apple he had thrown away was still in there. He turned to Mr. Worth then pointed back at the garbage can.
Mr. Worth got up to look. "Good job Courage!" He took the apple from the garbage can and held out one hand to Courage who grabbed on tight. A second later they were in the attic room in front of Courage's computer.
Mr. Worth cut a small piece off of the apple and gave it to Courage. Courage put the piece of apple in a small drawer on the front of a device that was connected to the computer. Several lights flashed on the device and a few seconds later the computer voice began to speak. "The apple has been poisoned with a tranquilizer that is made from a rare plant which is found only in a few places around the world. This plant became well known among several ancient tribes who used a drug made from the plant to tranquilize entire groups of enemy warriors. In low doses, the tranquilizer found in this apple can put a person into a zombie like trance. Higher doses of this tranquilizer have been known to cause a person to fall asleep until the antidote is given. If the person is not given the antidote within five days, then they fall into a deep coma and, eventually, die. This piece of apple contains only a small amount of that tranquilizer, however, the entire apple would easily be enough to put a person into a deep sleep."
Courage nearly fell to pieces when he heard this. "Muriel!!"
Mr. Worth reached around Courage and began to type. A few seconds later the computer spoke again. "The antidote is made up from several plants which can be found in this area." The printer came to life and began to print out the list of plants with pictures of each plant and instructions for making the antidote. Mr. Worth typed a few more words and several copies of the list were printed.
Courage sat in the chair frozen with panic. Muriel and Eustace had been sleeping since yesterday evening. This only left four and a half days to find all the plants and make the antidote.
Mr. Worth tried to calm the dogs fears. "Don't worry, Courage. If I have all of the children search these plants out, then we'll have what we need in no time at all."
Courage looked up at Mr. Worth then typed something into the computer. The computer voice spoke for him, "What will we be doing while the children are searching for the plants?"
"You and I will be trying to figure out what that Katz fellow is up to." Mr. Worth turned away from Courage and the computer and disappeared.
Courage slowly made his way downstairs to find Mr. Worth handing the lists to the children who were seperated into six pairs. Each pair was given directions on where to search, which plants to collect, and where to wait once they had collected the plants they had been sent to look for. Finally, all but one of the children disappeared.
Mr. Worth turned to the boy that was left behind. "You will stand guard here. Don't worry if Katz or any of his friends come into the house. Just keep an eye on these two." Mr. Worth gestured to the sleeping Muriel and Eustace, "If anybody tries to do anything to them or if anything ...um...goes wrong with them, summon me immediately. Understand?"
The boy nodded. "Yes Mr. Worth. I understand."
Mr. Worth smiled at the boy. "Thank you Stephen."
Courage slowly made his way over to Muriel and whined pitifully as he sat down by her feet.
Mr. Worth knelt down by Courage and gently scratched the itchy spot behind Courage's ears. "I promise you, Courage, I will do everything in my power to make sure she's okay."
Courage looked at Mr. Worth and managed a weak smile.
Mr. Worth gave Courage a hug. "Everything will be okay. I'm sure of it. Now, you and I have work to do. We must figure out where Katz is and what he is up to."
Courage nodded. At that particular moment he was too angry to be afraid. Muriel was in serious danger and, even though it was Ma Bagge that gave her and Eustace the poison, it was Katz who was behind the whole scheme. Courage was intent on making Katz pay for what he did to Muriel.