It was mid-afternoon when Courage and Mr. Worth appeared behind the Katz
Motel. There was various building equipment and supplies lying around all
over the place but the motel was closed up tight.
Mr. Worth looked around the quiet grounds behind the motel. "Good thing we got here on a Saturday. All the work crews must be gone for the weekend."
Courage nodded in agreement.
The two searched for a way to get Courage into the building so he could let Mr. Worth in but all the windows and doors were locked.
Mr. Worth sighed. "I hate doing this. It takes up too much of my strength. I'll go in then open a window for you, Courage. Then we'll have to find a quiet place for me to rest for a while."
Courage looked up at him concerned.
"There's no other way, Courage. Hide behind that pile of lumber while you wait for me to open a window. It may take a few minutes for me to get enough of my strength back to move solid objects."
Courage nodded and hid behind the pile of boards that Mr. Worth had indicated. He watched as Mr. Worth stood still for a few moments as if gathering the energy he needed before slowly disappearing. Although it only took about 20 minutes, it seemed like an hour had passed before the window close to where Courage was hiding slid open.
Courage climbed up on top of the boards and jumped through the open window landing on a pile of sheets that the work crews had used to cover things while they painted.
"You'll need to close the window, Courage." Mr. Worth's voice was so weak that Courage could barely hear him.
Courage quickly closed the window and turned around to see that Mr. Worth was almost invisible. He whined softly with concerned as he looked over at his friend.
Mr. Worth gestured to a dark closet at the far end of the room. Courage followed him and hid behind some crates while the ghost closed his eyes and faded into thin air. Courage suddenly realized how tired he was himself and decided to take a nap while Mr. Worth rested.
Courage had been sleeping for over an hour when he was awakened by a gentle touch on his shoulder. Mr. Worth quickly motioned for him to be quiet and pointed to the doorway leading into the other room.
Courage peered through the boards of the crates and saw that they were no longer alone in the building. Two large red cats were carrying some boxes into the other room from the back door which was now wide open. Courage tried to hear what they were saying but he couldn't quite make out the words. Mr. Worth had turned nearly invisible and moved to the doorway to watch and listen. Courage couldn't help but admire the way Mr. Worth was able to move around at will without being seen. Sometimes he almost wished he were a ghost too but then he thought about all the things he could do and decided he would rather stay just the way he was.
The back door suddenly closed and Courage could hear a loud truck driving away. Mr. Worth went out into the other room and was gone for a minute or two before calling to Courage. "They're gone. Come on out."
Courage joined Mr. Worth in the other room where the ghost was examining the boxes that the cats had brought in. "Can you open these boxes Courage? I'm still a little weak."
Courage nodded. The nap had been just what he needed to restore his own strength and he was feeling almost normal again.
"Be careful", Mr. Worth advised, "we don't want them to notice that anybody has been messing with these boxes."
Courage carefully opened two of the boxes. One box was filled with what looked like parts to build some sort of large machine. The other had several circuit boards and other electronic components. Courage opened the third and final box. He and Mr. Worth just stared as Courage pulled out a large circuit board. The circuit board was bigger that the ones in the other box and several of the various pieces on the board appeared to be made of solid gold.
Mr. Worth looked puzzled as he stared at the board. "Well, I can see what Katz is using the gold for but, what kind of machine could these parts possibly be for?"
Courage shrugged. He was just as puzzled as Mr. Worth was.
A loud noise outside startled both of them and Courage quickly put the circuit board back into the box and closed all the boxes up so that the boxes looked just like they did before Courage had opened them. He and Mr. Worth quickly snuck back into the closet at the far end of the room.
They managed to get to the closet just as the back door swung open. Standing in the doorway was none other than Katz himself. He was talking with a short, evil looking man that Courage had never seen before. "How much more gold do we need to make the final parts of the machine?"
The man was busy pushing buttons on a large calculator-like machine that he was carrying. "We still need enough to make the last two parts. According to my calculations, we need at least four more ouces of gold for the electromagnetic wave dissimilator and two more ounces for the plazma capture beam generator."
Katz begain to search through the boxes as he spoke. "Are you sure that we need gold to make these things? Why won't some other metal work?"
"Because gold has certain properties - especially when it comes to supernatural beings."
Mr. Worth looked puzzled as he listened to the conversation.
The evil looking man removed his glasses which had become fogged and reached into the pocket of his long white coat for a napkin to wipe them clean. "The gold will create a certain 'energy' that will make sure that this machine will be able to capture the spirits that you are after."
Mr. Worth began to look very amused.
Katz picked up one of the boxes and left for one of the other rooms. The man picked up another box and followed him.
Once the two had left the room, Mr. Worth began to laugh. "So they are building a 'ghost catching machine'." The ghost began to laugh even harder.
Courage looked up at him wondering what was so funny.
Mr. Worth regained his composure and looked back down at Courage as if reading the dog's mind. "Even if the machine does work, they've got it all wrong. Gold has no special properties against ghosts or any other supernatural being. Silver is the only metal that is supposed to have that kind of power but even silver doesn't have any effect on spirits. Using gold to build the parts won't have any effect on how well the machine works."
Courage held back a giggle as Katz returned for the third box. Mr. Worth glided out of the room and followed the red cat. After a moment, Courage snuck out of his hiding place and crept along behind Katz and Mr. Worth making sure not to be seen or heard.
Suddenly, Mr. Worth stopped in his tracks. He leaned down to whisper in Courage's ear. "I'm being summoned."
Courage quickly grabbed onto the hand that Mr. Worth offered him and held on tightly as the ghost disappeared taking Courage with him.
Mr. Worth looked around the quiet grounds behind the motel. "Good thing we got here on a Saturday. All the work crews must be gone for the weekend."
Courage nodded in agreement.
The two searched for a way to get Courage into the building so he could let Mr. Worth in but all the windows and doors were locked.
Mr. Worth sighed. "I hate doing this. It takes up too much of my strength. I'll go in then open a window for you, Courage. Then we'll have to find a quiet place for me to rest for a while."
Courage looked up at him concerned.
"There's no other way, Courage. Hide behind that pile of lumber while you wait for me to open a window. It may take a few minutes for me to get enough of my strength back to move solid objects."
Courage nodded and hid behind the pile of boards that Mr. Worth had indicated. He watched as Mr. Worth stood still for a few moments as if gathering the energy he needed before slowly disappearing. Although it only took about 20 minutes, it seemed like an hour had passed before the window close to where Courage was hiding slid open.
Courage climbed up on top of the boards and jumped through the open window landing on a pile of sheets that the work crews had used to cover things while they painted.
"You'll need to close the window, Courage." Mr. Worth's voice was so weak that Courage could barely hear him.
Courage quickly closed the window and turned around to see that Mr. Worth was almost invisible. He whined softly with concerned as he looked over at his friend.
Mr. Worth gestured to a dark closet at the far end of the room. Courage followed him and hid behind some crates while the ghost closed his eyes and faded into thin air. Courage suddenly realized how tired he was himself and decided to take a nap while Mr. Worth rested.
Courage had been sleeping for over an hour when he was awakened by a gentle touch on his shoulder. Mr. Worth quickly motioned for him to be quiet and pointed to the doorway leading into the other room.
Courage peered through the boards of the crates and saw that they were no longer alone in the building. Two large red cats were carrying some boxes into the other room from the back door which was now wide open. Courage tried to hear what they were saying but he couldn't quite make out the words. Mr. Worth had turned nearly invisible and moved to the doorway to watch and listen. Courage couldn't help but admire the way Mr. Worth was able to move around at will without being seen. Sometimes he almost wished he were a ghost too but then he thought about all the things he could do and decided he would rather stay just the way he was.
The back door suddenly closed and Courage could hear a loud truck driving away. Mr. Worth went out into the other room and was gone for a minute or two before calling to Courage. "They're gone. Come on out."
Courage joined Mr. Worth in the other room where the ghost was examining the boxes that the cats had brought in. "Can you open these boxes Courage? I'm still a little weak."
Courage nodded. The nap had been just what he needed to restore his own strength and he was feeling almost normal again.
"Be careful", Mr. Worth advised, "we don't want them to notice that anybody has been messing with these boxes."
Courage carefully opened two of the boxes. One box was filled with what looked like parts to build some sort of large machine. The other had several circuit boards and other electronic components. Courage opened the third and final box. He and Mr. Worth just stared as Courage pulled out a large circuit board. The circuit board was bigger that the ones in the other box and several of the various pieces on the board appeared to be made of solid gold.
Mr. Worth looked puzzled as he stared at the board. "Well, I can see what Katz is using the gold for but, what kind of machine could these parts possibly be for?"
Courage shrugged. He was just as puzzled as Mr. Worth was.
A loud noise outside startled both of them and Courage quickly put the circuit board back into the box and closed all the boxes up so that the boxes looked just like they did before Courage had opened them. He and Mr. Worth quickly snuck back into the closet at the far end of the room.
They managed to get to the closet just as the back door swung open. Standing in the doorway was none other than Katz himself. He was talking with a short, evil looking man that Courage had never seen before. "How much more gold do we need to make the final parts of the machine?"
The man was busy pushing buttons on a large calculator-like machine that he was carrying. "We still need enough to make the last two parts. According to my calculations, we need at least four more ouces of gold for the electromagnetic wave dissimilator and two more ounces for the plazma capture beam generator."
Katz begain to search through the boxes as he spoke. "Are you sure that we need gold to make these things? Why won't some other metal work?"
"Because gold has certain properties - especially when it comes to supernatural beings."
Mr. Worth looked puzzled as he listened to the conversation.
The evil looking man removed his glasses which had become fogged and reached into the pocket of his long white coat for a napkin to wipe them clean. "The gold will create a certain 'energy' that will make sure that this machine will be able to capture the spirits that you are after."
Mr. Worth began to look very amused.
Katz picked up one of the boxes and left for one of the other rooms. The man picked up another box and followed him.
Once the two had left the room, Mr. Worth began to laugh. "So they are building a 'ghost catching machine'." The ghost began to laugh even harder.
Courage looked up at him wondering what was so funny.
Mr. Worth regained his composure and looked back down at Courage as if reading the dog's mind. "Even if the machine does work, they've got it all wrong. Gold has no special properties against ghosts or any other supernatural being. Silver is the only metal that is supposed to have that kind of power but even silver doesn't have any effect on spirits. Using gold to build the parts won't have any effect on how well the machine works."
Courage held back a giggle as Katz returned for the third box. Mr. Worth glided out of the room and followed the red cat. After a moment, Courage snuck out of his hiding place and crept along behind Katz and Mr. Worth making sure not to be seen or heard.
Suddenly, Mr. Worth stopped in his tracks. He leaned down to whisper in Courage's ear. "I'm being summoned."
Courage quickly grabbed onto the hand that Mr. Worth offered him and held on tightly as the ghost disappeared taking Courage with him.