Mr. Worth and the children took turns guarding the front and back doors of
Courage's house for the rest of the night while Courage slept on the rug by
Muriel's feet. The night was uneventful and Courage got a fairly decent
night's sleep.
The next morning, Mr. Worth heated up the rest of the beef stew from the refrigerator for Courage's breakfast. Courage thankfully ate the delicious stew but he was really beginning to miss having breakfast with Muriel.
Courage went back into the livingroom and sighed. The whole house looked terrible after being broken into and ramsacked by Katz and his friends then being ramsacked again by Ma Bagge. Courage began to put a few things back in order but it seemed useless. Everything was a mess. He sighed and curled up by Muriel's feet. Mr. Worth noticed how sad Courage was about the way his house looked so he gathered the children around him and spoke to them for a few minutes. After talking to Mr. Worth, the children began to wander around the house straightening things up while the waited for the other four children to return. Soon, the whole house looked much better.
It was nearly two in the afternoon when two more of the children arrived. Mr. Worth examined the plants they brought back and praised them on a job well done before telling them to get some much needed rest.
Courage looked up at the clock. Only three and a half days to get the rest of the plants and make the antidote. He was beginning to worry. What if the other children didn't return in time? What if they couldn't find the plants they were looking for? What if the antidote didn't work? His poor nerves were becoming wrecked with worry.
Mr. Worth sat down beside Courage. "Don't let yourself worry like this, Courage. The other two children will return and we will have the antidote in plenty of time."
Courage looked up at the ghost. He could sense something in the ghost and wondered if the ghost was beginning to worry because the children had been gone so long.
There was a noise outside followed by a knock on the front door. Courage opened the door to find the newspaper delivery man standing there. He wagged his tail as he took the paper from the man then turned to go back inside as the man left.
Mr. Worth read through the newspaper but found nothing ususual. The day dragged on uneventfully as they continued to wait for the other two children to bring the rest of the plants needed for the antidote.
Mr. Worth was becoming visibly restless and Courage could sense that he was becoming very worried about the other two children. Finally, the teacher spoke with the children that were in the house before deciding to go find out what was taking so long for the other children to return. Courage whined softly and Mr. Worth nodded. "Hold on tight, Courage."
Courage grabbed onto Mr. Worth's hand and felt himself become lighter than air as the ghost disappeared taking Courage with him.
They reappeared in a dark area of forest somewhere in the mountains a few miles outside of Nowhere. The place had a very spooky feeling about it. Other than the thick vegitation, there were no signs of life. No animals or birds could be seen anywhere. There weren't even any insects buzzing about.
Courage shivered and moved close to Mr. Worth who was busy studying their surroundings.
Mr. Worth began to concentrated deeply, whispering quietly under his breath. He waited for a few seconds but nothing happened. "Something's wrong."
Courage whined softly up at his friend who was visibly worried.
Mr. Worth knelt down beside Courage. "Courage, take the necklace from around my neck and read the prayer of protection. Concentrate carefully on the words and read it three times."
Courage reached up and gently removed the necklace from the ghosts neck. He turned the pendant over and began to concentrate on the strange words inscribed on the back. Slowly, carefully, he read the verse three times aloud. When he was finished, he looked up and noticed that their surroundings seemed to be somehow friendlier than they had been. From somewhere overhead, he heared the chirping of a bird in one of the trees. The air even seemed lighter.
Courage turned back to Mr. Worth and carefully put the necklace back around his neck, making sure that the prayer of protection was facing the ghost. Mr. Worth rose to his feet began to concentrate again. He whispered a few words under his breath and waited. A faint shape appeared in front of them. It was one of the children and the little boy was very weak.
Mr. Worth quickly glided up to the little ghost. "What happened?"
A weak, almost inaudible voice answered him. "We found one of the plants but the second plant was in a cave. We went in to get the plant but something drained our energy before we could get out. Then that weird cat showed up with some sort of machine. He pointed it at Alena and she disappeared."
Courage's heart sank down to his feet. Katz ghost catching machine really did work!!!
Mr. Worth didn't seem to worried though. "Do you have the plants?"
The little boy nodded and gave Mr. Worth the plants that he and the little girl had collected before the girl was captured. Mr. Worth examined the plants and smiled. "Very good. I'm proud of you, Daniel."
Mr. Worth handed the plants back to the little boy and instructed him to hold on tightly to them. Then he turned to Courage. "Courage, I need your help. Daniel doesn't have enough energy to get back to your house so you and I will have to take him back."
Courage just looked up at Mr. Worth.
"It's not that difficult Courage. You have a certain amount of special abilities yourself. If you didn't then you would never be able to summon me or the children. Now, come here."
Courage did as Mr. Worth instructed him. He listened carefully to the words that Mr. Worth taught him, then he and Mr. Worth formed a circle around the weak little ghost with their arms. Mr. Worth held onto Courage's paws and began to chant. Courage joined in the chant and soon he felt the world around him start to spin. A few seconds later they appeared in Courage's livingroom. Courage felt too dizzy and weak to stand so he just collapsed on the spot and tried to keep his head from spinning.
Mr. Worth explained to the children what had happened then began to give all of them instructions. Instantly, the children divided into groups and went about the tasks that Mr. Worth assigned to them. Two of them knelt down by Courage's side and put their hands on him. Courage felt a warm glow surround him as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. As the children went about their tasks, Mr. Worth turned to the exhausted little boy on the floor in front of him. "Here, Daniel, take my hand."
The little ghost protested. "But, what about you? I don't want to-"
Mr. Worth gently silenced the little boy. "Don't worry, I'm stronger than you think. Take my hand and relax."
The little boy did as Mr. Worth told him and soon he began to feel much stronger. He opened his eyes to find that his teacher was now completely drained and almost invisible. Courage opened his eyes just in time to see Mr. Worth fade completely out.
Courage jumped to his feet and ran to the spot where Mr. Worth had been. He whined softly with concern.
A faint voice answered him. "Courage, I need you to take three of the stronger children and go to the Katz Motel. See if you kind find out where he's keeping Alena. Don't do anything until I return - just find out where she is and return here. Whatever you do, don't let Katz catch you. We can't let him know that you are still alive."
Courage just looked at the empty space where Mr. Worth had been standing with a worried look on his face.
"Don't worry, Courage, I'll be okay. I just need to rest for a little while. I can't talk anymore. Please just do as I told you."
Courage nodded and turned to the children who had already been talking among themselves to decide who was the strongest. Finally, three of them stepped forward. "Come on, Courage. Let's go find Alena!"
One of the boys held out his hand and Courage held on tight. Soon they were standing behind the Katz Motel.
The next morning, Mr. Worth heated up the rest of the beef stew from the refrigerator for Courage's breakfast. Courage thankfully ate the delicious stew but he was really beginning to miss having breakfast with Muriel.
Courage went back into the livingroom and sighed. The whole house looked terrible after being broken into and ramsacked by Katz and his friends then being ramsacked again by Ma Bagge. Courage began to put a few things back in order but it seemed useless. Everything was a mess. He sighed and curled up by Muriel's feet. Mr. Worth noticed how sad Courage was about the way his house looked so he gathered the children around him and spoke to them for a few minutes. After talking to Mr. Worth, the children began to wander around the house straightening things up while the waited for the other four children to return. Soon, the whole house looked much better.
It was nearly two in the afternoon when two more of the children arrived. Mr. Worth examined the plants they brought back and praised them on a job well done before telling them to get some much needed rest.
Courage looked up at the clock. Only three and a half days to get the rest of the plants and make the antidote. He was beginning to worry. What if the other children didn't return in time? What if they couldn't find the plants they were looking for? What if the antidote didn't work? His poor nerves were becoming wrecked with worry.
Mr. Worth sat down beside Courage. "Don't let yourself worry like this, Courage. The other two children will return and we will have the antidote in plenty of time."
Courage looked up at the ghost. He could sense something in the ghost and wondered if the ghost was beginning to worry because the children had been gone so long.
There was a noise outside followed by a knock on the front door. Courage opened the door to find the newspaper delivery man standing there. He wagged his tail as he took the paper from the man then turned to go back inside as the man left.
Mr. Worth read through the newspaper but found nothing ususual. The day dragged on uneventfully as they continued to wait for the other two children to bring the rest of the plants needed for the antidote.
Mr. Worth was becoming visibly restless and Courage could sense that he was becoming very worried about the other two children. Finally, the teacher spoke with the children that were in the house before deciding to go find out what was taking so long for the other children to return. Courage whined softly and Mr. Worth nodded. "Hold on tight, Courage."
Courage grabbed onto Mr. Worth's hand and felt himself become lighter than air as the ghost disappeared taking Courage with him.
They reappeared in a dark area of forest somewhere in the mountains a few miles outside of Nowhere. The place had a very spooky feeling about it. Other than the thick vegitation, there were no signs of life. No animals or birds could be seen anywhere. There weren't even any insects buzzing about.
Courage shivered and moved close to Mr. Worth who was busy studying their surroundings.
Mr. Worth began to concentrated deeply, whispering quietly under his breath. He waited for a few seconds but nothing happened. "Something's wrong."
Courage whined softly up at his friend who was visibly worried.
Mr. Worth knelt down beside Courage. "Courage, take the necklace from around my neck and read the prayer of protection. Concentrate carefully on the words and read it three times."
Courage reached up and gently removed the necklace from the ghosts neck. He turned the pendant over and began to concentrate on the strange words inscribed on the back. Slowly, carefully, he read the verse three times aloud. When he was finished, he looked up and noticed that their surroundings seemed to be somehow friendlier than they had been. From somewhere overhead, he heared the chirping of a bird in one of the trees. The air even seemed lighter.
Courage turned back to Mr. Worth and carefully put the necklace back around his neck, making sure that the prayer of protection was facing the ghost. Mr. Worth rose to his feet began to concentrate again. He whispered a few words under his breath and waited. A faint shape appeared in front of them. It was one of the children and the little boy was very weak.
Mr. Worth quickly glided up to the little ghost. "What happened?"
A weak, almost inaudible voice answered him. "We found one of the plants but the second plant was in a cave. We went in to get the plant but something drained our energy before we could get out. Then that weird cat showed up with some sort of machine. He pointed it at Alena and she disappeared."
Courage's heart sank down to his feet. Katz ghost catching machine really did work!!!
Mr. Worth didn't seem to worried though. "Do you have the plants?"
The little boy nodded and gave Mr. Worth the plants that he and the little girl had collected before the girl was captured. Mr. Worth examined the plants and smiled. "Very good. I'm proud of you, Daniel."
Mr. Worth handed the plants back to the little boy and instructed him to hold on tightly to them. Then he turned to Courage. "Courage, I need your help. Daniel doesn't have enough energy to get back to your house so you and I will have to take him back."
Courage just looked up at Mr. Worth.
"It's not that difficult Courage. You have a certain amount of special abilities yourself. If you didn't then you would never be able to summon me or the children. Now, come here."
Courage did as Mr. Worth instructed him. He listened carefully to the words that Mr. Worth taught him, then he and Mr. Worth formed a circle around the weak little ghost with their arms. Mr. Worth held onto Courage's paws and began to chant. Courage joined in the chant and soon he felt the world around him start to spin. A few seconds later they appeared in Courage's livingroom. Courage felt too dizzy and weak to stand so he just collapsed on the spot and tried to keep his head from spinning.
Mr. Worth explained to the children what had happened then began to give all of them instructions. Instantly, the children divided into groups and went about the tasks that Mr. Worth assigned to them. Two of them knelt down by Courage's side and put their hands on him. Courage felt a warm glow surround him as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. As the children went about their tasks, Mr. Worth turned to the exhausted little boy on the floor in front of him. "Here, Daniel, take my hand."
The little ghost protested. "But, what about you? I don't want to-"
Mr. Worth gently silenced the little boy. "Don't worry, I'm stronger than you think. Take my hand and relax."
The little boy did as Mr. Worth told him and soon he began to feel much stronger. He opened his eyes to find that his teacher was now completely drained and almost invisible. Courage opened his eyes just in time to see Mr. Worth fade completely out.
Courage jumped to his feet and ran to the spot where Mr. Worth had been. He whined softly with concern.
A faint voice answered him. "Courage, I need you to take three of the stronger children and go to the Katz Motel. See if you kind find out where he's keeping Alena. Don't do anything until I return - just find out where she is and return here. Whatever you do, don't let Katz catch you. We can't let him know that you are still alive."
Courage just looked at the empty space where Mr. Worth had been standing with a worried look on his face.
"Don't worry, Courage, I'll be okay. I just need to rest for a little while. I can't talk anymore. Please just do as I told you."
Courage nodded and turned to the children who had already been talking among themselves to decide who was the strongest. Finally, three of them stepped forward. "Come on, Courage. Let's go find Alena!"
One of the boys held out his hand and Courage held on tight. Soon they were standing behind the Katz Motel.