jostling one another to return Percy ' s books to him as he came down the street, smiling. A robustly-bosomed woman, who appeared to be in danger of bursting her corset seams, and a couple of girls with the nervous, fussy faces, the type one expects to find on rabbits, presented his books to him. " Oh, sir," they said. " You are soooo very brave!" And " Oh, sir, I should be quite available to polish the handle of your gun if you need a good cleaning."
But one saw the cover of his book, which read " werewolf ", and when the woman gushed, " Are you a werewolf expert?" And Percy replied, " Well, I wouldn ' t go so far as to say that, but yes, they are a keen interest of mine." Well, then the city was in an uproar, and you couldn ' t see Percy through the sea of women that thronged upon him! Appalling, I say, to throw oneself so completely at a man you have only just met.
They ushered him to the hotel / pub and I was once again left to drag my own luggage behind. Have none of these Americans ever heard of hiring a staff?
Thursday, June the Twenty-Fourth
I may say that I am pleased beyond all proportion at this turn of events! I could nearly bust my side with laughter! Let me recount it as to not forget.
The town is run by an innkeeper— though I say innkeeper only to be polite. I quite understand that she is a Madame when there are not wealthy foreigners around. Her name is Honey Occularus, and she plied Percy with booze. Her entire harem descended on him, making him giggle dumbly, she gave our entire tour free drinks... but the joke was on them, for Percy was no great werewolf hunter!
" A werewolf has been spotted in the area," she announced to our party. " To think that it managed to find its way onto your train! It has been targeting trains for many long months, but yours is the first it has managed to derail. Now that you are properly in werewolf country, we might at last have a hero to aid our small town."
" A werewolf is no small matter," slurred Percy. " I have read every burk... book... boook... on werewolves that there is, and I can... know it."
" It began by stealing the able-bodied residents of the town. It would carry them, screaming, into the night. Their bones were never found! Most of the men were taken; many others fled. That ' s when it turned its attention to the trains! It hunts the passengers." She turned very dark. " It wants us dead!" And with a few more swigs of the liquor, Percy replied, " I shall do it!", and had agreed to use his bravery to rid their town of the dreaded werewolf!
It was only the next morning that he realized what he had agreed to do and he ran to me in