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The Terror
of the
Thursday, July the First
Our first excursion to search the plains for gremlins— who are called by the curious name of Pukwudgies in this area— was delayed by several hours; the winds have been most unfavorable and frequently attempt to upend the train. I did not leave my cabin, for the gusts outside were so strong, but I heard murmurings that the engine had been having mechanical trouble. Why should wind cause an engine mechanical trouble? Only one answer— gremlins.
Friday, July the Second
All the tour members were gathering outside a little station, waiting for a carriage to take us down the hill. I was over-eager to help Brunhilde find a gremlin to dissolve her terrible marriage vow with that demon. San Francisco was our next stop. I do not know why we were all gathered like geese around the train station. I believe it is more likely that we will find monsters away from the bustle of a railway station, no matter how inconsequential that station may be, rather than near it. The carriage was taking forever, and
I was tired of waiting, so I told the others I was going to take a little stroll down the lane and they could pick me up on the way if the carriage ever managed to show up.
" Would you like someone to escort you Missus Dashwood?" Mr. Longville asked most boldly.
I am far too angry to do anything with Percy right now. Why, what kind of respectable gentlemen keeps pictures of ladies in their frillies and nightclothes? You ' d never see me looking at men, or gawking at men. Can you imagine me, for example, thinking about Thunderboy ' s athletic body? Or that the Native people, perhaps twinged with a memory of the savage, wore less clothing than we Europeans, allowing his attractive body to be almost perennially on display? Of course I would not notice such things! I ' m a respectable English lady!
" My name is Miss Dashwood," I emphasized the " miss ". " And Thunderboy has already offered to join me."
I don ' t know why I thought of Thunderboy. He was more or less my age, and perhaps I thought he would be excited by the prospect of joining a lady on an adventure. Sir Hammerhorn may have thought me inexperienced and the Mayor had
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