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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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