threw me at the feet of the beast . " Mmm ," said the creature . " That will do nicely .
The toll has been paid . Now begone ."
The giant shooed them away with his staff , then he placed shackles around Thunderboy and myself and dragged us over the embankment .
Now , while I write this in retrospect , I did also have occasion to make time for my diary during our enforced restraint . I provide an excerpt here :
Date Missing
The others blame me for all the mechanical failures . What do I know about trusses and piers ? This bridge work if far too laborious for a lady of my refinements . The beast is in his forge all night , and every morning we are woken at dawn to assemble these pieces into those infernal triangles . The others claim that the triangles that I assemble never come out aright , but it has to be the local gremlins , for I am certain I am just as skilled as anyone else in the camp .
The nights are the roughest I have ever spent in all my days . I cannot imagine a worse situation than sleeping seven to a room , with a drab little fire built straight into the floor , threadbare cotton quilts and shabby roof over my head . This must have been what sleeping was like for the Darwinian man , eating rocks and fighting tigers !
Good Lord , I hope the rest of the tour group finds me soon . I did not come dressed for this . I asked the Chinese migrants for some more suitable attire . I feel that they were making fun of me , for they gave me the most elaborate gown with sleeves that reached the floor . It was clearly some glorious court attire for some resplendent Chinese lady that the beast had no use for , nor the migrant workers , for they kept it in a trunk . They may think it is not suitable for hard labor , but I will show them that a lady of great refinements can accomplish her work in any attire .
Date Missing
Thunderboy and I have been digging for days . The others think I am not suited for such work , and say I am too accustomed to leisure . I am not afraid to work . I used to do a little gardening back in London , from time to time . And to say I am too fond of leisure ! What do they know ? I may come from a well-to-do family , but I am a monster hunter through and through .
I could work hard and live off the land as well as anyone