“No Ma’am, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, we’re gaining speed and altitude! We’re going to make it!”
“Hear, hear, good show. Oh drat! I see several long-legged insectile monsters scamper up the worm’s back and launch themselves in an attempt to jump to our airship off of the worm’s head. Hah, they make the attempt in vain. No, vain but for one. By spreading and flapping its carapace shell, this creature has managed to fly and latch onto the steering mechanisms at the rear of the Zeppelin. The over-sized green beetle is a tenacious monster! It resembles an enraged and voracious ladybug, but one with several sets of large pincers.”
“We ain’t got no weapon on board to shoot the emerald-carapaced critter, Ma’am. That ectoplasmic passenger is clinging to our steerage.”
“No, more than that, he is tearing our rudders to shreds, Mr. Temperance.”
“Woah! He just got sploded! A Distruptor operator on the ground must have got him.”
“Though we now travel with a nausea inducing wobble due to the off-kilter orientation of our damaged rudder, we are, at least, still afloat.”
- - -
Phosphorescent creatures pursue us on the ground, as we fly westward through the night.
The nocturnal horrors burn away, like the morning dew, as daylight breaks.
Once we land in Milan, Captain Stromberger is able to make the necessary repairs to her craft. The honourable Zeppelin commander wishes us Godspeed, and we continue our flight Westward aboard another airship, the Edelweiss, a marvelously appointed Austrian Zeppelin.
“I say, Mr. Temperance, the European continent itself has become too dangerous for us to remain. We must retreat into the unspoiled West.”
“Do you mean all the way to the Americas, Miss Plumtartt?”
“Yes, Mr. Temperance. Our capable pilot has this ship bound for La Rochelle, on the English Channel. From there, we shall gain passage to England, and from her we shall bound Westward.”
“Golly, it sure has gotten dark. I was hoping we would have made it to the coast by now.”
“This is not the case, Mr. Temperance. You and I must be ever vigilant for our foes.”
“Look there, Miss Plumtartt, I see some faintly glowing specks in the distance.”
“I see them as well, Mr. Temperance. Please take your goggles to our Captain that he may see our foes for himself.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“I say, Captain von Tropp, these foes are to our north. I suspect these come from Paris, which has rejuvenated itself in our short absence.”
“Ja, Persephone, I see that. This phenomenon is incredible. Is it my imagination, or do these low, green glowing lights approach with alarming speed? These creatures are aloft! We are being pursued by a squadron of winged harpies! I will still maintain a Westward heading, but I am altering our course southward.”
“Let me have another peek at them flying boogie-men, please, Captain von Tropp.”
“Your goggles allow for magnification, Mr. Temperance, can you describe our pursuers, eh hem?”
“Let me get them focused in... Eek! I mean, yikes! These are some big old scary gargoyles come to life! They have huge, bat wings and they are after us like nobody’s business!”
“My word, we have retreated too far south to achieve La Rochelle and there is still no sign of the coast.”
“Well, you ain’t got to worry about us retreating any further to the south, Miss Plumtartt.”
“Oh, why do you say that?”
“It’s on account of them Pyrenees Mountains looming up to block our path.”
“My word, we are trapped, Mr. Temperance. Please make Captain von Tropp aware of your observations.”
“Yes, Ma’am! Howdy there, Captain von Tropp, sir, there are about half a dozen winged monsters closing on the Edelweiss. They look like iron-skinned, flying monkeys and I think they intend to attack this airship. Here you go; take a look at them through the goggles.”
“Ja, Ichabod, these creatures are horrific and intend to destroy us. We must gain more altitude. Helmsman, adjust heading ten degrees starboard and take us higher.”
“Ja wohl, mein Captain!”
“I say, the Atlantic coast quickly approaches and there is no escape for this vessel from the beasts.”
“I am afraid you are correct, Fraulein Plumtartt. Helmsman, continue your heading out to sea.”
“I can’t see them anymore, y’all. They have passed out of sight above the ship.”
“One can only presume that they alight upon the top of our ship’s envelope. No doubt, they will tear their way in from there, eh hem?”
“Oh, Goodness, there’s all kinds of terrible screaming coming through the communication tubes! I think Miss Plumtartt is right, your ship has been boarded, Captain!”
“Come with me, you two. Allow me to introduce you to a safety device of this ship; der glide-ster.”
“Woah! Opening this hatch in the deck reveals open air below. Oh, I see, there is a framework of light wood and canvas attached to the bottom of the ship.”
“I say, Captain von Tropp, you are not going to drop us from the sky in that little kite, are you?”
“Ja, Persephone. My crew and I will continue to do what we can to distract the beasts while you make your escape. We will hold out as long as we can before we too, abandon the ship in other safety devices. Have you worked out the controls, Ichabod?”
“Yessir, I think so.”
“Do you see how Ichabod is lying prone in the framework, Persephone?”
“Yes...”
“Lie down atop of him.”
“My word! Oh, very well.”
“Farewell, my friends, good luck in your journey. I am pulling the release mechanism now.”
“A
h
h
h!”
“Mr. Temperance! We are falling from the sky!”
“Yes, Ma’am, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, but I was trying to build some momentum before I gently pulled back on the controls like this to level our flight.”
“Good show, Mr. Temperance! A flying craft! Canvas stretched around a wooden frame are the construct of our stationary wings. We are as a seagull, that holds his place in the sky via the aerodynamics of wind, more so than the propellance of kinetic wing energies.”
“Yes Ma’am, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, this here mono-winged glide-ster ain’t so bad one’st you get the hang of it, but oh my Goodness, that poor ship sure is being torn apart, ain’t she?”
“Indeed, Mr. Temperance, it is a tragic sight, seeing the mighty Zeppelin being shredded by the gruesome gargoyles like insects ripping at the skin of a gigantic watermelon. Oh, dear, I say, one vandalistic vulture views our departure. The hawk-eyed harpie makes to pursue us!”
“Oh, golly, we ain’t gonna be able to make it back to shore! He’s chasing us out to sea!”
“The harpy closes on us!”
“Hang on, Miss Plumtartt, I’m swoopin’ us upward!”
“Mr. Temperance!”
“Hang on, Miss Plumtartt, I’m gonna corkscrew us!”
“Mr. Temperance, you are going to fling me from this craft!”
“I’m sorry, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, I ain’t doing it to get you to hug me tight like you’re doing, I’m trying to shake this varmint.”
“I am confident that your motives are honourable, sir, and I do not mind the intimate contact of this embrace; nevertheless, one confesses a sensation of being cast into the open void.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“It does no good, Mr. Temperance; this monster is fixated upon us and is far faster and more maneuverable than we.”
“I see the lantern lights on the back of a ship at sea. I’m gonna aim for that!”
“Faster, Mr. Temperance!”
“Prepare for impact, Miss Plumtartt!”
Colliding heavily with the boom sail at the stern of the ship, me, Miss Plumtartt, and our glider, go face first into the stiff cloth. Our pursuer crashes into us directly
behind. We all slide down the canvas and fall to the deck in a tangled heap of bodies, wings, and glider wreckage. I have a hold of the winged devil before we hit the deck. Those wings are strong, and they are beating the heck out of me. The bat-winged gargoyle is in a murderous frenzy but so am I. This bugger is strong, but his wings are unwieldy at this close range. In a wrestling contest, I’ve got the edge and manage to get one of his wings bent up the wrong way. Once I’ve got that sucker in a bind I draw the P.E.R.K., and juke that flying water spout for all I’m worth.
Chapter 28 – Clipping Across the Pond.
Persephone.
Once more, I am grateful for my bustle. It has proven itself yet again as a comfortable landing device.
I look up from the deck onto which we have fallen, to see we are in a ring of sailors. They are wide-eyed with astonishment as the invisible monster Mr. Temperance was fighting becomes visible to them in its death throes.
“Get me a bottle, or a cask, or something to collect this muck in, please y’all; he’s gonna melt away all gone lickety-split!””
A seamen with an air of authority about him, nods, at which several seamen hurry off and return quickly with various vessels. The evaporating ectoplasmic substance that is necessary for Mr. Temperance’s weapon construction is quickly gathered.
“Eh hem, might one of you strong lads care to assist me to my feet, eh hem?”
“Howdy, y’all, sorry about boarding your ship without permission, captain. We had to make an emergency landing.”
“Aye, we were watching a Zeppelin having difficulties over the coast when we spotted your aircraft on her erratic course. We had no idea what your trouble was until you killed that terrible abomination and it was made visible.”
“Yessir, that’s the way with these boogers. My name is Ichabod Temperance and this here is Miss Persephone Plumtartt. You all wouldn’t happen to be headed for anywhere in the Americas, were you?”
“Aye, my name is Captain Denver Hale. The lads address me as ‘Skipper’. This clipper, the ‘Midnight Minnow’, is bound for the United States.”
“My dear Captain Hale, you are truly our most timely savior. Unclean and supernatural forces have chased us to sea. Evil forces threaten the world and we require assistance in championing good over evil. May we please have passage aboard your vessel of such fortuitous providence?”
“Dear child, had we not seen that gruesome terror ourselves, we might have doubted ye, but, by my lights, we got a good two quarts of the foul creature’s remains bottled up. Oh, we’ll help ye’ both all right with passage to Galveston, Texas. Texas is a country on the Gulf of Mexico, often associated with the United States.”
- - -
Ah, the smell of the open Ocean is invigorating and refreshing.
What a lovely craft this Midnight Minnow is! In the morning sun, she is beautiful to behold. I thrill at how she runs before the wind!
“Miss Plumtartt,” Mr. Temperance breaks in upon my thoughts in his quiet and bashful way, “perhaps we have rethought our trip to the Tibetan Plateau.”
“Why yes, Mr. Temperance. It would seem that we have taken an unexpected detour.”
“Yes, Ma’am, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am. We got run out of Europe like a child spittin’ watermelon seeds.”
“Oh. Yes. Err. Rather. I see.”
“Like the way I got run out of that posh French Clubbe.”
“Quite.”
“Like the way I got run out of the Strand Hotel when I bopped Sir Henry Stanley on the horn and bent his beak.”
“Why, Mr. Temperance! Was that you? Of course it was! The papers had said ‘Mad American.’ I should have realized!”
“I’m sorry, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, I am awfully embarrassed about that. I ain’t one to go around hittin’ folks, but he riled me up the way he was talking about you.”
“This encounter with Sir Henry was before you and I were made acquaintances, sir. How is it that you came to my defense, even then?”
“I had a good impression of you and your father. I knew you to be a Lady, and that was enough for me.”
“I say, Mr. Temperance, the imagined vision of your punching that rogue in the nose brings me the greatest of joys. Yes, rather, to the point that I feel an irresistible impulse to clutch your jaw and bestow an appreciative kiss upon your cheek.”
~smack!~
Ichabod’s face runs quickly to red and then on without slowing down to a deep burgundy. His hazel eyes sparkle with fireworks that indicate great happiness within.
I privately confess, it does enchant my heart to see the boy so deeply moved by my simplest affections.
“Oh Goodness! I mean, gee whiz, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, you sure took that awful bit of news well. So, um, anyways, if the way to Tibet is blocked from this direction, we may need to make an adjustment in our itinerary.”
My mild-mannered companion attempts to maintain his focus upon our errand; however, he scarcely seems to make contact with the deck. My simple kiss has the effect of giving the lad the appearance of buoyancy, and I fear that he will fly from the deck of the Minnow as a balloon.
“Might I inquire as to your thoughts on the subject, eh hem?” ~batt, batt, batt~
“Uhb,.. uhb,.. uhh, oh! I’m sorry, Ma’am. I think I was saying, maybe we should try to slip in the back door to Asia. Let’s go to the top of the world via the Pacific Ocean.”
“At this juncture, I fail to be able to mount an argument. Let us give the Pacific expanses a go then, shall we?”
“Our Skipper, Captain Hale, says the Midnight Minnow is bound for Galveston. It’s an American port in Texas. From Galveston we can travel overland across the North American Western territories, to the Pacific coast.”
“Splendid, Mr. Temperance! A brief train ride, another ‘clip’ across the Pacific pond, and we are on the back doorstep to our destination. With a quick skip around the Asian Promontory, we shall land on the Asian continent at Calcutta. A swift trip up the Ganges, a portered ride up the slopes, and there we are, neat as a pin.”
“Yes, Ma’am, ‘neat as a pin’. Let’s hope so. We’ll need a quick stop over in Galveston as I have a few ideas floatin’ for equipping ourselves.”
- - -
I peruse a Spanish newspaper that the Captain has recently acquired. The contents are full of dread.
There is a heartbreaking report that the Plumtartt Factory has been destroyed. Witnesses claim ‘unseen forces’ smashed the great factory to the ground. No satisfactory explanation has been given. There are also mounting numbers of ‘Ghost’ attacks and desiccated corpses being reported not only from England and France, but from Gibraltar, and again, in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. A grisly trail of terror emerges.
To the best of my knowledge, there have been no attacks in the Americas.
I pray that we have left our tormentors in Europe.
Chapter 29 - The Good Ol’ U. S. of A.
Ichabod
Galveston is a busy spot!
The city’s harbor is crowded with ships of all description. Her bay teems with schooners, clippers, freighters and even warships of different nations.
Golly it’s hard to say goodbye to our friends on the Minnow. If Captain Hale could, I bet he and his crew would be willing to see us through our coming adventures. I can still see him, back there on the deck of his ship.
Impulsively, Captain Hale and I call to one another.
“Skipper!”
“Little buddy!”
Miss Plumtartt and I secure rooms at a towering edifice, the Beach Hotel on Galveston Island. This structure sails six stories into the air. Ornately laid out, she is the picture of comfort and elegance. The girl looks like a big, wooden cloud. I sure hope a big wind does not come along and blow her away someday.
I accompany Miss Plumtartt into town, where we separate on our different errands. She must shop for clothes, for we left Europe with nothing but what we were wearing when we boarded the Edelweiss’ glide-ster. I had several
of my possessions secured about my person, but Miss Plumtartt has been without a parasol for a week!
I am itching to get to a manufacturing shop, but as I search out various firearms, and hardware stores, for the right place to build my device, none are quite what I have in mind. I purchase the supplies I will be requiring at each location along the way.
This world operates on supply and demand. Since the ‘Revelatory Comet’s passing, and the steep rise in the inventive community, so too have businesses arisen to provide the productive tinkers with the material of development. Cogs, wheels, gears, pulleys, spindles, rods, chains, ropes, rivet and plate are now easily gained. Electrical components, just an engineer’s dream a few short years ago, are now there for any layman to utilize.
I locate an especially industrious blacksmith. His barn is full of interesting devices that he has constructed. He is shoeing a horse, though, when I arrive. He has a good and gentle way with the animal. I appreciate this as I have a strong connection to animals and find that I like people who like animals.
In exchange for some stable boy work, he generously allows me access to his workshop.
In a few hours, I leave with a most astounding new tool in my arsenal. The ammunition was actually trickier to manufacture than the device itself.
When I return to the Beach Hotel, I find Miss Plumtartt on the expansive seaside veranda reading a pile of newspapers.
“Excuse me, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am, but I thought you might like to inspect this device I have created.”
“My word, Mr. Temperance, but this does appear to be a fearsome creation.”
“Yes, Ma’am, I’m hopin’ so.”
“I am unhappy to report a change in the status of our circumstances. It would seem by these many newspaper reports, that there has indeed been an infestation of the ghost’s despicable presence in the afore-spared Americas. Rio de Janeiro and New York, South and North American cities, respectively, now describe isolated, yet horrific attacks and sightings indicative of our foe’s unclean manifestation.”
“The Eastern seaboards of this hemisphere’s two great continents have now been affected by this pandemic of supernatural activity.”
A Matter of Temperance (The Adventures of Ichabod Temperance Book 1) Page 12