SOMETHING HAS AWAKENED . . .
"Are you pleased with your station in life, man?"
So asks the dancing sailor, before unscrewing his own head and handing it over to a very startled Mr. John Rime, the cat's-meat man, one foggy night.
Mocking laughter pierces the dark sky. An enormous brindled mastiff is seen in the streets, walking upright like a human being. A little lame boy with red hair and a green face haunts the corridors of the Blue Pelican public house, eighty years after he died there. A sunken ship rises from the ocean bottom and comes sailing into the harbor. A man-like creature with great leathery wings is observed clinging to the spire of St. Skiffin's Church.
Such are a few of the mysterious apparitions afflicting the ancient city of Salthead. What do they mean? Who is responsible for them? And what of the marvelous glowing metal that looks like gold but isn't, and the exploded statue in a remote chapel crypt?
In a frigid world shattered by a cometary collision, where saber-cats prowl the mountain meadows and the old mastodon trains are fast disappearing from the land, something wicked has been released. Join Professor Tiggs and Dr. Dampe as they search for answers and uncover a 2,000-year-old menace threatening all that remains of earth.
CHARACTERS
Lucy Ankers
A chambermaid at the Blue Pelican inn and public house.
Mr. Ephraim Badger
Late senior partner in the legal firm of Badger and Winch; now moldering in a churchyard.
Mr. Gervaise Balliol
Landlord of the Cutting Duck public house.
Mr. Harry Banister
The master of Eaton Wafers, in Broadshire; formerly a student of Professor Tiggs at Swinford College, Salthead.
Betty
A gentle mastodon cow, partner to the Kingmaker.
Benjamin Blizzard ("Blaster")
The nephew of Mr. Hatch Hoakum.
Frederick Brittlebank
A facetious booking-clerk in Timson's coach-office.
Cast-iron Billy
An execution man, and associate of Mr. Icks.
Mary Clinch
Head chambermaid of the Blue Pelican.
Nicholas Crabshawe ("Busket")
A friend of Mr. Icks.
Mr. George Curle
An old hunks, and neighbor of the sisters Jacks.
Miss Laura Dale
The young governess to Miss Littlefield.
Dr. Daniel Dampe
A learned but nonetheless good-natured physician.
Henry Duff
A carter.
Charles Earhart ("Sheephead Charley")
A feeble-minded vagabond.
Epsom
Servant in the household of the sisters Jacks.
Fallow
Footman and general factotum of Mr. Josiah Tusk.
George Gosling
The industrious pot-boy of the Blue Pelican.
Mrs. Amelia Greenshields
The wife of Professor Greenshields.
Professor Christopher Greenshields
Formerly the Hurlstone Professor of Classics in Antrobus College, Salthead University; now retired.
Hanna
A ruddy young farm lass; Mrs. Minidew's helper in the kitchen.
Jack Hilltop
A newcomer to town, with no visible occupation.
Mr. Hatch Hoakum
A driver of mastodons.
Hobbes
Servant in the employ of Professor and Mrs. Greenshields.
Miss Moll Honeywood
The starchy proprietor of the Blue Pelican.
Mr. John Hunter
A mysterious young gentleman of independent means.
Mr. Samson Icks
Agent to Mr. Winch.
Miss Mona Jacks
A tiny and interesting young woman.
Miss Nina Jacks
Her elder sister.
Mr. Jinkin
A printer.
Mr. Austin Kibble
Confidential secretary to Professor Tiggs.
Kingmaker
A mighty bull mastodon, under the command of Mr. Hoakum and his nephew.
Bridget Leek
A pretty charwoman.
Miss Fiona Littlefield
The young niece of Professor Tiggs.
Maggie
A buckskin mare belonging to Professor Tiggs.
Mrs. Minidew
Cook and housekeeper to Professor Tiggs.
Mitton
Servant at Eaton Wafers.
The Rev. Mr. Samuel Nash
The rector of St. Barnacle's parish.
Nestor
A black gelding belonging to Mr. Kibble.
Mr. Robert Nightingale
A slippery waterside character.
Nutmeg
The resident feline of the Blue Pelican.
Ham Pickering
A boatswain's mate, late of the Swan.
Pigeon
Apprentice pot-boy at the Cutting Duck.
Lew Pilcher
An execution-man, and associate of Mr. Icks.
Mr. Pumpkin Pie
An orange tabby cat, enjoying the largesse of the Tiggs household.
Mr. John Rime
A cat's-meat man.
Joseph Rooke
An associate of Mr. Icks; a volatile young man.
Salop
Servant to Mr. Hunter.
Mr. Richard Scribbler
A lawyer's clerk, in the employ of Badger and Winch.
Tom Spike
Groom in the service of Professor Tiggs.
Miss Sally Sprinkle
An ancient lady, residing at the Blue Pelican.
Susanna
Maidservant of the sisters Jacks.
Dr. Sweetman
A self-satisfied physician.
Professor Titus Vespasianus Tiggs
Professor of metaphysics and fellow of Swinford College, Salthead University.
Tuchulcha
A flying man.
Turk
A surly mastiff belonging to Mr. Tusk.
Mr. Josiah Tusk
A cunning, voracious miser.
Ned Vickery
Chief groundskeeper of Eaton Wafers.
Mr. Jasper Winch
A greedy attorney; surviving partner in the firm of Badger and Winch, of Cobb's Court.
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