IN THE QUARTERS OF MR. HIGGINS ABOARD THE HER MAJESTY BLIMP - IN AIR

Mr. Higgins is standing beside the window port. He leans forward, eagerly absorbed in the view below.

MR. HIGGINS:

“In search of the Unicorn: tape fourteen, entry five. After a rather pleasant week on board Her Majesty, I am most excited to say we are floating above New York City, the portal to the Americas. It is an astonishing view, and I am surprised to see it looks quite civilized. My colleague Mr. Buffurt and I have had a time discussing our various exploits. His last few seem to be a little tame in comparison to mine, which is bound to happen when one gets settled in one’s career. The young lady Miss Wellington, seemed quite interested in our research. We may have found a fellow Royal Naturalist. Of course, given she is a member of the fairer sex, she would not be an official naturalist, but she would be most useful as a secretary or assistant. I will be spending a day or two in New York City, before I embark on the train to the highly anticipated meeting with Hehewuti. I believe I will take the time and attempt some gentle persuasion on Miss Wellington to consider joining my cause. As Mr. Buffurt has had the same idea, it will be necessary to divulge to her some information about my journey to peak her interest, so I will need to spend a bit of time with her to know if I can trust her, delaying my setting out for Montana a few days. I am sure, I can convince her to join me, as Mr. Buffurt is only here on vacation, so he says, and not as immediate as mine.

“I am so full of anticipation, I feel I may burst. A few days in New York City, a week or so on the train, and I will be face to face with what I hope to be the fulfillment of my life’s work. If it was not for Miss Wellington I would be heading straight to train station. However, it would be extremely useful to have an assistant so I must be patient. Hehewuti is not expected to go anywhere and neither is the Unicorn. It is an exciting moment to look down at the city below, however, and know I am one step closer in my quest. In search of the Unicorn: tape fourteen, entry five.”