go? Still, Barker tried to be agreeable.
‘Quite so,’ he said to the Doctor. ‘But we must be ready for anything.’
The team consisted of the Doctor, the Brigadier, Sergeant Hawkins and a UNIT private, and, of course, Major Barker. All, except the Doctor, carried guns. Barker carried not only his holstered Enfield six-shooter, but also a high-velocity rifle. If there were any foreign spies to be found in the caves, Barker knew how to deal with them . As they set off in Jeeps from there search centre car park, Barker felt quite elated. It reminded him of times when he had gone hunting in Africa. To him, those were the good days when Britain still had colonies. It was all over now, of course, but he liked to ponder on those memories.
The Jeeps wound down the rough track to the main road, then cut back across open country to the main mouth of the caves complex. The Brigadier jumped down from the leading Jeep. ‘All right,’ he called, ‘this way.’
Barker was willing to follow at this stage. Later, inside the caves, he intended to get ahead of the others. He wanted to make quite sure that if they found a spy, there would be no nonsense with him. Shoot first, ask questions afterwards. That was Barker’s motto.
The little group tramped through the first passageway of the caves, flashing their torches ahead and down every alcove on each side. Then the Brigadier stopped. ‘Doctor, you say you found a footprint. Can you lead us to it?’
The Doctor went on ahead. This really tickled Barker. He hadn’t liked the Doctor from the start, and looked forward to seeing the Doctor make a fool of himself. After a few minutes they came to a fork, and the Doctor took the left branch. He walked ahead a little way, then stopped.
‘It was about here,’ said the Doctor.
The Brigadier said, ‘No one move, and everyone flash their torches on the floor.’
The Doctor moved carefully towards a small area of flat sand in the cave floor. ‘It was here,’ he said.
‘ Was ?’ asked the Brigadier.
‘It’s been brushed over,’ the Doctor said.
Barker could no longer contain himself. ‘May I make a point, Brigadier?’
‘Well?’
‘I’m sure the Doctor thought he saw a monster,’ said Barker. ‘But perhaps it was some optical trick created by the spies to make an intruder think he was seeing a monster.’
The Brigadier turned to the Doctor. ‘Is that possible, Doctor?’
‘Anything is possible,’ said the Doctor. But his attention was now focused on the sand by a rock that came up from the cave floor. ‘Those marks in the sand there – that’s where my torch was rolled along by the monster.’
The Brigadier inspected the indentations in the sand. ‘You could have dropped your torch,’ he said.
Barker was glad to note that Sergeant Hawkins and the private were grinning. You can’t fool a British soldier, he told himself. No one believed the Doctor’s idiotic story.
‘I suggest,’ said the Doctor,’ that we continue in the direction that the monster ran away…’
The Doctor stopped short as they all heard the sound. It had a strange fluting quality, and seemed to come from a long way deep in the heart of the caves.
The Doctor whispered, ‘That’s the sound I heard. It’s some kind of signal. That’s one of the other creatures, calling to the monsters.’
But Barker didn’t stay to hear any more of the Doctor’s stupid talk about monsters and ‘other creatures’. Pulling the bolt of his rifle, he started to run up the cave. The Brigadier called to him, but Barker paid no heed. He could hear that strange sound growing louder as he got closer to it, and he was determined to track down its source. Within a moment he came to another fork, paused for a moment to listen, then hurried on up the passageway where he could hear the sound the loudest. This narrow, winding passage, perhaps once the bed of an ancient river, opened up into a huge cave, bigger than the inside of a cathedral. Barker stopped
‘Quite so,’ he said to the Doctor. ‘But we must be ready for anything.’
The team consisted of the Doctor, the Brigadier, Sergeant Hawkins and a UNIT private, and, of course, Major Barker. All, except the Doctor, carried guns. Barker carried not only his holstered Enfield six-shooter, but also a high-velocity rifle. If there were any foreign spies to be found in the caves, Barker knew how to deal with them . As they set off in Jeeps from there search centre car park, Barker felt quite elated. It reminded him of times when he had gone hunting in Africa. To him, those were the good days when Britain still had colonies. It was all over now, of course, but he liked to ponder on those memories.
The Jeeps wound down the rough track to the main road, then cut back across open country to the main mouth of the caves complex. The Brigadier jumped down from the leading Jeep. ‘All right,’ he called, ‘this way.’
Barker was willing to follow at this stage. Later, inside the caves, he intended to get ahead of the others. He wanted to make quite sure that if they found a spy, there would be no nonsense with him. Shoot first, ask questions afterwards. That was Barker’s motto.
The little group tramped through the first passageway of the caves, flashing their torches ahead and down every alcove on each side. Then the Brigadier stopped. ‘Doctor, you say you found a footprint. Can you lead us to it?’
The Doctor went on ahead. This really tickled Barker. He hadn’t liked the Doctor from the start, and looked forward to seeing the Doctor make a fool of himself. After a few minutes they came to a fork, and the Doctor took the left branch. He walked ahead a little way, then stopped.
‘It was about here,’ said the Doctor.
The Brigadier said, ‘No one move, and everyone flash their torches on the floor.’
The Doctor moved carefully towards a small area of flat sand in the cave floor. ‘It was here,’ he said.
‘ Was ?’ asked the Brigadier.
‘It’s been brushed over,’ the Doctor said.
Barker could no longer contain himself. ‘May I make a point, Brigadier?’
‘Well?’
‘I’m sure the Doctor thought he saw a monster,’ said Barker. ‘But perhaps it was some optical trick created by the spies to make an intruder think he was seeing a monster.’
The Brigadier turned to the Doctor. ‘Is that possible, Doctor?’
‘Anything is possible,’ said the Doctor. But his attention was now focused on the sand by a rock that came up from the cave floor. ‘Those marks in the sand there – that’s where my torch was rolled along by the monster.’
The Brigadier inspected the indentations in the sand. ‘You could have dropped your torch,’ he said.
Barker was glad to note that Sergeant Hawkins and the private were grinning. You can’t fool a British soldier, he told himself. No one believed the Doctor’s idiotic story.
‘I suggest,’ said the Doctor,’ that we continue in the direction that the monster ran away…’
The Doctor stopped short as they all heard the sound. It had a strange fluting quality, and seemed to come from a long way deep in the heart of the caves.
The Doctor whispered, ‘That’s the sound I heard. It’s some kind of signal. That’s one of the other creatures, calling to the monsters.’
But Barker didn’t stay to hear any more of the Doctor’s stupid talk about monsters and ‘other creatures’. Pulling the bolt of his rifle, he started to run up the cave. The Brigadier called to him, but Barker paid no heed. He could hear that strange sound growing louder as he got closer to it, and he was determined to track down its source. Within a moment he came to another fork, paused for a moment to listen, then hurried on up the passageway where he could hear the sound the loudest. This narrow, winding passage, perhaps once the bed of an ancient river, opened up into a huge cave, bigger than the inside of a cathedral. Barker stopped
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