afterwards? Or don’t they drink tea on Mars?’ said Burton with a large dose of sarcasm.
‘I thought that you might be a little sceptical. What would it take to convince you?’ asked the Doctor, getting more agitated by the moment.
‘Really! This is a waste of time, Doctor,’ said Burton.
The Doctor spun around and thumped the desk. ‘Unless you act quickly innocent people will die!’ he cried.
Burton realized that the Doctor was serious. He decided to humour him. ‘All right, Doctor. Let’s see some proof.
How about showing me your spaceship, heh heh,’ chuckled Burton, winking conspiratorially at Ray. Burton always liked to feel in control of things and in his experience the best way to deal with people such as the Doctor was to play them at their own game. Psychology was currently a hobby of Burton’s and running a holiday camp gave him the opportunity to study all sorts of people.
‘Can I come too?’ asked Ray.
‘Of course, but let’s hurry,’ snapped the Doctor, already halfway through the door. Burton and Ray trailed along behind him.
Chapter Eighteen
Murray’s cabin was identical to Delta’s. As a matter of fact it was identical to every other cabin in Shangri-La. Except that it contained Murray – flat on his back, snoring like a buzz-saw.
He was sleeping so heavily that he didn’t hear the frantic knocking at the door. Finally Mel shoved it open.
‘Murray! Wake up! Wake up!’ she cried.
Nothing. Murray was sleeping the exhausted sleep of the hula-hoop-competition-special-award-for-effort-winner.
In desperation Mel grabbed the nearest thing –
Murray’s big toe sticking out from under the cover - and gave it a huge yank.
‘Whass’ matter?’ grunted Murray.
‘There’s an emergency, Murray. We have to be ready to leave as soon as the bus is ready.’
Murray threw aside his bedclothes and lowered his bare feet onto the cold linoleum.
Shivering, he snatched a coat from behind the door and put it on over his polka-dot pyjamas. ‘What kind of emergency?’ he mumbled, still half asleep. There was nothing he hated more than being woken up.
‘The Bannermen warfleet,’ said Mel.
‘Oh noooo,’ wailed Murray, instantly awake, his knees knocking like castanets. There was something he hated more than being woken up - the thought of his imminent painful demise at the hands of the Bannermen.
Outside the gates of the camp the door of the TARDIS
opened and the Doctor appeared, leading Burton and Ray.
Burton was grinning in simple stupefaction. Ray, already having seen some evidence of extra-terrestrial life, was no less impressed.
‘It’s called a TARDIS – an acronym of Time And Relative Dimensions In Space,’ said the Doctor.
‘It’s hard to keep track of progress these days, muttered Burton. ‘How was it all done? I think I might write an article for Campers Weekly . They’re always on the lookout for interesting news items. I’d like to get one of these for next year. It could prove to be quite a draw. Head Office likes their senior staff to show initiative.’
‘First things first,’ said the Doctor interrupting Burton,
‘We have to clear the camp.’
The Doctor started marching swiftly back to camp. Ray and Burton dawdled behind, both staring back at the amazing vehicle.
In the dining hall Murray was standing on a table addressing all the assembled tourists. They were moaning and griping about having their sleep interrupted and paid very little attention to Murray’s entreaties for silence.
Murray was getting very agitated with them and tried desperately to get their attention. He shouted above the clamour. ‘We should all go back to our cabins, quickly pack and then wait at the bus until we’re ready to leave.’
‘What’s the big rush, Murray?’ asked one of the tourists.
‘You told us we would be here for a couple of days yet. And besides, it’s nice here.’
Murray exchanged a look with Mel. He had no option but to tell them the
‘I thought that you might be a little sceptical. What would it take to convince you?’ asked the Doctor, getting more agitated by the moment.
‘Really! This is a waste of time, Doctor,’ said Burton.
The Doctor spun around and thumped the desk. ‘Unless you act quickly innocent people will die!’ he cried.
Burton realized that the Doctor was serious. He decided to humour him. ‘All right, Doctor. Let’s see some proof.
How about showing me your spaceship, heh heh,’ chuckled Burton, winking conspiratorially at Ray. Burton always liked to feel in control of things and in his experience the best way to deal with people such as the Doctor was to play them at their own game. Psychology was currently a hobby of Burton’s and running a holiday camp gave him the opportunity to study all sorts of people.
‘Can I come too?’ asked Ray.
‘Of course, but let’s hurry,’ snapped the Doctor, already halfway through the door. Burton and Ray trailed along behind him.
Chapter Eighteen
Murray’s cabin was identical to Delta’s. As a matter of fact it was identical to every other cabin in Shangri-La. Except that it contained Murray – flat on his back, snoring like a buzz-saw.
He was sleeping so heavily that he didn’t hear the frantic knocking at the door. Finally Mel shoved it open.
‘Murray! Wake up! Wake up!’ she cried.
Nothing. Murray was sleeping the exhausted sleep of the hula-hoop-competition-special-award-for-effort-winner.
In desperation Mel grabbed the nearest thing –
Murray’s big toe sticking out from under the cover - and gave it a huge yank.
‘Whass’ matter?’ grunted Murray.
‘There’s an emergency, Murray. We have to be ready to leave as soon as the bus is ready.’
Murray threw aside his bedclothes and lowered his bare feet onto the cold linoleum.
Shivering, he snatched a coat from behind the door and put it on over his polka-dot pyjamas. ‘What kind of emergency?’ he mumbled, still half asleep. There was nothing he hated more than being woken up.
‘The Bannermen warfleet,’ said Mel.
‘Oh noooo,’ wailed Murray, instantly awake, his knees knocking like castanets. There was something he hated more than being woken up - the thought of his imminent painful demise at the hands of the Bannermen.
Outside the gates of the camp the door of the TARDIS
opened and the Doctor appeared, leading Burton and Ray.
Burton was grinning in simple stupefaction. Ray, already having seen some evidence of extra-terrestrial life, was no less impressed.
‘It’s called a TARDIS – an acronym of Time And Relative Dimensions In Space,’ said the Doctor.
‘It’s hard to keep track of progress these days, muttered Burton. ‘How was it all done? I think I might write an article for Campers Weekly . They’re always on the lookout for interesting news items. I’d like to get one of these for next year. It could prove to be quite a draw. Head Office likes their senior staff to show initiative.’
‘First things first,’ said the Doctor interrupting Burton,
‘We have to clear the camp.’
The Doctor started marching swiftly back to camp. Ray and Burton dawdled behind, both staring back at the amazing vehicle.
In the dining hall Murray was standing on a table addressing all the assembled tourists. They were moaning and griping about having their sleep interrupted and paid very little attention to Murray’s entreaties for silence.
Murray was getting very agitated with them and tried desperately to get their attention. He shouted above the clamour. ‘We should all go back to our cabins, quickly pack and then wait at the bus until we’re ready to leave.’
‘What’s the big rush, Murray?’ asked one of the tourists.
‘You told us we would be here for a couple of days yet. And besides, it’s nice here.’
Murray exchanged a look with Mel. He had no option but to tell them the
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