cried.
The blankets were flung aside and Barbara manoeuvred herself upright in the bunk. Bennett swung round and gaped at her as though unable to believe his eyes. Then he uttered a menacing, almost primitive cry. Raising his huge fists in the air, he staggered towards the bunk. Barbara shrank back against the hull, her bruised face blank with terror.
5
‘Do be careful, Chesterton!’
‘Be careful, Doctor!’ Ian called back. ‘It’s getting even narrower.’ Ian was leading the way along a steadily narrowing ledge which ran high up the side of the huge cavern. Beyond the crumbly edge there yawned the dark abyss, and far below them the torchbeam picked out the jagged boulders and razor sharp pinnacles which pierced the sandy floor. And still the monstrous breathing and burrowing sound echoed all around them, but they could not identify the source. It was as though the mountain itself was a living thing that had swallowed them up; the noises they were hearing were its heartbeat and the working of its mighty lungs.
Suddenly part of the ledge broke away and fell clattering into the darkness. The Doctor lost his footing and started to slip, his fingers scrabbling uselessly at the rock face.
Luckily Ian reached back in time and helped him onto surer ground. They paused for a moment, panting and wiping the sweat from their faces.
‘Take it easy now, Doctor,’ Ian warned.
‘Thank you, my boy.’ The Doctor folded away his grubby handkerchief. ‘Have you noticed that this ledge is getting narrower at every step?’
Ian grinned bleakly to himself in the shadows.
‘Shine the torch at my feet,’ commanded the Doctor.
‘There you see?’
Ian shone the powerful beam ahead along the ledge and the cavern wall.
‘Quite a chasm, is it not?’ the Doctor said.
‘There’s not much to hold onto either, Doctor,’ said Ian.
‘We’ll have to press ourselves against the rock.’
The old man shook his head morosely. ‘If I press myself against it any harder, my dear Chesterton, I shall do myself an injury. Now do get a move on! We cannot afford to stand here admiring the view. We have got to find Barbara, you know.’
Ian threw the Doctor a warning glance and cautiously continued edging his way along the perilous shelf. ‘I only hope this leads somewhere useful,’ he murmured to himself.
They worked their way slowly sideways for several metres and then reached a section where the ledge was barely wider than the length of their shoes. Not only was it extremely brittle, but in places it sloped away at an alarming angle from the rock wall. If it got any worse they would have no choice but to retreat, but where to? They had followed the only viable route out of the chamber where the TARDIS had materialised and it had brought them onto this ledge. They had not found any alternative way down to the cavern floor.
Pressed flat against the wall, they were just negotiating a particularly nasty sloping section when the titanic bellowing noise suddenly erupted again. Ian stopped dead and the Doctor, only centimetres away, collided with him for a second time, almost knocking him down into the abyss. Ian’s fumbling fingers nearly dropped the torch, but at the last moment he managed to trap it between his knees. At the same instant, the Doctor lost his balance and started toppling forwards. With superb reflex action Ian grabbed his sleeve and dragged him back against the rock face. Wringing with cold sweat, they stood rigid against the wall listening to the dying echo of the awesome roar.
‘You must be more careful,’ the Doctor scolded. ‘You almost dropped the torch.’
‘What the devil was that?’ Ian whispered.
‘Well, it certainly wasn’t me !’ snapped the Doctor, angry with himself for almost causing a disaster. ‘Stop showing off and shine the torch down there.’
Clenching his teeth in frustration, Ian extricated the torch from between his knees and directed its broad, brilliant beam over the
The blankets were flung aside and Barbara manoeuvred herself upright in the bunk. Bennett swung round and gaped at her as though unable to believe his eyes. Then he uttered a menacing, almost primitive cry. Raising his huge fists in the air, he staggered towards the bunk. Barbara shrank back against the hull, her bruised face blank with terror.
5
‘Do be careful, Chesterton!’
‘Be careful, Doctor!’ Ian called back. ‘It’s getting even narrower.’ Ian was leading the way along a steadily narrowing ledge which ran high up the side of the huge cavern. Beyond the crumbly edge there yawned the dark abyss, and far below them the torchbeam picked out the jagged boulders and razor sharp pinnacles which pierced the sandy floor. And still the monstrous breathing and burrowing sound echoed all around them, but they could not identify the source. It was as though the mountain itself was a living thing that had swallowed them up; the noises they were hearing were its heartbeat and the working of its mighty lungs.
Suddenly part of the ledge broke away and fell clattering into the darkness. The Doctor lost his footing and started to slip, his fingers scrabbling uselessly at the rock face.
Luckily Ian reached back in time and helped him onto surer ground. They paused for a moment, panting and wiping the sweat from their faces.
‘Take it easy now, Doctor,’ Ian warned.
‘Thank you, my boy.’ The Doctor folded away his grubby handkerchief. ‘Have you noticed that this ledge is getting narrower at every step?’
Ian grinned bleakly to himself in the shadows.
‘Shine the torch at my feet,’ commanded the Doctor.
‘There you see?’
Ian shone the powerful beam ahead along the ledge and the cavern wall.
‘Quite a chasm, is it not?’ the Doctor said.
‘There’s not much to hold onto either, Doctor,’ said Ian.
‘We’ll have to press ourselves against the rock.’
The old man shook his head morosely. ‘If I press myself against it any harder, my dear Chesterton, I shall do myself an injury. Now do get a move on! We cannot afford to stand here admiring the view. We have got to find Barbara, you know.’
Ian threw the Doctor a warning glance and cautiously continued edging his way along the perilous shelf. ‘I only hope this leads somewhere useful,’ he murmured to himself.
They worked their way slowly sideways for several metres and then reached a section where the ledge was barely wider than the length of their shoes. Not only was it extremely brittle, but in places it sloped away at an alarming angle from the rock wall. If it got any worse they would have no choice but to retreat, but where to? They had followed the only viable route out of the chamber where the TARDIS had materialised and it had brought them onto this ledge. They had not found any alternative way down to the cavern floor.
Pressed flat against the wall, they were just negotiating a particularly nasty sloping section when the titanic bellowing noise suddenly erupted again. Ian stopped dead and the Doctor, only centimetres away, collided with him for a second time, almost knocking him down into the abyss. Ian’s fumbling fingers nearly dropped the torch, but at the last moment he managed to trap it between his knees. At the same instant, the Doctor lost his balance and started toppling forwards. With superb reflex action Ian grabbed his sleeve and dragged him back against the rock face. Wringing with cold sweat, they stood rigid against the wall listening to the dying echo of the awesome roar.
‘You must be more careful,’ the Doctor scolded. ‘You almost dropped the torch.’
‘What the devil was that?’ Ian whispered.
‘Well, it certainly wasn’t me !’ snapped the Doctor, angry with himself for almost causing a disaster. ‘Stop showing off and shine the torch down there.’
Clenching his teeth in frustration, Ian extricated the torch from between his knees and directed its broad, brilliant beam over the
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