and thoughtfully provided something to hold on to.’
As they drew closer they discovered that the ledge almost disappeared altogether just before the wider section on top of the buttress. Ian found that his toes were overhanging the crumbling edge as he reached forward to grasp the nearer ring.
‘Careful, Chesterton!’ warned the Doctor. ‘Let me have the torch.’
Ian passed the torch back to the Doctor. Then he grasped the first ring with both hands and swung himself forward, his feet barely finding any grip on the tiny strip of ledge. He was about to reach for the second ring with one hand when the creature below uttered another bloodcurdling bellow.
This time the noise was even more unbearable, with an edge to it like the sound of fingernails scraping on galvanised steel. Startled, Ian lunged at the second ring and overbalanced. As he swung himself forward onto the wider part of the ledge he felt the second ring shift ominously under his weight.
‘Watch this one, Doctor. It’s loose!’ he warned, landing safely on the top of the buttress.
‘Loose?’ echoed the Doctor, gripping the first ring and preparing to swing himself along to the second one.
‘Yes, I’m afraid I dislodged it,’ Ian apologised. ‘But it’s a lot easier over here.’
All at once there was a loud click from deep inside the rock behind the rings followed by the muffled whine of some kind of machinery. The Doctor shone the torch on the loosened ring and peered at the pivot which attached it to the rock. There was a viscous silvery trail running down the wall. ‘Lubricant!’ he exclaimed. ‘The ring has some kind of oil on it, which suggests...’
‘And what’s that noise?’ Ian interrupted. ‘I don’t like the sound of it.’
‘Neither do I , Chesterton. Quick, come back here. It may be some kind of trap.’
Suddenly Ian’s heart fluttered and faltered, and a horrible prickling sensation ran up and down his spine. On each side of him, two vertical rows of steel blades had sprung out of narrow slits in the rock wall and locked into position at right angles to the ledge. The blades protruded about thirty centimetres beyond the edge and were pointed at the ends. He was completely trapped on top of the buttress.
‘Doctor... I’m stuck!’ he gasped, his face a vivid white in the torchlight.
The Doctor tucked the torch under his chin and poised himself with both hands on the first ring. ‘Really, Chesterton, why can’t you leave things alone?’ he muttered in a strangled sort of voice.
Puffing with effort, the Doctor hauled himself across and dug his toes into a tiny cleft in the narrowest part of the ledge to help take some of his weight and enable him to have a hand free to try and reverse the mechanism.
Hanging from the first ring with one hand, he reached across with the other and attempted to force the second ring back into its socket. But it was jammed solid and would not budge a millimetre.
Below them, the prowling monster let out another gargantuan bellow even shriller and more grating than the last, and its lashing tail sent a salvo of stinging sand flying up into their faces.
‘I have a horrible feeling that it’s feeding time,’ Ian muttered ruefully.
As he spoke the Doctor gave the ring an extra wrench.
There was immediately another series of clicks inside the rock and to their horror the section of wall between the two rows of blades slowly began to move outwards, narrowing the top of the buttress where Ian was trapped with every passing second.
Ian’s mouth dropped open and his eyes popped incredulously. ‘Doctor, it’s pushing me... It’s pushing me towards the edge...!’ he cried, desperately searching the moving slab for a hand-hold.
Below, the creature sat back on its hindquarters and reared its colossal head again, now uttering short staccato roars of apparent relish and anticipation.
The Doctor yelled to Ian to hang on while he tugged and twisted and pushed the oily ring in a vain
As they drew closer they discovered that the ledge almost disappeared altogether just before the wider section on top of the buttress. Ian found that his toes were overhanging the crumbling edge as he reached forward to grasp the nearer ring.
‘Careful, Chesterton!’ warned the Doctor. ‘Let me have the torch.’
Ian passed the torch back to the Doctor. Then he grasped the first ring with both hands and swung himself forward, his feet barely finding any grip on the tiny strip of ledge. He was about to reach for the second ring with one hand when the creature below uttered another bloodcurdling bellow.
This time the noise was even more unbearable, with an edge to it like the sound of fingernails scraping on galvanised steel. Startled, Ian lunged at the second ring and overbalanced. As he swung himself forward onto the wider part of the ledge he felt the second ring shift ominously under his weight.
‘Watch this one, Doctor. It’s loose!’ he warned, landing safely on the top of the buttress.
‘Loose?’ echoed the Doctor, gripping the first ring and preparing to swing himself along to the second one.
‘Yes, I’m afraid I dislodged it,’ Ian apologised. ‘But it’s a lot easier over here.’
All at once there was a loud click from deep inside the rock behind the rings followed by the muffled whine of some kind of machinery. The Doctor shone the torch on the loosened ring and peered at the pivot which attached it to the rock. There was a viscous silvery trail running down the wall. ‘Lubricant!’ he exclaimed. ‘The ring has some kind of oil on it, which suggests...’
‘And what’s that noise?’ Ian interrupted. ‘I don’t like the sound of it.’
‘Neither do I , Chesterton. Quick, come back here. It may be some kind of trap.’
Suddenly Ian’s heart fluttered and faltered, and a horrible prickling sensation ran up and down his spine. On each side of him, two vertical rows of steel blades had sprung out of narrow slits in the rock wall and locked into position at right angles to the ledge. The blades protruded about thirty centimetres beyond the edge and were pointed at the ends. He was completely trapped on top of the buttress.
‘Doctor... I’m stuck!’ he gasped, his face a vivid white in the torchlight.
The Doctor tucked the torch under his chin and poised himself with both hands on the first ring. ‘Really, Chesterton, why can’t you leave things alone?’ he muttered in a strangled sort of voice.
Puffing with effort, the Doctor hauled himself across and dug his toes into a tiny cleft in the narrowest part of the ledge to help take some of his weight and enable him to have a hand free to try and reverse the mechanism.
Hanging from the first ring with one hand, he reached across with the other and attempted to force the second ring back into its socket. But it was jammed solid and would not budge a millimetre.
Below them, the prowling monster let out another gargantuan bellow even shriller and more grating than the last, and its lashing tail sent a salvo of stinging sand flying up into their faces.
‘I have a horrible feeling that it’s feeding time,’ Ian muttered ruefully.
As he spoke the Doctor gave the ring an extra wrench.
There was immediately another series of clicks inside the rock and to their horror the section of wall between the two rows of blades slowly began to move outwards, narrowing the top of the buttress where Ian was trapped with every passing second.
Ian’s mouth dropped open and his eyes popped incredulously. ‘Doctor, it’s pushing me... It’s pushing me towards the edge...!’ he cried, desperately searching the moving slab for a hand-hold.
Below, the creature sat back on its hindquarters and reared its colossal head again, now uttering short staccato roars of apparent relish and anticipation.
The Doctor yelled to Ian to hang on while he tugged and twisted and pushed the oily ring in a vain
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