"More or less," said Knight wearily. "We lost quite a few men."
Corporal Blake pointed to the map. "Look at this, sir."
Knight stared at the map in horror. "When did all this start?"
"Soon after you left," said Travers. "Southern section is on the move too."
"I gather there"s a danger we may be cut off," Chorley put in fussily. "Captain Knight, don"t you think you ought to evacuate?"
"If you want to leave, Mr Chorley, you"re welcome to try."
"What about the Doctor?" asked Travers.
"No sign of him. Once the Yeti attacked, we were too busy to look." Knight explained what had happened on his expedition, telling them how Jamie had insisted on staying behind.
"So all three of them are out there," said Anne Travers sadly. She told Knight of Victoria"s disappearance.
Professor Travers tugged worriedly at his beard. "I"m concerned about the young people, of course, but it"s the Doctor I really want to see. I"m convinced he could help us."
"Better not rely on the Doctor too much," said Chorley spitefully. "With the Yeti prowling those tunnels and the Web on the move again-the Doctor and his friends are probably dead by now."
Jamie and his reluctant ally emerged from a tunnel and climbed on to the station platform. Evans looked at the station sign, crossed to the wall-map and peered at it in the dim emergency lighting. "Here we are, Cannon Street." He pointed 1riumphantly to their position. "Well out of the danger zone."
"You"re supposed to be taking me back towards Kings Cross where you saw that Yeti with the pyramid"
"You don"t seriously want to find a Yeti do you?"
"I want to find that pyramid and smash it," said Jamie determinedly. "Come on. We can go on the Circle Line.
Monument next, then Tower Hill."
Evans groaned.
Ignoring his protests, Jamie led him on into the next tunnel. After another long tramp they emerged on to Monument Station. They went along the platform then into the tunnel, heading towards Tower Hill. They"d only gone a short tray when Jamie stopped. "It"s getting lighter!"
A pulsating glow was coming from the tunnel ahead of them. It grew brighter and brighter...
Evans grabbed Jamie"s arm. "It"s the Web, moving towards us: Back, boyo."
They turned and ran back towards Monument Station.
As they came on to the platform, both stopped in horror. A dense swirling ma.s.s was rolling along the platform towards them. It looked like fog, thought Jamie, fog somehow become horribly solid. It glowed and pulsated with evil life.
"Can"t go forward, can"t go back," panted Evans. "We"re trapped!"
7.
Escape from the Web The glowing, pulsating ma.s.s of the Web rolled towards them in terrifying slow motion. Suddenly they heard a high-pitched electronic shriek. From out of the Web stalked a Yeti, holding a small, glowing pyramid. As the Yeti moved, the Web rolled after it, like a well-trained and obedient monster.
Jamie and Evans turned to run, but the glow from the tunnel they had left was even brighter. Jamie looked round desperately for some escape, but could see none. They were hopelessly trapped, caught between two advancing ma.s.ses of the Web. Suddenly Jamie noticed the rifle still slung over Evans"s shoulder. He grabbed it, and thrust it into the man"s hands. "The pyramid!" he yelled. "Shoot at the pyramid!"
"I"ll try, boyo-but I"m a terrible shot!"
Evans put the rifle to his shoulder and fired. Nothing happened. The Yeti marched steadily nearer, the Web rolling behind it like a great wave. Evans fired again. Still nothing.
"Take it steady, man," shouted Jamie. "It"s point-blank range now. You can"t can"t miss!" miss!"
With the Yeti only yards away, Evans squinted in concentration and fired his third shot. The gla.s.s pyramid exploded into gleaming fragments. The Yeti stopped, quite still. The electronic howl died away. The Web stopped too, its glow slowly fading.
Jamie looked at the frozen Yeti and gave a great gasp of relief. Then from behind him he heard the sound of another electronic signal, growing steadily louder. He whirled round.
The light from the tunnel was still pulsating. It was getting brighter and closer... Jamie suddenly realised that the pyramid they"d destroyed must have contained only a fraction of the Intelligence"s power, just enough to control that one Yeti. He became aware that Evans was tugging at his arm.
"Don"t stand there mooning, boyo. Let"s get out while we can!"
They ran through the platform arch, the light of the approaching Web steadily brighter behind them.
Victoria was tired, lost and afraid. She had long regretted her attempt to warn the Doctor, realising that she had no hope of finding him in the endless maze of Underground tunnels. She had decided to go back to the Fortress and try to convince Anne Travers of the Doctor"s innocence. Surely her father would speak up for him.
Unfortunately by the time she had taken this decision she was already lost, and it had taken her what seemed hours to find the tunnel leading back to the Underground entrance of the Fortress. But she found her way to Goodge Street station at last, and began walking along the track to the branch tunnel which held the door to the Fortress.
Victoria was about to turn into the tunnel when she heard footsteps. Quickly she ducked into an alcove and crouched down. Making herself as small as possible she peeped out. Two pairs of boots came into view, the first highly polished, the second old and scuffed. Around them flapped rather baggy checked trousers. With a squeal of joy Victoria flung herself from the alcove and into the Doctor"s arms. He said delightedly "Victoria, my dear girl, where have you been?
And where"s Jamie?"
"He came out to look for you."
"Out of where?"
Victoria realised the Doctor knew nothing of their adventures since they"d parted. She gave him a rapid and confused account of Goodge Street Fortress. "It"s full of soldiers and radios and machinery. Professor Travers is there too-the man we met in Tibet only he"s years older... and he"s a Professor now..."
"I"m sorry to interrupt this rapturous reunion... They turned to sec Lethbridge-Stewart looking at them quizzically.
"I should like the answers to one or two questions. Who is this young lady?"
"Dear me," said the Doctor, "I seem to be forgetting my manners. Victoria, this is Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart.
Colonel, this is Victoria."
For the first time Victoria noticed the revolver in Lethbridge-Stewart"s hand. "What"s he pointing that thing at us for?"
"I"m afraid the Colonel"s still a little suspicious of me,"
the Doctor said sadly.
Suddenly Victoria remembered. "So is Anne Travers- Professor Travers"s daughter. She thinks you"re you"re controlling the Yeti." controlling the Yeti."
"Oh, does she," said Lethbridge-Stewart. "The plot thickens, doesn"t it? I think it"s time I got you two back to the Fortress."
"You know about this Fortress place, do you?" asked the Doctor.
"As a matter of fact, I do. I happen to be its Commanding Officer."
The Colonel led them into the side-tunnel and some way along it. He stopped by a plain iron door, the same one through which Victoria had left, and pressed a hidden buzzer.
The door opened and a suspicious sentry appeared. He was soon overawed by Lethbridge-Stewart, and led them inside. A few minutes later Victoria found herself back in the familiar surroundings of the Common Room. She and the Doctor began recounting their respective adventures, while Lethbridge-Stewart lounged against the wall, a picture of relaxed confidence.
Captain Knight hurried into the room and saluted smartly. Lethbridge-Stewart returned the salute. "Captain Knight, I am Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, taking over as your new C.O."
Knight"s manner was a little strained. It wasn"t easy to question the credentials of a senior officer. "Forgive me, sir, but we"ve received no formal notice of your arrival. We were expecting a new C.O. of course but..."
"You don"t know me from Adam? Quite right, old chap.
I"m glad you don"t take things on face value." He produced a sheaf of papers and handed them over.
Knight checked them carefully. "Everything"s in order, sir. Welcome to the Fortress. I"m sorry you find us in such a bad state. How did you get down here, sir?"
Lethbridge-Stewart chuckled. "By a very round-about route! I set off with the ammunition truck. Then we got ambushed. I was driven into a side tunnel. and got lost."
"Evans didn"t mention any other survivors," said Knight.
"Evans?"
"Driver of the truck. He got away too."
"Well, it was all pretty confused. Anyway, I wandered around for a while, and then ran into this Doctor chap."
Preoccupied with the Colonel, Knight had scarcely noticed the meek figure seated next to Victoria. The Doctor stood up, "I wondered when you were going to get around to me."
Professor Travers rushed into the room, hair and beard bristling with excitement. "Doctor! My dear fellow, you"ve turned up at last. You don"t know how glad I am to see you."
They shook hands warmly. The Doctor, used to the changes wrought by time, had no difficulty in recognising his old friend. "My word, old chap, it has been a long time, hasn"t it?"
The dipped voice of Lethbridge-Stewart interrupted them. "I gather you know this man, Professor Travers?"
Travers said impatiently, "Should have thought that was pretty obvious. Don"t know you, though!"
"I"m Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, the new Commanding Officer."
Travers was unimpressed. "Are you now? Well, the Doctor is an old and valued colleague of mine. His arrival gives us our first real chance of solving this problem."
"And the girl?"
"Victoria is my a.s.sistant," the Doctor explained hurriedly.
"Come along, Doctor," said Travers impatiently. "We"ve got a lot of, work to do. The Web"s closing in, you know, time"s running short. I"ll take you straight to my lab. You come too, Victoria..." Still talking, he bustled the Doctor and Victoria away.
"I gather you give Professor Travers his head,"
Lethbridge-Stewart remarked drily.
Knight grinned. "Not much alternative, sir. He"s a pretty strong-willed old boy. Besides, he is in charge on the scientific side. He"s got the most important job to do, so I just let him get on with it."
" We"ve We"ve got a job to do as well," said Lethbridge-Stewart crisply. "These scientist chaps can"t work unless we protect them. I shall hold a formal briefing meeting later on, but right now I"d like you to put me in the picture. Just tell use everything that"s been going on." got a job to do as well," said Lethbridge-Stewart crisply. "These scientist chaps can"t work unless we protect them. I shall hold a formal briefing meeting later on, but right now I"d like you to put me in the picture. Just tell use everything that"s been going on."
While Captain Knight was recounting the long story of his attempts to deal with the Yeti and the Web, the Doctor was hearing an account of things from Travers. "It"s the Intelligence right enough," Travers concluded gloomily.
"Not me?" asked the Doctor mildly.
Travers gaped at him "Eh? What d"you mean?"
The Doctor nodded towards Anne. "I gather this young lady had one or two suspicions."