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‘But now you never will,; Bathsheba moaned. ‘The Sidhe are going to kill us.’

‘They won’t eat us, will they?’ For some reason, the idea that these creatures would actually eat them was more repugnant to Ace than the thought that she might be killed by them. ‘I mean, foxes are carnivores, right?’

'Well, strictly speaking, they’re omnivores, though I should say that they prefer meat. But you’re confusing the Sidhe with foxes, Ace. There’s no reason why the Sidhe should eat the flesh of another intelligent species.;

‘No, I s’pose not.'

‘We must escape,’ Bathsheba said.

'I've been trying to get loose,’ said Ace 'but these ropes are too tight.’

The Doctor agreed. 'Yes, Erich Weiss never tied knots like these.’

Voices approached the tent and its flap was thrown open. ‘Here are your packs, humankind. We have released your steeds into the forest.'

‘What are you going to do with us?' Bathsheba called out.

A sly grin crossed their visitor's face and he turned to look at some unseen companion outside the tent. 'Well, I don't know, humankind. We could put you on a spit and roast you over the fire.’

‘That is a possibility,' the other's voice acknowledged. The Sidhe withdrew and the sound of uproarious laughter retreated from the tent.

‘They mean to eat us!' cried Bathsheba in terror.

‘Don't worry, Bathsheba. They were joking about it,' the Doctor told her, but added to himself, 'At least I think they were.’

Their backs grew stiffer and their legs colder and colder as they lay there. Minutes drifted into hours and the sounds outside turned from merrymaking into sleep. Bathsheba, her body numb, sank into a restless sleep, while the Doctor and Ace talked to each other.

‘Can you smell that, Ace?' the Doctor asked, his sensitive nose twitching.

What? Yes, there's a sort of tang in the air, isn't there?'

‘Yes, it means that snow's coming.'

'You can smell the snow clouds? You're not making things up again, are you? I thought that was just a sort of superstition.’

'Well, occasionally, when the conditions are right, you do get some foretaste. It isn't always completely reliable, but the way this world is going I should say that snow is most definitely in the forecast.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘The sun has gone, leaving behind it a distant red giant which supplies only a meagre amount of light and heat. I imagine that the only thing that's staving off a collapse into permanent arctic conditions is the massive heat reserve stored in the oceans. But gradually the temperature will fall. It's only a matter of time.'

‘So blue noses and colds all round?'

‘Yes, quite. It's a depressing prospect, isn't it? No wonder everyone wants to desert the sinking ship.'

‘But why did the sun disappear?'

‘Who knows? The possible explanations all seem so unlikely that I wouldn't want to speculate. I think it is definitely important that we get to see this Goibhnie person.’

Bathsheba stirred in her sleep and murmured, ‘Goibhnie, help me, don't leave me behind.'

The Doctor continued 'It will be most intriguing to meet him, provided we can get close. A dangerous character by all accounts.’

'But they say that he used to be their friend. I wonder why he changed.’

'Another good question. You’re full of good questions tonight, Ace. If only we had the answers.’

‘But we’re going to get them!'

That’s a very optimistic and admirable attitude, Ace. We will have to escape from our present predicament first.’

'So how're we going to do that?'

‘I don’t know, Ace. For the moment we don't seem to be in any danger.’

'Apart from having our back sides stuck to the ground.’

‘Yes, there is that.’ The Doctor wriggled uncomfortably to restore the circulation to his nether regions. He sent a brief message to the circulatory centres of his brain indicating that some vasodilation was necessary, then he restored his attention to Ace. 'It's only a matter of time. I’m sure that some route of escape will present itself.'

***

Ace awoke to animal screams of terror. She tried to get to her feet but the ropes were