Doctor Who_ Daemons - Barry Letts [15]
'Might just get the end of it,' said Benton , lazily wandering over to change channels, 'unless of course the Doctor managed to stop it.' He pressed the button. The picture which swam into view appeared to be upside down. There was somebody—a girl was it?—scrabbling feverishly in a big pile of earth. Suddenly, the sound cut in, 'Doctor! Doctor!'
'It's Jo!' Mike said, appalled.
At that moment, the screen went blank. The familiar B.B.C. 3 emblem came up and a smooth voice calmed the worried millions with well-bred aplomb. 'We seem to have lost contact with the barrow at Devil's End. We shall of course, resume the programme as soon as we can. In the meantime, here is some music.'
Mike snapped into action. ' Benton , get onto the B.B.C. and find out what's going on down there. I'll try to raise the Brigadier.'
The next few minutes were spent in a chaos of words, with Benton trying to get past the bland public face of the B.B.C. to those actually in charge of the broadcast from the Devil's Hump, while Mike Yates learned that he had just missed the Brigadier who had 'gone on somewhere' at the end of his regimental 'do'.
'This is stupid,' Mike burst out, 'I've a damn good mind to go down there and find out for myself!'
'The Brigadier'd go spare, sir,' said the Sergeant, 'I mean we might get news at any moment.'
'Oh yes, sure,' replied Mike, 'and in the meantime, what's happening to Jo and the Doctor?'
The Doctor, Professor Horner and Ted the cameraman lay in a neat row on the grass, stiff and cold.
Harry looked up. 'It's no good,' he said, 'he's gone too.'
Jo was frantic.
'No! No, he can't be! We must get a doctor.'
'Look, love, face it. They've had it.'
'There must be a doctor in the village, or somewhere.'
Harry looked at the turmoil around them. His eye lighted on Alastair Fergus, who seemed to be the only one of the whole unit without an urgent job to do. 'Hey, Alastair! Can you drive a truck?'
Alastair took in the scene at a glance. He forced himself to speak calmly. 'I'll try anything once,' he said.
The journey from the Goat's Back down to Deed's End was always to remain one of Jo's nightmares. Bouncing about in the front of a three-tonner driven by a man who had never driven anything larger than a sports car, knowing that the three men in the back were probably dead, knowing that the Doctor had for once failed and maybe had paid for his failure with his life, Jo clung desperately to the memory of another time when the Doctor had lain apparently lifeless, only to recover completely after a few hours' rest.
As it happened, Alastair Fergus's track was merely the first of a convoy of vehicles carrying the injured and the shocked down to the village. Soon the long bar in 'The Cloven Hoof' looked like a casualty ward, with Doctor Reeves in his shirt sleeves trying to be in a dozen different places at once. He looked up from examining Gilbert Horner. 'It's impossible,' he said.
Winstanley, shaken into a sort of sobriety, looked down at the lifeless form of the Professor. 'Poor chap was suffocated, I suppose. Or was he crushed?'
'Neither,' said Reeves. 'Frozen to death.'
'Frozen? But that's impossible.'
'I said so, didn't I? That makes three of them. They're the same.' He gestured to Ted and the Doctor.
'But you haven't even examined the Doctor,' cried Jo, trying to hold back her tears.
'No need, I'm afraid,' said Doctor Reeves. 'He's very nearly a solid block of ice, just like the other two.' As he spoke he put a perfunctory finger on the Doctor's wrist. 'Can't perform miracles, you know.'
Jo turned away, blinded by silent tears.
'There, there, my dear,' said Winstanley, embarrassed.
Suddenly Reeves gave a start. 'Good grief! Here, bring some blankets over, will you? And get some hot water bottles. Lots of them.'
'Coming up, Doctor Reeves,' called Bert from the other end of the room, where he was dispensing hot sweet tea.
Jo could hardly dare to believe what she had heard. 'He's alive?'
'It's incredible, but I think I felt a pulse.'
'There's a chance then?'
'Maybe,