Doctor Who_ Delta and the Bannermen - Malcolm Kohll [19]
‘Good morning, and what a beautiful morning it is!’
Goronwy said affably.
‘Hi,’ said Weismuller, ‘we’re kinda new to the area and we were wondering if you saw anything... uh... weird fall out of the sky recently? Over the last day or so that is.’
Goronwy scratched his chin. ‘Oh dear me no! I’ve seen many things fall out of the sky, of course, but nothing which could be described as ‘weird’.’
‘What about lights? Anything like that?’ asked Hawk.
Goronwy nodded. ‘There are strange lights in the night sky all the time. Not the Aurora Borealis, mind, but pulsing lights on occasion. At other times like low shooting stars.’
‘As I said before we’re really interested in the last couple of days,’ said Weismuller.
A butterfly landed on Goronwy’s hand. ‘I can ask my bees. They know everything that happens,’ he said.
Hawk gave Weismuller a sideways look and cleared his throat. He plainly thought Goronwy was crazy. ‘Yeah, well I reckon we’ve taken up enough of your time,’ he said.
Goronwy, sensing their scepticism, continued unabashed. ‘If you stayed you’d understand a bit more, young man. Take a look at this butterfly, for instance –
arguably one of the most beautiful creatures in the whole of nature. But if you were to see a pupa it would strike you as the ugliest thing you’d ever seen. Yet without one you wouldn’t have the other.’
Weismuller nodded sagely. ‘Well, thanks anyway. We’ll hear that in mind. Maybe we can get together again some other time. But right now we really must be going.’ He started the engine and the car headed away down the track.
Goronwy glanced down at his hand – the butterfly opened its wings and flitted away into the blue sky. Goronwy watched it go, then turned back to his hives, his lips pursed as he started whistling ‘Blue Moon’.
Chapter Seventeen
A beautiful rocky peninsula with waves crashing onto crescent-shaped beaches of fine white sand. The Vincent slowly weaved across an open meadow and came to a halt at the head of a track.
The path slowly meandered down to the beach far below. Billy hopped off the bike and took the baby while Delta climbed out of the sidecar.
‘You’re a bit of a heavyweight,’ aren’t you?’ said Billy to the strange green creature in his arms. It gurgled and emitted a shrill whistle of glee. Billy quickly handed it back to Delta.
‘The most rapid growth occurs in the nymphoid state.
She’ll double her size and weight in the next few hours,’
said Delta looking around, drinking in the peace and tranquillity of the place. ‘You know you’re right, Billy. It is beautiful here. I feel safe at last,’ she said, smiling at him.
He blushed and took her hand. ‘Can you feel how fresh the sea air is?’ asked Billy taking a deep breath. ‘It’s not very far to the beach. Do you think you will be all right to walk with the baby?’ he continued. Delta nodded and Billy led her down the winding path towards the ocean.
Back at Shangri-La Burton sat in his office, wearing a canary-yellow robe over a pair of brightly striped pyjamas.
He sat in complete silence gawping at the Doctor and his hurried explanation. Ray sat quietly beside him while the Doctor paced in agitation. At last Burton cleared his throat. ‘Let me get this right – you’re telling me that you aren’t the Happy Hearts Holiday Club from Bolton, but instead are spacemen who fear an attack from other spacemen. And because of this danger I must evacuate my entire camp,’ he said, raising an eyebrow in query.
‘An excellent summary, Mr Burton. Now, if you could start right away then we should be able to get them all to safety,’ said the Doctor.
Burton smiled and waved his hand airily. ‘Oh, well, if that’s all that’s needed it should be easy. And can we all have space buns afterwards? Or don’t they drink tea on Mars?’ said Burton with a large dose of sarcasm.
‘I thought that you might be a little sceptical. What would it take to convince you?’ asked the Doctor, getting more agitated by the moment.
‘Really! This is a waste of time, Doctor,’ said Burton.
The Doctor spun around and