Doctor Who_ Foreign Devils - Andrew Cartmel [45]
'It is a dimensional portal allowing the transfer of matter. Why not energy?'
'I'm sure you're the expert in these matters,' conceded Carnacki with a worried frown. 'But are you sure we should just dynamite the thing?' 'Not dynamite sir, black powder,' said Elder-Main.
Carnacki kept his eyes fixed on the Doctor. 'You are hoping that when the spirit gate is destroyed this chunk of land, bearing Fair Des
tine and the grounds and all of us will be restored to the Earth, to
England, to Kent, where it came from?'
'Indeed,' said the Doctor succinctly.
'But what if it doesn't?' persisted Carnacki. Zoe shared his reservations. What if, for instance, destroying the gate merely caused their tiny bubble of atmosphere to blow away, leaving the house hanging in raw screaming vacuum? She shuddered.
'Come along now,' chided the Doctor. 'Where's your sense of adventure?'
Elder-Main suddenly gave a start. 'Who's that?' he said, looking at Jamie. 'I only just noticed him there. He's almost buried under those poppies. He's not . . . '
'Dead? No,' said the Doctor. 'The young gentleman is a companion of mine who went missing when he first arrived here.'
Elder-Main shook his head disapprovingly. 'He shouldn't be asleep in the arboretum like that. What's the matter? Has he had a skinful?' 'We have no idea. But I suspect something more sinister is behind his deep slumber.' The Doctor stepped out of the bower and the others followed, Zoe reluctantly. 'Doctor, we can't just leave him there like that.'
'I have no intention of doing so,' said the Doctor, striding towards the revolving door that led back into the house. 'We are going to collect a variety of smelling salts and other stimulants from Pemberton Upcott's well equipped medical chest and see if we can't wake Jamie.' 'But we've already tried all those on Celandine,' said Carnacki, 'to no avail.'
'But as you yourself pointed out, Jamie's condition appears quite different from Celandine's. Perhaps what didn't work for her will work perfectly well for him.'
'Perhaps,' said Carnacki sceptically. They had now reached the revolving door and paused outside it. 'I'll go,' said Elder-Main. 'I'll fetch the smelling salts and so on. They're all laid out in the library ready. It won't take a moment and you can stay here and keep an eye on your young friend in the poppy bower.'
'Excellent idea,' said the Doctor, 'Except in one particular. Send
someone else back with those items. I want you to go outside and prepare to ignite the fireworks on my signal.'
'Your signal?' The Doctor took out a large silver whistle on a chain. 'Is that a policeman's whistle?' said Carnacki. The Doctor nodded and blew gently into the whistle, causing all of them to cover their ears. 'I get the picture, sir,' said Elder-Main 'When you blow it, I'll do it.' 'Yes and not until then. Is that clear? At my signal, light the fuse to detonate the entire pile of pyrotechnical splendour.' The Doctor smiled grimly. 'And be sure to retire to a safe distance.'
Elder-Main nodded obediently and stepped into the revolving door. As it whispered and spun he disappeared into the house. But, simultaneously, someone else breezed from the house into the arboretum and stepped out of the revolving doors. 'Celandine!' said Carnacki.
Celandine Gibson stood there, eyes closed, swaying slightly as she walked towards them, then past them, with the ethereal demeanour of the sleep walker. The Doctor watched her with interest. 'It would appear that Elder-Main was right after all,' he said.
Carnacki shot a furious glance at the Doctor. 'She may be in a somnambulist trance, but there's no reason to suppose she's the killer.' Zoe wasn't so sure. The eerie demeanour of the young woman put her in mind of Lady Macbeth. Celandine had now reached the fountain, her long dress rustling