Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [61]
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Brigadier had always had his doubts about bringing Sarah along with them, and now she was proving to be a real pain.
Dame Hilda was a charming woman - and, it had turned out, from a decent family. His grandmother had often talked about the fabled Olivia Hutchens, the first Tatler „Debutante of the Year‟ after the end of the Great War. Hilda‟s aunt, apparently.
She and Brother Will (where had he seen him before?) were taking the Doctor and himself - with the two Hallaton officers trailing along behind - on a guided tour of the island, and as the official representative of the United Nations it was his duty to be polite and follow protocol. Whatever that might be in such odd circumstances, it surely didn‟t include rudeness such as Miss Smith‟s behaviour, tagging along just behind him trying to get his attention.
„Psst!‟ she said, for the third time.
Ignoring her yet again, he turned back to what Dame Hilda was saying.
„Of course, the number of the faithful is relatively small at the moment...‟
The Brigadier uttered a non-committal grunt, noticing that the irritating child was now pestering the Doctor. Good. The Doctor was shaking his head at Sarah and whispering,
„Later!‟
„But we are merely planting the seed. In years to come, the harvest will feed the hungry soul of humankind the world over. But it will take time.‟
The road from the village (which had turned out to be, yes, made of golden-yellow bricks rather than the sand they‟d assumed) swept round the corner away from the rows of little villas to reveal a wall of stone, soaring upwards out of the lush jungle. It was the side of what could only be the extinct volcano mentioned in the Pilot book. An age-old rock slide had produced an almost vertical precipice some five hundred feet high.
„But then the spirit of the Skang is something quite new to us in the West,‟ Dame Hilda was saying. „It can transform the world, as you‟ll see in just a moment.‟
What was the woman talking about? Following her with the others as the road disappeared through a mini-canyon of volcanic rock, the Brigadier tried to concentrate on the matter in hand. Sightseeing, especially traipsing round buildings, ancient or modern, had never been his bag.
But... this was something else! For once the phrase was literally true. The yellow bricks ended in a largish clearing at the foot of a majestic staircase of white marble, which climbed in a perfect curve up the side of the steep hill. The top was crowned with a featherlight confection of intricately carved pillars, gleaming in the tropical sun whiter than any white he‟d ever seen. It had a harmony that brought a yearning to the heart and tears to the eyes.
Nobody spoke. For a moment, nobody could have spoken.
„Our temple, dedicated to the great Skang,‟ said Hilda reverently.
It must have cost a bomb and a half, thought the Brigadier, coming down to earth as he followed them up the stairs. Bad form to say so, though.
As they neared the summit, all very much out of breath save Mother Hilda and Brother Will - and of course, the Doctor - the Brigadier noticed that, in spite of everything, Sarah was still up to her monkey tricks. She was now whispering intently to Pete Andrews, who was listening with a frown on his face. He seemed to be taking her seriously.
As they arrived outside the temple itself, they saw that the pillars were the setting for two immense mahogany doors, twenty feet tall, with the deep sheen of a dining table that has been wax-polished daily for hundreds of years. At a lift of Mother Hilda‟s hand, the two tall guards who stood on either side swung them open as easily as if they were mounted on silken hinges.
She led the way inside. „The island had a gift for us, as you can see.‟
They were looking down into the crater of the extinct volcano, which had been turned into a circular amphitheatre, open to the sky, with concentric rows of seats. Behind the seats there were doors, each in its own alcove, which broke