Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [62]
Opposite the doors was a giant icon of the Skang, a painting of superlative quality, as striking in its way as the portrait of the Sutherland Christ in Coventry Cathedral -
which even the Brigadier, dragged there by an enthusiastic girlfriend soon after its opening, had to admit caught the eye, much as he disliked it.
Again, there were no comments. Nobody, it seemed could think of adequate words. Mother Hilda and Will exchanged a smile.
„We‟ll leave you here,‟ she said. „Our quarters - the rooms of the teachers and our organisers - are here in the temple.
Please feel free to go anywhere. We have nothing to hide.‟
So much for the Doctor‟s insane theory of an alien invasion.
„Thank you, Dame... ah... Mother Hilda,‟ said the Brigadier.
„You‟ve been most helpful. You‟ve completely set my mind at rest.‟
„I‟m very glad to hear it, Brigadier. I‟m only sorry you had to come such a long way. If I‟d known about your concerns before we left Bombay, we could have cleared this up in no time.‟
„Yes, well... we‟ll have a bit of a look round and then we‟ll be on our way. Nothing more to keep us here. We‟ll sail at once.‟
The Doctor was frowning! Never mind, he could be dealt with later. This was a UNIT investigation, after all.
„We‟ll say goodbye now then,‟ she said with a smile.
„Tomorrow is the biggest festival of our year. I shall be very busy with the preparations for the ceremonies.‟
Better be polite. „Ah... can‟t we stay and watch?‟
She laughed. „Not unless you want to become a devotee of the Skang,‟ she said.
Heaven forbid!
„We‟ve missed today‟s tide,‟ said Bob Simkins. „We couldn‟t get over the reef at the moment. If we don‟t want to sail in the middle of the night, we‟ll have to wait until tomorrow.‟
Did Dame Hilda look worried for a moment? No, no. He‟d imagined it.
As the two figures in their white robes, who seemed to complement the scene so perfectly, turned to go, the Brigadier noticed that Sarah, now even more agitated than before, was about to speak. No! He wouldn‟t have it!
But instead, it was Pete Andrews who stepped forward.
„Excuse me, Mother Hilda. Before you go, I wonder if you‟d satisfy a sailor‟s curiosity?‟
„Of course.‟
„Where is your ship, the Skang? Is there another anchorage apart from the part of the lagoon where we are?‟
She looked surprised. „No, no. She isn‟t here. The Captain had to go to Mauritius to refuel and so on. It‟s a long way, but it seems it‟s the nearest place.‟
So that was what Sarah had been on about. Well, no harm done. But he‟d have to have a word with the girl. Point out that she was only here on sufferance.
„I‟m sorry, Brigadier, but I‟m not daft!‟ Was he plain stupid?
What was the matter with the man? She‟d seen him dig his heels in before, but this was beyond reason.
„Now look here, Miss Smith...‟
„Of course he was speaking the truth. You should have seen how worried he was when he realised he‟d let it out.
They‟ve scuttled it, I tell you!‟
„But why on earth would they want to do a thing like that?‟
said Pete Andrews, mildly. „One of the most beautiful craft I‟ve ever set eyes on?‟
Bob Simkins joined in. „If you ask me, she has gone to Mauritius, just as Mother Hilda said.‟
„Without the First Officer? Come off it!‟ Her earlier euphoria was fading fast. She turned in exasperation to the Doctor.
„You haven‟t said anything. What do you think?‟
The Doctor tilted his head and stroked his chin with the back of his forefinger, which he often did when he wasn‟t quite sure. „Mm. I must admit that I‟d expected something of the sort. It bears out my conviction that these poor benighted youngsters aren‟t intended to return. On the other hand, it seems a crass thing to do if they knew we were going to turn up.‟
The argument had broken out halfway down the marble staircase, when Sarah could contain herself no longer and blurted out what Jeremy had said, not giving a damn whether Mother Hilda and her satellite were