Doctor Who_ Last of the Gaderene - Mark Gatiss [73]
he said, unlocking the white-framed door. ‘I used to come here all the time when I was a kid.’
The Doctor gave a rueful smile but restrained himself.
from commenting that Noah was still little more than that. All three stepped across the threshold on to the lawn. Noah pointed ahead to a cluster of lime trees, adjacent to a barred gate which led directly on to the road.
Beneath the trees, was a bulky mass of canvas, bone-white in the moonlight.
The Doctor strode towards it.
‘It’s the one he flew from the aerodrome, according to Mrs Toovey,’ said Jo.
The Doctor examined the tarpaulin, rapidly unfastened a couple ropes and flung back a corner.
The fuselage of a sleek, dark-coloured plane glittered in the moonlight. The Doctor let out a low whistle then let his hand move gently over its surface, coming to rest on the tinted windows of the cockpit.
‘What a magnificent machine,’ he whispered. He turned to Noah. ‘Do you think you could lay your hands on that torch?’
The boy nodded and dashed back to the house.
‘Give me a hand, would you, Jo?’ asked the Doctor, pulling back more of the canvas.
Jo joined him and soon the entire plane was revealed, the red, white and blue circles on its wings like the markings on a butterfly.
Noah returned with the torch.
‘Thanks,’ the Doctor muttered, taking it, and clambered on to the Spitfire. Within a few moments he had unlatched the bubble-hood of the cockpit and swung it back. He shone the torch inside and illuminated a confused view of the interior; switches, dials, levers, old photographs tucked into the corner plus a pervasive smell of well-worn leather.
‘What are you looking for, Doctor?’ Jo climbed on to the wing next to him.
The Doctor shook his head. ‘I don’t know. It just seemed to me that...’
His voice trailed off as he spotted a small, grey box, jammed under the controls of the Spitfire. Leaning down, he snaked his arm over the seat, tossed aside the heavy old safety belt and plucked the box from its hiding place.
‘What is it?’ asked Jo.
The Doctor shrugged. ‘Looks like a tobacco tin.’ He tapped the heavily dented object. ‘Appears to be made of lead.’
‘Lead?’
‘Yes.’ The Doctor helped Jo back to the ground and then jumped down himself. He handed the torch to Noah who trained the beam on his hands. Carefully, the Doctor lifted the lid of the lead box.
Inside lay a variety of odds and ends. A winged RAF
badge, a Swastika pin – no doubt taken from the body of some unlucky German – a dog-eared photograph of a very pretty girl and a small, crystalline object, shaped roughly like a key.
‘Hello.’ The Doctor lifted the object out and held it in the palm of his hand. It seem to glow, a beautiful jade colour.
‘What is it?’ asked Noah. ‘Funny looking thing.’
The Doctor’s eyes were shining. ‘It’s more than ‘funny looking”, my boy,’ he beamed. ‘It’s a matter transference encoder.’ He waved his free hand theatrically. ‘From another world!’
Private Billy Dodds wiped a drip of moisture from the end of his snub nose and sighed. He glanced quickly from side to side to make sure none of his superiors were watching, then sat down heavily on a low wall and reached into his uniform for a packet of cigarettes.
With practised skill he drew one out, struck a match off the rough old brickwork beneath him and was soon drawing the smoke gratefully into his lungs. After a few contented moments, he gave another sigh. Hardly a man’s life, he thought ruefully.
Dodds was new to this UNIT lark. He’d been in the regulars for over two years, working on radar experiments up north when his CO had put his name forward for a transfer.
Dodds had been pleased – as far as he was concerned anywhere was better than the dull confines of Catterick garrison – but this new outfit had been strange from the outset.
His cousin, who was something very minor at the MOD
had told him it was all very hush-hush but Dodds hadn’t had time to find out much more before being hauled in for this job.
Some kind of security thing to do with an aerodrome. His superiors were called Benton and Yates and