Doctor Who_ Peacemaker - James Swallow [35]
The Pawnee let out a gasp. ‘The Brother of Coyote? The man who defeated the Bad Wolf? But he’s just a legend. A story for the young braves. . . ’
‘Every legend has a seed of truth in it.’ The Doctor gave him a steady look. ‘We need your help, Walking Crow. Darkness is moving over the land and Alvin Godlove may be the cause of it.’
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As they followed Walking Crow back to Godlove’s wagon, Martha leaned closer to the Doctor and lowered her voice. ‘Do you think we can trust this guy?’
He didn’t look at her. ‘You tell me.’
Martha chewed her lip. ‘He had a knife on Nathan. I dunno. I’m not ready to be best friends with him just yet. Although. . . ’
‘Although what?’ the Doctor prompted.
‘He didn’t seem like he meant it. To be honest, the whole threatening thing was a bit unenthusiastic and he put the knife away pretty quickly.’ She smiled. ‘I got the impression that his heart wasn’t really in it.’
‘The Pawnee are an honest enough bunch,’ the Doctor offered.
‘What you see is pretty much what you get with their tribe. He’s not a happy lad, is he? Less a Walking Crow, more of a Moping Crow.’
‘I don’t think I’d be any better, having to trail around after Godlove and be his stooge.’
They halted by the broad box of the wagon and the Doctor ran his hands over the sides. ‘A proper travelling medicine show,’ he said.
Martha put her hands on her hips. ‘Why were they called “snake-oil” shows, then? I can’t think why anyone would need to oil a snake.’
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Her face changed as a thought occurred to her. ‘Oh, gross. They didn’t actually make oil from snakes, did they? Ugh.’
Her line of reasoning was broken as Nathan approached at a swift jog, panting. ‘Doc,’ he called out. ‘Looks like that trail rat Alvin got himself a horse and kited outta here. Girls in the saloon say he went out the back way when those Lyle boys tried to throw down with you.’
‘A distraction, then,’ said the Doctor. ‘He pegged it and left you holding the bag, my old son.’ He gave Walking Crow a level look.
‘Not a very sensible thing to do. I wonder where he’s heading.’ The Pawnee said nothing, his expression impassive.
‘He must have been well scared of the Doctor, then,’ Martha opined.
‘Scared enough to leave his strongboxes behind.’
Walking Crow shifted uncomfortably. ‘Godlove knew you had come for him, Marshal.’
‘Marshal?’ repeated the Doctor. ‘Oh, now I get it. Is it the coat? Or the hat?’ He grinned briefly. ‘I can see how he might have thought I was the law. I suppose I do look a bit Clint Eastwood in this, don’t I?’
Martha couldn’t resist poking his ego. ‘More like the Milky Bar Kid.’
His grin snapped into a frown. ‘Oh, thank you.’ The Doctor hopped up into the wagon. ‘Let’s see these boxes, then.’
Inside, the Doctor found the metal containers just as Martha had described. The first, the unlocked one, had cash and coins enough to show that Godlove had probably worked his ‘miracle cure’ at a dozen other townships aside from Redwater and lronhill. In an age before centralised medical care, there were many illnesses rife on the frontier and many people who would pay dearly if they believed they would be rid of them.
He put the cash box aside; the moment he laid his hand on the second box, the locked one, he knew he’d found something interesting.
The sonic screwdriver made short work of the fat padlock holding the latch closed and the Doctor flipped open the lid.
‘What’s in there?’ asked Martha warily, peering in through the door flap.
‘Fragments,’ said the Doctor, tipping the strongbox up so he could 88
get a better look inside. He picked out the largest piece and turned it over in his fingers. About the size of a compact disc, it was a thick, curved section of silver-grey metal, dull and lined with shallow tracks.
The tracks were inlaid with something that looked organic. He tapped his nail on it and it rang slightly. ‘Bone elements in a metal matrix,’ he announced, bringing the piece to his eye. ‘Very light, but dense too.’
‘And this is the part where you tell me that it’s Not of This Earth, right?’
The Doctor