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The Zygon sighed and shook its head. 'The Doctor is a good man. He tried to arrange a peaceful solution for both our peoples. Sadly, it was not to be.

Somewhat disarmed by the creature's apparent lack of aggression, Litefoot asked again,'Where is he?'

Tuval swept an arm towards the river.'Out there. Balaak set the self-destructor unit and abandoned him in our craft.'

'What precisely does that mean?'

'It means that our craft will soon disintegrate, if it hasn't already, and that the Doctor and his companion, together with all the other humans on board, will perish along with it.'

Litefoot was horrified. He looked out over the river. It looked grey and untroubled, the light shifting constantly as ripples danced gently over its surface.'Is there nothing we can do?'

'Nothing.'

'What about the Doctor's blue box? Couldn't we use that?'

'No. There is a force field around the time controls which I suspect only the Doctor can disable.'

Litefoot looked anguished. 'There must be something... a boat perhaps? If you knew the exact whereabouts of this craft of yours...'

'There is no time. Once the self-destructor unit is set, the ship breaks down very quickly.'

'We have to try,' said Litefoot.'We can't just leave them to their fate. Oh, damn those blasted Zygons!'

'I am a Zygon, Litefoot,'Tuval reminded him, and gestured at the gun. 'Are you going to destroy me with your weapon as you destroyed Balaak?'

Litefoot glanced at the gun almost shamefacedly.'I acted in self-defence.

Balaak, as you call him, attacked me.'

'And if I attack you,' said Tuval,'for destroying my leader?'

'Then I suppose I would have to shoot you too, though it would give me no pleasure to do so.'

Tuval sighed.'I will not attack you, Litefoot.There has been too much violence, too much death.'

Litefoot nodded sadly.'There always is. What do you...'

His words tailed off as the surface of the Thames not twenty yards away suddenly began to boil and seethe. Litefoot and Tuval both turned as a monstrous reptilian head with rolling eyes and a jaw packed with savage teeth broke the surface. Water streamed from the creature's silver hide as it began to clamber up on to the towpath. It saw the two humanoid figures and gave an ear-splitting roar. Litefoot, stupefied by the proximity of the creature, suddenly felt a hand on his arm.

'Come Litefoot. We must seek refuge in the Doctor's time craft.'

Litefoot glanced atTuval, and then at theTARDIS.'A monster of that size would crush the box like matchwood.'

'It is not merely a box, it is a time machine, and it is stronger than it appears. Come on.'

With no other alternative, Litefoot allowed himself to be led. In his present condition, he had no hope of outrunning the creature, and neither could he even fire his gun at it. Despite what he had said to Tuval, it discharged once only before it had to be reloaded.

The creature had scrambled up on to the embankment now. It gave another bellow and charged at them. Litefoot, despite his burning lungs, ran as he had never run before, his hand clasped inTuval's.They ran through the partly open doors of the box, and straight into a peculiar voidlike area beyond them. Litefoot experienced a moment of disorientation, and then he staggered to a halt, gazing around him in awe.

He found himself in what appeared to be a vast, shadowy cathedral, the ceiling of which was so high he could not even discern it.The cathedral was dominated not by an altar, however, but by a gigantic column filled with rods of light which was attached to a six-sided console. Part of the cathedral had been converted into a library, another part into a display for every conceivable type of chronometer. There was even a garden area with a bubbling stone fountain and a vast multidrawered cabinet covering one entire wall.

His senses assailed, Litefoot staggered to an overstuffed leather armchair set incongruously in the middle of the vast floor next to a small side table and slumped into it. Somewhere along