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By Root 189 0

'Oh, don't worry, they carry spears but they're pretty harmless if you treat them gently. At least, that's how I've found them. Now about going backwards... Although they don't wear clothes, they wear belts and necklaces, sometimes arm bands, and these are always decorated with bits of machinery.'

'What sort of machinery?'

'Shaped bits of metal,' said Ashe, 'that must have come from something. Maybe nuts, or bolts, or springs, or - just shaped bits of metal.'

The Doctor asked where the Primitives lived. Ashe explained that, so far as he knew, they lived in caves. 'You're fairly safe with them,' Ashe said reassuringly, 'so long as you don't go near their caves. That's when they get nasty. Then, and if ever they see a child's doll.'

'Dolls make them nasty?' asked the Doctor, even more intrigued.

'One of them was in here one day,' said Ashe, 'scrounging food, and my daughter happened to bring a little doll - one she'd had since she was a child - front her belongings. The Primitive almost went mad...'

And it was at this point that Mary Ashe came rushing back, accompanied by Jo, with the news of Jane Lesson's radio message. 'All she said was, “Our dome's being attacked. Please you must send help.” Then she cut off.'

'Did she say what was attacking them?' asked the Doctor.

'No,' said Mary, near to tears. 'But I could hear by her voice - it was something awful.'

'I'll get my gun,' said Ashe, and started to move off to one of the corridors.

'Don't you need to go with other men?' Jo asked.

Ashe paused. 'We've sent the outer men to the Martin's place. That's the other end of the colony. You all stay here.' With, that, Ashe hurried away.

The Doctor turned to Mary Ashe. 'Could this be Primitives attacking?'

Mary shook her head. 'No, I don't think so. We get on with the Primitives quite well.'

'Except,' said the Doctor, 'when one of them saw a doll of yours.'

Mary had to think back. 'Oh, that was ages ago. Yes, he got very excited and wanted to take it from use. I let him. That seemed to make him happy.'

'What did he do with it?' the Doctor asked.

'Held it to himself,' Mary said, 'as if to protect it from of all people. Then he ran away with it.'

Ashe returned carrying one of the futuristic-looking shotguns 'I'll go to the Leesons' place as fast as I can,' he told Mary. 'You get on the radio and see if you can get anyone else to go over there - armed.'

'I shall go with you,' said the Doctor.

'No, Doctor,' said Jo. 'It may be dangerous.'

'A very good reason for going,' the Doctor said. He turned to Ashe. 'Are you ready?'

Ashe thought for a moment. 'All right. But at your own risk, mind. Now Mary, get on that radio!'

The Doctor followed Ashe out into the darkness. The clear night sky was bright with stars, not all like white pinhead dots as seen from Earth but some close enough to appear as small discs of intense light. With such a radiant night sky it was easy to see the shapes of the hills all around the main dome. Ashe strode ahead in a dead straight line for the Leeson' dome. He said not a word to the Doctor as he went ahead purposefully. Finally, they came to the crest of a little rocky hill and Ashe paused to look down. In the valley a few hundred yards ahead of them they saw two or three lights moving about, the flashlights of other men who had arrived there first.

'We. aren't alone!' Ashe charged down the hill towards the lights, calling, 'Hello! Is everything all right?'

The Doctor ran after Ashe, taking care not to trip and fall headlong on to the rocky uninviting ground. When he came up with Ashe just outside the little dome, Ashe was staring at something on the ground. Another man was standing close by; it was the young man called Winton whom the Doctor had seen at the meeting in the main dome. Winton had a torch in his hand.

'It's no good,' Winton was saying, 'he's dead.'

'I want to see,' Ashe said.

Winton pointed his torch at the object on the ground. It was Leeson's body. The face and chest had been hacked as though by knives. There was blood everywhere. Winton switched off his torch.

'What about