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By Root 548 0

that the grassy slope leading up into the hills was dotted with clumps of trees, varying from small thickets to quite extensive spinneys. Some of them were quite thick; it was quite a fight to get through them; but she reckoned it was safer to stay as close to the line the direction finder indicated as possible. She had got through the last of them and was more than halfway up the rocky slope to the thinly forested area which topped the eastern hills before she realized that Jeremy wasn’t actually with her. Indeed, when she looked round, she saw him coming out of a small copse nearly a hundred yards behind.

What did he think he was doing? Didn’t he realize that the longer they took, the more likely it was that the Gargan would get there first? ‘Come on,’ she shouted. ‘Can’t you go any faster, for Pete’s sake?’

His shout hack was interrupted as he tried to get his breath. ‘You go on... ahead. I’ll... catch you up.’

‘No, you’ll only lose your way.’

He stopped. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to have a bit of a rest.

I’m... puffed out!’

‘Oh Jeremy!’

She would not cry. She would not cry! She sat down on a handy tussock by a tumbling mountain stream to wait for him. Perhaps it was just as well; she was pretty fagged-out herself.

The Brigadier wasn’t much better off. ‘Are you sure this is the way?’ he said, using the query as an excuse to stop for a breather.

‘Of course I am. We flew over the whole area, didn’t we?’

The Brigadier smiled privately at the irritation in his voice, He was rather pleased to see that the Doctor was also making rather heavy weather of the climb.

As they emerged from yet another difficult wood, he stopped again and peered upwards. ‘No sign of them.’ he said.

‘Well, they’re younger than we are,’ said the Doctor, also stopping, ‘by several hundred years.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ said the Brigadier, and set off again with all the vigour of a man past his first youth and determined not to show it.

When Sarah reached the top, she was almost certain that they had arrived at the very place where Kaido had met them with the bats. It certainly looked the same. Logical really, she thought, as she caught her breath. They’d been walking along the – what was it? She searched amongst her (almost buried) package of girl-guide memories; yes, that was it – the direction finder had pointed along the

‘reciprocal hearing’ of the one Onya had followed. That was great. She knew the way from here.

Hardly waiting for the puffing Jeremy, she started a desperate scramble down the steep rocks. If only the Gargan hadn’t returned!

When at last she reached the bottom – for her guess had proved right she stopped at the edge of the stony clearing and looked, and listened. The enormous Gargan construction was off to the right. From this angle the arch of its entrance could clearly be seen. There was no sound coming from it or, for that matter (apart from the usual racket), from the surrounding forest. There was certainly no hint of the squealing roar of the Gargan after its prey.

She held up a shushing finger to Jeremy as he slid down the last few feet with a clatter of falling rock. With a jerk of her head for him to follow, she made for the pile of stones.

‘Wait a mo’!’ cried Jeremy in an alarmed squeak. ‘Onya said that if we crossed the line of rocks, the thingy would eat us up!’

‘We can’t worry about that now,’ she hissed. ‘Now, come on!’

Treading with exaggerated care, she led the way to the cave. Pausing at the entrance, she kept herself pressed against the cliff wall and peeped inside. At first, it was difficult to see anything at all. The sun had gone and dusk was near, so the inside of the lair was almost black.

Gradually her eyes became accustomed to the lack of light. Thank God, the Gargan wasn’t there! But where was Waldo?

More confidently she moved into the darkness; and then she saw him, lying on a pile of white bones and strangely shaped skulls. Even in this light, she could see that those under him were stained a dark red.

She ran forward and knelt down by him. She called his name. He didn’t move.

‘I say,