Doctor Who_ The Sea-Devils - Malcolm Hulke [42]
‘I need to speak to the Minister,’ he said, ‘urgently?
‘Who is that?’ said the girl’s voice.
‘George Trenchard,’ he said, ‘Prison Governor.’
‘Does the Minister know you?’ queried the voice.
Trenchard winced at the question. ‘He doesn’t know me personally,’ he answered truthfully, ‘but indirectly he employs me.’ It was extraordinary that the secretary of the Minister had never heard of him.
‘I see,’ said the girl. ‘Which prison?’
He knew that the girl would not recognise the name given to his one-man prison even if he gave it, so he said: ‘The prison that contains the Master. Now will you please put me through to the Minister. It’s a matter of life and death.’
‘Hold on,’ said the girl’s voice.
While he waited, his mind turned back to what might happen to him once he had confessed his intrigue with the Master...
The girl’s voice was speaking again. ‘The Minister says he is very sorry, but he’s busy. Is there anything wrong with the Master?’
Trenchard almost put the ’phone down without answering. Clearly the Minister’s only interest was the Master, because the Master was a big name and had been in all the newspapers.
‘The Master is very well,’ said Trenchard. ‘The matter of life and death happens to concern the nation.’
‘Well, the Minister’s very busy,’ said the girl. ‘Could you write to us about it?’
‘Yes,’ said Trenchard, with a touch of heavy sarcasm, ‘I shall write to you about it.’
‘If you send it by first-class post,’ the girl said, ‘we should get it tomorrow morning, and I’ll put it on the Minister’s desk straight away.’
‘Thank you,’ said Trenchard. ‘Have you ever thought of living in a country controlled by lizards?’
‘Have I what?’ said the girl, indicating by the tone of her voice that Trenchard was being cheeky.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Trenchard. ‘Thank you for being so helpful.’
He put down the ’phone, and thoughtfully replaced its little padlock according to prison rules. He considered telephoning Captain John Hart, to tell him everything. But he already felt too much of a fool. It was one thing to confess to a Minister of State, but he could not bring himself to confess to a personal friend.
As though to remind himself of what a fool he had been, he opened the big oak doors that covered the television monitor and switched on. The Master was concentrating on his infernal black box, busily sending and receiving messages. There was now no question in Trenchard’s mind that those strange responding sounds were signals being sent to the Master. At least, Trenchard told himself, he could put a stop to that right away. The black box must be impounded and destroyed.
He knew he could not do it himself. If he went down to the Master’s room to take the box away, the Master would talk him out of it, or make him feel foolish again. He decided to send his chief prison officer to get the box, and then he would personally destroy it. Thus decided, he lifted his internal ’phone and pressed the button for the chief prison officer’s extension. There was no reply. He tried another extension: again no reply. He tried the gatehouse extension, because there was always someone on duty there. Again he could hear the extension ringing, but there was no response. He went back to the television monitor and turned the control knob that would bring into action other television eyes in different parts of the château. To his horror he saw a picture on the screen of Prison Officer Snellgrove lying on his back in a corridor, eyes wide open. He turned the control knob again and cut to the television eye in the prison officers’ mess. Three officers were sprawled across the main dining table and another was slouched on the floor against the wall. He turned the knob once more, and brought in the television eye in the Master’s room. The door of the room seemed to be on fire. Through the flames and smoke stepped a Sea-Devil. The Master rose to greet it.
Trenchard knew that everything he feared was true. The Master had not only made a complete fool of him, but the Master