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'That isn't possible,' said Tegan. 'No one can walk through a solid brick wall.'

'Quite right. So I used the door.'

Tegan was beginning to get annoyed. 'But there isn't a door. Your head is protruding from a solid brick wall!'

'The door's there. Only you can't see it.'

Nyssa approached the wal and ran her hands over it. 'It's an energy barrier.'

'Right.' The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver. 'And I was able to part it with a sonic key.'

'Why can't we see through it?' said Adric.

'Camouflage. As you pass through it, it opens around you.'

Mace, who had been listening and watching said, 'Tell me this wall is a trick, an illusion.

As a man of the theatre I am familiar with such things.

But such a trick I've never seen before!'

'It's certainly here to deceive,' said the Doctor, hoping he wouldn't want details of how it worked.

'Incredible!' Mace felt the wall and then inserted his hand into the open part of the barrier. He turned to the Doctor, and beamed. 'With a trick like this, you could make a fortune around the fairs.'

'You could indeed,' the Doctor smiled. 'Come on,' he added, 'we must find the survivors.'

And he disappeared again.

Mace patted the wall before passing through the invisible opening. 'I must learn how it's done,' he muttered.

As the companions followed the actor through the wal , the shadow of an enormous man wrapped in a cloak fell across the landing. Slowly the shadow spread across the floor, until its owner reached the top of the staircase.

It was the android, beautiful and deadly, who had killed Sir John and his two children.

He paused for a moment, then clipped on a mask and raised the hood of his cloak.

Slowly he descended the stairs.

Cautiously, the Doctor and his party made their way along the passage, checking doors as they went, but with little success. They were all locked.

'What's that smell?' said Adric.

'Soliton gas.'

'I thought I recognised it,' said Nyssa.

Tegan coughed. 'Who'd want this sort of atmosphere? It's stifling.'

'Someone who needs it to breathe properly,' said the Doctor, trying the last door in the passage. The handle gave. 'This could be it.'

Carefully he inched the door open and purple light spilled into the passageway. The Doctor peered round the door and down into a cellar. No one was there. Slowly he allowed the door to swing open to its widest point.

Cautiously he entered, and descended the steps.

Tegan followed. 'It's spooky,' she said.

In the purple gloom, hundreds of tiny cages could be seen stacked along one of the walls. At the far end of the cellar was an enormous rack containing dozens of bottles of wine. The others fol owed and started to explore the cel ar.

'Doctor,' called Nyssa. She was standing in front of a green cylinder that was silently pulsating. 'It's the Soliton gas machine.'

With hand on pistol, Mace edged his way towards the wine rack. 'How is this place lit?'

'Vintaric crystals,' said the Doctor, joining Nyssa by the gas machine.

'It's quite a common form of lighting.'

'Really,' the actor grunted, unconvinced. The sight of so much wine was proving too difficult to resist. A bottle or two would help pull everything back into a more realistic perspective, he thought. With loving care, Mace withdrew a bottle from the rack.

'Nectar,' he whispered joyously.

Adric watched him. 'What does that stuff taste like?'

'Ambrosia!'

Adric thought for a moment. 'And what does that taste like?'

Mace scowled. Foolish boy, he thought.

While the Doctor and Nyssa continued their inspection of the Soliton machine, Tegan wandered about the cellar. As she drew near to the tiny cages, she heard squeaking.

'Doctor,' she said. 'These cages are full of rats.'

'Don't touch anything,' said the Doctor as he walked over to look.

Tegan screwed up her face in disgust. 'You must be joking. I feel itchy just looking at them.'

Silently and unnoticed, the android descended