Menagerie - Martin Day [15]
Araboam knelt down at the drain hole, and stared into the darkness. The noxious fumes were intense, and he almost retched. Hand over mouth and nose, he leant down into the drain, rested his fingers on the top rung of a rusted ladder, but, as he expected, he could go no further.
Eyes fixed on the dark hole, he pushed the metal-latticed cover back into position.
The Doctor returned to the corner table where Zoe and Jamie sat. Now then, Jamie,' he beamed, 'I think I've found something to tickle the fancy of a jaded Scot. And some food will follow shortly.'
The Doctor placed three drinks on the table top, and settled down on to a rough wooden stool.
The drinking establishment was very primitive but had a certain charm. The beverages were served by a man and a woman, who shouted orders through a hatch in the wall as in a cheap Terran restaurant. The rest of the floor space was filled with tables and stools, mostly occupied by drinking men. Zoe had received some strange looks when she first walked through the door, but the people had quickly returned to their own conversations.
Electric lights hung from the roof. A wide stairway ran up to an upper walkway studded with doors. There was a steady trickle of men and women into and out of the rooms.
As certain men walked up the stairs loud cheers rang out.
'What's that?' asked Jamie, warming his hands over a brazier suspended from the roof
'Fruit juice,' replied the Doctor. 'Being drunk in charge of a time vessel is a very serious offence. I remember one fellow who went off to celebrate a series of extensive repairs and came back a little the worse for wear. He atomized his TARDIS. Tremendous mess. All because he hadn't brought the mercury links on line.'
Zoe, as ever, didn't know whether to take the Doctor seriously or not. 'I rather fancied having what Jamie's . . .'
The Doctor tutted under his breath. 'You're much too young and much too pretty.'
'How did you pay?' asked Jamie, eyeing the small earthenware tumbler with suspicion. The fluid within smelt like burnt peat.
Ah,' said the Doctor. 'A little secret. If you really concentrate, you can make someone think that you've paid even when you've not a bean on you. I don't suppose they'll accept the well known trans-galactic cards for another few centuries. You see —'
'You stole these drinks?' interrupted Jamie.
'Well, not as such, no,' replied the Doctor quickly. 'It's more, er . . . Well, Jamie, think of it as advance payment.
After all, one day I might come back to this world, save them from the Daleks or some other great menace. They'll be only too pleased to thank me then, showering me with gifts, and I'll say, "No, I'm quite content with the drinks that my friends and I had some time ago." In fact, I might have been here already. Perhaps without me this city would have been destroyed by the Quarks or . . .'
'Where are we?' asked Zoe, sipping her drink gingerly.
'Ah,' said the Doctor. 'The computer didn't give me a name. Just a number. This planet really isn't very important.
Everyone just leaves it alone. The people here are clearly not about to discover space flight, so . . .'
'So, we're going to have a quiet drink, and then go somewhere exciting?' suggested Zoe.
'Sometimes,' said the Doctor, 'I despair of you, Zoe, I really do.'
'That man's looking at me,' said Jamie suddenly, pointing towards someone at an adjoining table.
'Well,' said the Doctor, 'they've ignored us very decently so far.'
'If he's looking for a fight then —'
'Oh Jamie, Jamie, Jamie,' said the Doctor. 'Calm down.
Despite my understated and elegant dress sense, even I occasionally draw attention to myself.'
'Speaking of which,' said Zoe, 'I think we're all going to be the subject of some scrutiny.' She pointed towards the door. 'That man wasn't looking at Jamie at all.'