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the surrounding countryside as well.
The Three were gone, but they had spread the taint of their evil far around.
Kalmar broke off from the group and came over to them.
'Forgive me, Doctor, but could you give us your wise counsel? There is so much to be decided.'
'You'll have to learn to make your own decisions now,' said the Doctor. 'My friends and I will soon be leaving."
'We realise that, Doctor,' said Kalmar. 'But while you are still here...'
'Oh, very well,' said the Doctor.
'Forgive me, Romana. Ill only be a minute or two.' He followed Kalmar across to the arguing group.
Romana reflected that there didn't seem to be much demand for her wise counsel. There was no escape from
male chauvinism it seemed, not even in E-Space. She was about to return to the TARDIS and go to bed when
someone touched her shyly on the arm.
'My lady?'
Romana turned and saw a young peasant woman, a thin and pale-faced creature wrapped in a ragged shawl.
'My lady, is there one called the Doctor here?'
Romana pointed across the dome to where the Doctor was lecturing a group of respectful rebel leaders.
'You've got to maintain a state of constant readiness,' he was saying.
'Vampires are notoriously hard to kill and there may still be others lurking in hiding. Every man must keep a
sharpened stake to hand - in fact, what you need here is a stakeholder's economy!'
'He's over there,' said Romana. 'But
I'm afraid he's very busy.' She saw that the woman was listening to the Doctor's words with horrified
fascination. No doubt the fear of the vampire was still very fresh in her mind. 'Can I help?'
'I fear not, my lady. My child is sick with the marsh fever.I was told that there was a wise Doctor here. She is
near to death and he is our only hope.'
Romana thought for a moment. Like most Time Lords of her rank she was multi-qualified. She would be quite
as much use as the Doctor - very probably more.
'Wait here a moment.'
She went over to the nearest rebel, a skinny lad with a mop of curly hair
who embarrassed her by promptly falling on one knee. 'How may I serve you, my lady?'
'Have you any medical stores in this collection of yours? Among the things you salvaged from the spaceship,
I mean.'
He stared blankly at her and Romana added, 'They'd probably be marked with a red cross.'
The boy's face brightened. 'Yes, my lady, there are such things. Kalmar ordered all of them to be stored
together in one place.'
He led her to another part of the dome where Romana found the neatly stacked remains of what must have
been a well-equipped ship's hospital.
To her delight they included a sealed box with a carrying handle and a red cross on the lid. It turned out to be
a basic medikit.
Romana checked the drugs and dressings. She could certainly find something here to bring down a simple
fever.
She turned to the boy. 'Thank you - what's your name?'
'Xan, my lady.'
'Thank you, Xan, you've been most helpful. This is exactly what I need.'
She went back to the peasant woman who was gazing about her in timid astonishment. 'Come along, then!'
'My lady?'
'Take me to your child. I'm pretty sure I can help.'
'But I came to seek the Doctor, my lady.'
Romana was getting tired of being taken for useless simply because she was female.
'Well you won't get him for hours, if at all. I'm a doctor as well, and I can help you as much as he can.'
The woman looked at her with a sort of peasant cunning. 'Are you the Doctor's woman, my lady?'
Romana smiled. 'Not exactly, but we're very good friends. We come
from the same - from the same country and we have been travelling companions for some time. Now, do you
want me to help your child or not? A few-hours could make all the difference.'
The woman thought for a moment. Romana could almost see her mind grappling with the problem.
Finally she said, 'If you will follow me, my lady,' and led Romana out of the dome and into the dark forest.
Caught up in a heated discussion as to whether a column or a statue would commemorate the late Tarak
best, the Doctor didn't even see her go.
***
The journey took far longer than Romana had expected, but she strode along without complaint. The peasant
woman scurried ahead along the narrow forest paths, her head shrouded in her shawl.
Once or twice Romana asked if they were getting any nearer to their destination.
'Just a little further, my lady,' came the unvarying reply.
It was dark and sinister in the woods at night. The trees closed in overhead so that the paths became
tunnels.
Occasionally a clearing gave a glimpse of a pale moon in a sky full of dark clouds. Romana kept thinking she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]