Free Doctor Who: Marco Polo by John Lucarotti Page A

a bid for freedom.' The Doctor nodded.
    'That's more easily said than done,
Ian,' Barbara warned.
    'I know the odds are against us,' he
replied, 'but we must try.'
    'Yes, Chesterton, I agree with you,'
the Doctor added. 'My ship is sitting there waiting for us.'
    'But Marco has both keys,' Susan
reminded them.
    'We must recover one of them,' Ian
said. 'But how?"
    'Capture Polo,' the Doctor remarked.
    'Why not?' Ian asked. 'Take him
hostage.' Barbara shook her head.
    'We're hopelessly outnumbered, Ian.' He
smiled at her.
    'During the day, yes. But not at night.
Then there's only the guard.'
    'Armed,' Susan observed. Ian raised his
hand.
    'It'll be up to me to change that.'
    And Tegana?' Barbara asked.
    'Since we've all been lumped in one
tent, Marco sleeps in his own quarters which has an outside flap, so
the War Lord has the main section of their tent to himself.' Ian
grinned. 'I'll do my best not to disturb his slumbers.'
    'Fullv aware that you are perfectly
capable of this enterprise, Chesterton, I have only one question to
put to you,' the Doctor said. 'When?'
    Ian glanced at them one by one.
'Tonight.'
    The Doctor turned to Susan. 'I'm sorry,
my dear, but I must insist, not one murmur of this venture to
Ping-Cho.' Susan shrugged.
    'Marco has forbidden us to speak to one
another, grandfather.'
    It was late afternoon when the caravan
stopped on the edge of a bamboo forest. The tents were pitched and a
campfire lit using wood the Mongol bearers had collected during the
day's travel as bamboo was unsuitable for a fire. Barbara and Susan
prepared a meal for the Doctor, Ian and themselves while Ping-Cho
cooked for Marco and Tegana. It was all so awkward and formal that
Ping-Cho and Susan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But on one
occasion when Marco wasn't watching them closely, Ping-Cho put her
right hand in front of her chest and discreetly waved her fingers up
and down. Susan did the same and they both understood.
    Later, the Doctor, Susan, Barbara and
Ian were sealed in their tent and the armed guard posted in front of
the flap.
    'Shall we sing a song?' Ian asked,
holding up a porcelain plate. 'A rousing, noisy one.'
    'How about Loch Lomond?' Barbara
suggested.
    'I know that one,' the Doctor said,
remarking that it was a shame they didn't have any bagpipes as an
accompaniment. Taking Ian's cue, they burst into song, falteringly at
first but when they came to the chorus they were in unison and full
voice.
    'Oh, ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road.
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Looooomond.' As they roared out the last word, Ian snapped the plate
in two.
    Marco stood with Ping-Cho outside the
tent and shook his head in bewilderment. In all his journeys he had
never met such travellers and he knew he was treating them badly. He
liked them, he enjoyed their company but he wanted to return to
Venice and the gift of the flying caravan to the Khan was the way to
achieve it. He turned away and walked back to the main tent. Ping-Cho
stared at the flap and repeated her little wave with tears welling in
her eyes.
    After midnight Ian put his plan into
operation. He slit open the back of the tent with the edge of the
broken plate and crawled out.
    Still crouching, he looked around
cautiously. The guard was facing the bamboo forest and leaning with
his back against a wagon. Ian crept towards him, knowing he would be
difficult to overpower silently as he had to attack from the side
which, unless he was very quick, would give the Mongol time to shout
an alarm. Ian reached the end of the wagon and steeled himself to
spring out. Then he stopped, looked around sharply and went back into
cover. The guard was dead with an arrow sticking out of his chest.
Ian returned to the tent, undid the flap and told them.
    'Bandits, Chesterton,' the Doctor said.
'Inform Polo.' The three of them understood the Doctor's implication.
    'Yes, Doctor,' Ian