Free Doctor Who: The Space Museum by Glyn Jones Page B

corridor and intimated they should follow.
    ‘All right, child, all right, I’m coming.’ He waved her on and, readjusting the spectacles on his nose, returned to his study of the saucer. Vicki, taking him at his word, turned and ran after the others. The Doctor wondered whether he dare activate the sensor and learn more about the saucer. He was sorely tempted. He dithered for a moment before deciding discretion was the better choice, and backed away, pocketing his spectacles but still intrigued. A door behind him opened, a hand across his mouth stifled his cry of alarm, and he was bundled unceremoniously into the next room.
    Tor cast a quick glance around the corridor to make sure they were unobserved and then joined the others to find the Doctor lying, apparently unconscious, on the floor.
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ Sita cried. ‘I hardly touched him. He just fell.’
    ‘Maybe he hit his head on the floor,’ Bo suggested, very worried. Tor turned his attention from the Doctor to the other two and didn’t notice the Time Lord open a crafty eye, trying to size up the situation. But, as his captors were standing behind him, he could not see them without moving and he could not understand what they were saying, so he closed his eye and feigned unconsciousness again.
    ‘All right,’ Tor said. ‘Sita, you stay here and watch him.’ ‘Me! Why. me? Where are you going?’ Sita was thoroughly alarmed.
    ‘To try and find something to bring him around. Don’t worry, we won’t be long. Come on, Bo.’
    ‘No, wait!’ Sita called, but it was too late. Nervously he regarded the prostrate figure at his feet and looked anxiously around the silent room.
    ‘Well, he was following us!’ Barbara insisted.
    ‘I know that,’ Ian said. ‘But when did he stop? Didn’t either of you see or hear anything?’
    ‘Oh, come on, Ian,’ Barbara objected, ‘you weren’t all that far in front. Don’t try and put all the blame on us.’ ‘I’m not trying to put the blame on anybody.’ ‘He was looking at a flying saucer,’ Vicki said. Barbara turned on her. ‘I’ve had just about enough of you, young lady. What with the walls of Jericho and the hordes of Ghengis Khan and now flying saucers. How could a flying saucer fit in here?’
    ‘Oh, you know all about flying saucers, do you?’ Vicki was highly indignant. ‘How do you know what sizes they come in? And there was that space shuttle in here, wasn’t there? I even remember its name, The Robert E. Lee. That’s not exactly minute. Funny, I don’t recall a space shuttle named The Robert E. Lee. Must have been after...’
    ‘All right, Vicki!’ Ian cut short Vicki’s loquaciousness. ‘He should have missed us and caught up by now. Unless... Well, he could have taken a wrong turning.’
    ‘I think he’s been captured,’ Vicki said.
    ‘Who by?’ Barbara asked. ‘And if you say King Kong I’ll scream.’
    ‘No. King Kong only went for girls,’ Ian chuckled. ‘He ate them.’
    ‘This isn’t a laughing matter, Ian,’ Barbara chided. ‘Sorry.’
    ‘This is a crisis. Which is the way into the glass cases? Standing here discussing Hollywood movies? Or going back and finding the Doctor? Maybe we should just try and take off in the The Robert E. Lee!’ she snorted.
    ‘We can’t keep worrying about that part of our future,’ Ian said.
    ‘If we don’t, there may not he any other part to worry about,’ was the reply.
    ‘Well, I say we go on,’ Ian said. ‘If the Doctor is lost he’ll take the specific gravity of something or other, bisect an angle, measure the isosceles triangle, compute a figure or two and be waiting for us at the front door when we get there, wondering what took us so long.’ ‘All right,’ Barbara agreed.
    ‘Good. Let’s try this way.’ And, without waiting for a vote, Ian moved off.
    Barbara stood for a moment and watched him go, followed by Vicki. Then she too moved.

4 Capture
    Tor and Bo moved swiftly back