Part 6 (1/2)

'More or less,' said Knight wearily. 'We lost quite a few men.'

Corporal Blake pointed to the map. 'Look at this, sir.'

Knight stared at the map in horror. 'When did all this start?'

'Soon after you left,' said Travers. 'Southern section is on the move too.'

'I gather there's a danger we may be cut off,' Chorley put in fussily. 'Captain Knight, don't you think you ought to evacuate?'

'If you want to leave, Mr Chorley, you're welcome to try.'

'What about the Doctor?' asked Travers.

'No sign of him. Once the Yeti attacked, we were too busy to look.' Knight explained what had happened on his expedition, telling them how Jamie had insisted on staying behind.

'So all three of them are out there,' said Anne Travers sadly. She told Knight of Victoria's disappearance.

Professor Travers tugged worriedly at his beard. 'I'm concerned about the young people, of course, but it's the Doctor I really want to see. I'm convinced he could help us.'

'Better not rely on the Doctor too much,' said Chorley spitefully. 'With the Yeti prowling those tunnels and the Web on the move again-the Doctor and his friends are probably dead by now.'

Jamie and his reluctant ally emerged from a tunnel and climbed on to the station platform. Evans looked at the station sign, crossed to the wall-map and peered at it in the dim emergency lighting. 'Here we are, Cannon Street.' He pointed 1riumphantly to their position. 'Well out of the danger zone.'

'You're supposed to be taking me back towards Kings Cross where you saw that Yeti with the pyramid'

'You don't seriously want to find a Yeti do you?'

'I want to find that pyramid and smash it,' said Jamie determinedly. 'Come on. We can go on the Circle Line.

Monument next, then Tower Hill.'

Evans groaned.

Ignoring his protests, Jamie led him on into the next tunnel. After another long tramp they emerged on to Monument Station. They went along the platform then into the tunnel, heading towards Tower Hill. They'd only gone a short tray when Jamie stopped. 'It's getting lighter!'

A pulsating glow was coming from the tunnel ahead of them. It grew brighter and brighter...

Evans grabbed Jamie's arm. 'It's the Web, moving towards us: Back, boyo.'

They turned and ran back towards Monument Station.

As they came on to the platform, both stopped in horror. A dense swirling ma.s.s was rolling along the platform towards them. It looked like fog, thought Jamie, fog somehow become horribly solid. It glowed and pulsated with evil life.

'Can't go forward, can't go back,' panted Evans. 'We're trapped!'

7.

Escape from the Web The glowing, pulsating ma.s.s of the Web rolled towards them in terrifying slow motion. Suddenly they heard a high-pitched electronic shriek. From out of the Web stalked a Yeti, holding a small, glowing pyramid. As the Yeti moved, the Web rolled after it, like a well-trained and obedient monster.

Jamie and Evans turned to run, but the glow from the tunnel they had left was even brighter. Jamie looked round desperately for some escape, but could see none. They were hopelessly trapped, caught between two advancing ma.s.ses of the Web. Suddenly Jamie noticed the rifle still slung over Evans's shoulder. He grabbed it, and thrust it into the man's hands. 'The pyramid!' he yelled. 'Shoot at the pyramid!'

'I'll try, boyo-but I'm a terrible shot!'

Evans put the rifle to his shoulder and fired. Nothing happened. The Yeti marched steadily nearer, the Web rolling behind it like a great wave. Evans fired again. Still nothing.

'Take it steady, man,' shouted Jamie. 'It's point-blank range now. You can't can't miss!' miss!'

With the Yeti only yards away, Evans squinted in concentration and fired his third shot. The gla.s.s pyramid exploded into gleaming fragments. The Yeti stopped, quite still. The electronic howl died away. The Web stopped too, its glow slowly fading.

Jamie looked at the frozen Yeti and gave a great gasp of relief. Then from behind him he heard the sound of another electronic signal, growing steadily louder. He whirled round.

The light from the tunnel was still pulsating. It was getting brighter and closer... Jamie suddenly realised that the pyramid they'd destroyed must have contained only a fraction of the Intelligence's power, just enough to control that one Yeti. He became aware that Evans was tugging at his arm.

'Don't stand there mooning, boyo. Let's get out while we can!'

They ran through the platform arch, the light of the approaching Web steadily brighter behind them.

Victoria was tired, lost and afraid. She had long regretted her attempt to warn the Doctor, realising that she had no hope of finding him in the endless maze of Underground tunnels. She had decided to go back to the Fortress and try to convince Anne Travers of the Doctor's innocence. Surely her father would speak up for him.

Unfortunately by the time she had taken this decision she was already lost, and it had taken her what seemed hours to find the tunnel leading back to the Underground entrance of the Fortress. But she found her way to Goodge Street station at last, and began walking along the track to the branch tunnel which held the door to the Fortress.

Victoria was about to turn into the tunnel when she heard footsteps. Quickly she ducked into an alcove and crouched down. Making herself as small as possible she peeped out. Two pairs of boots came into view, the first highly polished, the second old and scuffed. Around them flapped rather baggy checked trousers. With a squeal of joy Victoria flung herself from the alcove and into the Doctor's arms. He said delightedly 'Victoria, my dear girl, where have you been?

And where's Jamie?'

'He came out to look for you.'

'Out of where?'

Victoria realised the Doctor knew nothing of their adventures since they'd parted. She gave him a rapid and confused account of Goodge Street Fortress. 'It's full of soldiers and radios and machinery. Professor Travers is there too-the man we met in Tibet only he's years older... and he's a Professor now...'

'I'm sorry to interrupt this rapturous reunion... They turned to sec Lethbridge-Stewart looking at them quizzically.