Ann was in the antechamber trying to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes she had nightmarish visions of Penny's punishment, Don's death in a fight with Yaotl, her own public denouncement as a false god, with Ollin cutting out her heart, and Dr. Smith driven insane meandering in the garden babbling inanities to himself. With her eyes open, there wasn't much of an improvement. Both Dr. Smith and Don had impressed upon her the importance of her role as Nenetl, but the tension of playing the part was bringing her close to the breaking-point. She needed to do something, not just be something, to help them out of their plight. She sat up on the couch, put her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHCaa85bKS
"Come on, Ann MacGregor," she said out loud, "you must not crack." She stood up and clutched her arms across her chest. Then she heard Dr. Smith arguing with the temple guard outside.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXbsx5M6iA
"But I must speak to Nenetl," Dr. Smith snapped.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvatCzUmbE
"It is forbidden." The guard was adamant.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcTZcsIS6l
"Rot and rubbish on being forbidden!" Dr. Smith exploded. "Get out of my way, you nefarious Neanderthal!"340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMv2FYiYvyU
Quickly, Ann opened the door. "Let my aged servant pass," she commanded.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJJ0eRgxco
In obedience the guard stood to one side, but said that Dr. Smith's presence would be reported.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbKwR9QWRx
"So be it!" Ann slammed the door in the guard's face. Then she looked at Dr. Smith. 340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBoclmFCSw
His face was ashen.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi69MEwdrmb
"Dr. Smith, those stairs..." she began.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoezh2Kgvt
Dr. Smith shook his head. "It's young West," he said.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAiZmZLgua
"What about Don?" Ann asked in alarm.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡro62eBYcax
"I think he's dead," Dr. Smith replied in remorse, "drowned by Yaotl. And it was all my fault. Oh, the pain!"340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqt4GS1VGtx
For a moment Ann was stunned, incapable of grasping the enormity of Dr. Smith's statement. Then, as it sunk in, one word came through to the forefront of his mind. 340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBAOUmuzDG
"You said "think," Dr. Smith. Does that mean you don't know, that you're not sure?" she asked, clutching at a mental straw.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MWtY2HjS1
Dr. Smith told her everything that had happened in the garden.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL4wZmHymn
"Then there's still hope," Ann said, taking Dr. Smith's hand, "but this isn't the place to be," she added and led him up to the temple.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbYQ5W4B2i
Inside the TARDIS Don looked for some cord, string, even a length of flex would do, but no, there were only printed circuits. Enough of sophisticated electronics that keep going wrong, he thought. Wherever we land next, let's get back to Boy Scout basics: a length of string and a knife with a thing for taking stones out of horses hooves. He went out into the tomb and shone the torch around. Under Nenetl's skeleton was a cotton sheet with a narrow silk border sewn into it. Don found the join, unpicked it and then carefully ripped the silk away from the cotton which had rotted over the decades. He carried the strip of silk over to the fresco and looked for someplace to attach it. The eagle's neck stood proud from the wall, like the eye of a needle, so Don stood threaded one end of the silk through it and tied a nice knot. He tugged the silk several times to make sure that it would hold. Then he pushed outwards on the wall and stepped into the temple.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡar7Wn4OBFy
"West, my dear chap, you're alive!" Dr. Smith exclaimed and embraced him. "I was afraid you were drowned.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxXGvI6NNP
"And I nearly was," Don replied and began to recount his adventure in the tunnel.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OueNbtPEY
Suddenly, Ann interrupted him. "The wall's closing," she cried in alarm.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1btgv2dSS
Don held up the strip of silk.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAijQwOdNb8
"It doesn't matter," he said, "the other end is attached to the fresco on the inside and, as the wall is counterbalanced, all we have to do is tug on this end and we're home and away."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQQSClsfQQ
Dr. Smith thought this was an over-simplification but he said nothing as he still felt guilty about the tunnel.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqlAFaa9IF
"Why don't you go through to the TARDIS while I go to the seminary and fetch Penny?" Don suggested.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI9B6QaG5A
"No." Dr. Smith was adamant. "When we go to the other side of that wall we all go together. Splitting up is bad, bad idea."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFTY7KQVIL
Ann agreed and added that fetching Penny might not be as easy a task as Don imagined.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBZiuCkMVG
"Why not?" Don asked.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCTjuyGcLY
Ann explained about Penny's refusal to marry the Perfect Victim and described her punishment for denying his wish. "Knowing Ollin, she's bound to be guarded," Ann concluded.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdfQNkHsZh
"And knowing Yaotl, she won't be in the seminary," Don added. "He'll keep her a prisoner in his quarters. So, wait for us in the antechamber, it's more comfortable up here." He winked at them and started towards the brocade curtain.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEklGukRjK
"Beware of Yaotl, West," Dr. Smith felt obliged to warn him. "He's a sly, wily devil."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAqghLgObE
Don stopped and grinned.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxjnVINvjx
"But I'll have the psychological advantage, Dr. Smith. He thinks I'm dead," he replied and hurried away.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6kvtqgZTr
Ann and Dr. Smith hid the silk strip behind the curtain in praise of Tlaloc, the God of Water, which still covered the entrance to the tomb.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcK4SHpOQI
Ann and Don were right on all counts. Ollin had two guards accompany him and Penny from the seminary to the barracks and Yaotl's quarters, where he told the warriors to stay outside with Penny until he commanded them to enter. He went inside and Yaotl, after paying his respects, told the High Priest of the events in the garden. Ollin congratulated him on his success and added that, with Don dead, the others were at their mercy.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfz47D5rGx0
"The rewards I promised you shall be yours," Ollin said. "And when the Perfect Victim is sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli and the sun's light shines again on our land, then I shall proclaim you commander of our armies."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiNRq6kw8t
"I shall serve the High Priest well," Yaotl assured him.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq18s1XLfI
"Let your service begin now," Ollin said and ordered the warriors to bring in Penny. "I leave her in your charge, Yaotl," he continued. "Do not let her escape nor release her to Tetzal, whose faith in Huitzilopochtli falters."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMvqEPS8xP
Penny demanded to know why she had been taken from the seminary, but Ollin was evasive and would only say that it was for her protection.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlm9E5M6FEL
"Does Nenetl know that I am here?" Penny insisted.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbW517Ij94
"A true god is all-knowing, and all-seeing," he sneered.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcEJj3XNFa
"As the Great Spirit's handmaiden, I demand to be escorted to the temple and shown into her presence," she persisted.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECkq0yJJNq
"And so you shall, at the appointed time."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cMoQOCmwS
Penny shivered involuntarily at the cold menace in his voice.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6QxYNnEwu
He turned back to Yaotl. "Guard her," he ordered, and limped out of the quartes with the two warriors.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJ6HOcbO8W
Yaotl pointed to the bedroom. "You may rest in there."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysrmZ2hWE6
"I'm not tired," Penny said and sat on a cushion.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLy4IZR8Gg
Yaotl shrugged. "Nor am I, nor shall I be, while I'm charged with you," he warned, facing her with his back to the entrance.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡessc0DXPCq
Don had just enough time to tuck into the shadows of the main barracks when he saw Ollin and the warriors coming through the passageway from the courtyard. He waited until they had gone past before he slipped into it and stealthily made his way, back pressed against the wall, towards Yaotl's quarters.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhvbxIz952
"Do you know where Don is?" the Chosen Warrior was asking Penny.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LCW1SGMSd
"You'd be surprised," Don thought, but he didn't catch Penny's reply.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDytV8qFSD7
"Then I shall tell you. He's dead," Yaotl announced.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEMxG0bk6I
"I don't believe you!" Don heard Penny shout.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTuMb5gRp9
"The old man was there when he died," Yaotl continued. "He knows it to be so. Now have seven warriors, one whom was the servant of a god, challenged my right to command," his voice rang with pride, "yet I alone survive."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtPAgL5J9t
"Not true," Don said as he stepped up behind Yaotl and hit him with a cross-handed, double-razor chop on either side of his neck which made the Chosen Warrior's eyes almost pop out of his head before he collapsed unconscious on the floor. "Good commanders never jump to conclusions," Don added, grinning.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF280p3CvKb
"Don!" Penny gasped. "I knew he was lying. He tried to make me believe you were dead."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QPYsbUkHd
Don put his arm around her. "He was a couple of seconds short of being right," Don replied and then asked if she had her everyday clothes with her. Penny pointed to a bundle on the floor.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIajg0E37ap
"They made me bring everything from the seminary."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPw5sgLUpgO
"How terribly obliging of them." Don picked up the bundle and led her across the courtyard to his quarters, where he gathered up his ordinary clothes.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSA3Vqm3S4a
"Where are we going?" Penny asked.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgzQNKf6nh
"To the TARDIS. Where do you think?" he answered.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxb3v2BO6t
As they left Don enquired how Penny had found her school. She made a raunchy face. "Not much better than yours in 1960s England."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQStmShvIxY
Dawn streaked the sky as Ann waited anxiously in the antechamber with Dr. Smith, who was scribbling mathematical formulae on a pocket notepad.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeNGadFqG0
"I hope they're all right," Ann said.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0myykKaW8
"I've come to the conclusion that young West is a remarkably resourceful chap," Dr. Smith remarked, grimacing as he rechecked his calculations.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78gGhFztZX
"I just want us to get away as quickly as possible," Ann confessed.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiZdHQyEAC
Dr. Smith looked up a them. "And history?" he asked.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTtufhUYu2
"Can remain unchanged," she replied.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Y9aRUK7rk
"No rewriting?"340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcApN3mQfJg
"No rewriting."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡih90kswpWa
Dr. Smith nodded and tapped the notepad with his pencil.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidjPKfh8Ul
"It won't be easy, my dear. It won't."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASYupecrwd
Ann looked puzzled. "What won't?" she asked.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdUMGUWJsx
"Opening up the wall. I've been doing some calculations and I don't believe we have the strength," he replied.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndVu8x5we8
"Dr. Smith, I barely touched the wall and it began to swing open."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gGvtu4fR6
"From the inside, Ann," Dr. Smith reminded her, and explained that the pressure of her hand upon the inside of the wall was both a force outwards and upwards because of the counterbalance but now with the strip of silk attached to the fresco, the first force was downwards to the foot of the wall and the second one was outwards.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaxpyGTaWY
"But where is the upwards thrust?" he asked her.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtimAqyFueB
"The counterbalance swinging down will supply it," Ann replied.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45ln5pNMOS
Dr. Smith shook his head. "No, my dear, things don't tend to move unless..."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSIjm4mO4m
"....you start the ball rolling," Ann finished for him.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgtdSreu7i
"Well put, Ann," Dr. Smith said. "And downwards and outwards is not the same thing as outwards and upwards. What's more," he added, "that bit of silk is almost one hundred years old and it won't take too much strain."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUwfwF3EDC
"What can we do?" Ann asked.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrgWYfUdaK
"Try," Dr. Smith replied, as he slipped the notepad back into his pocket.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYaott9LNW
At that moment Penny and Don came breathlessly into the antechamber. "Anyone for the Skylark?" Don gasped.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHvN2pSymF
Ann and Dr. Smith exchanged a quick apprehensive glance and the four of them went up to the temple. Ann took the silk from behind the curtain as Dr.Smith looked at Don.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEr9myaKcS4
"I'm sorry, my dear fellow, but this may not work," Dr. Smith said apologetically. "And we can't put too much load on the silk because it will break."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzvQMjO9om
They began tugging on the silk, but nothing happened.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9N41YBB4dQ
"What if I push in at the top of the wall while you pull out at the bottom?" Don suggested.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJzDwYBedc
"It's from the inside out, West, not from the outside in," Dr. Smith said. "You're up against the law of..."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fzA3j51Gw
"Inertia!" Don exploded. "Of all the stupid things to overlook. I only had to put it around the doorknob of the TARDIS or something and it would have pulled the counterbalance in."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHnpRGnqkH
None of the others said a word.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8ySoXKy7I
"All right." Don looked at each of them in turn. "I'll do the tunnel and the climb again and open the wall from the inside."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv5izozyZh
"The stone has handgrips on the back. Fit it in the wall again, just in case," Dr. Smith cautioned and gave him the pencil-torch. "And, West, a final warning----Yaotl."340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsChMyRg4SH
Don grinned and looked at Penny. "When last seen the Chosen Warrior had deserted Huitzilopochtli for a Greek God whose name is Morpheus. Right, Penny?"340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4AeWqru5B
