[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Upstairs, Ping-Cho sat miserably on the edge of her bed while Susan tried to comfort her, sayingthat it wouldn't be so difficult as they would share a horse all day, venturing off into the foothills,eating their meals together, and Barbara wouldn't say a word if she crept into Ping-Cho'scompartment for a whispered midnight conversation.But that was not the way it turned out to be.When Ping-Cho came onto the courtyard in themorning, a horse had been saddled for her and, with it, a Mongol bearer to hold the reins and walkalongside.Susan was given another horse and the Doctor sat in the lead wagon with the Mongoldriver whilst Barbara and Ian, on horseback, kept him company on either side.Marco and Teganawould ride off into the foothills in search of pheasants, quails, hares and wild boars to supplementtheir evening meals.Though the atmosphere among them was tense, the progress was good and on the ninth eveningthey pitched camp within sight of Su-Chow.During their evening meal, the Doctor made severalmental calculations.The way-station at Su-Chow was no more than half a day's travel away whichwould give them ample time to take a bath, have their clothes cleaned, and dine at leisure.Whenall was quiet, he would slip into the TARDIS to refit the verified circuits of the microswitches, thengather his team together and take leave of this vexacious Venetian and his uncouth barbariccompanion, although he did feel a brief pang of remorse about separating Ping-Cho and Susan.After dinner he challenged Marco to a game of chess and, to everyone's astonishment, allowedhimself to be beaten on the thirty-fifth move.'Shah mat,' Marco cried in triumph.The Doctor studied the board.'Why, so it is,' he said blithely and congratulated Marco on his decisive victory.'You'll grant me myrevenge tomorrow evening at the way-station?' he requested.'Whenever you like, Doctor,' Marco replied, 'but we're not staying at Su-Chow.Our next stop will beat Kan-Chow in ten days time.Shall we wait until then?''As you please,' the Doctor mumbled, realising that their quick escape was no longer possible andregretting he had thrown away an easy victory on the thirtieth move.Beyond Su-Chow they travelled across undulating prairies which stretched away northwards and,to the south, the Nan Shan mountain range with its snowcapped peaks still dominated the horizon.The weather was temperate, the caravan maintained an average of five leagues a day and, as theyjourneyed on, Marco relieved much of the tension by allowing Ping-Cho and Susan to spend moretime together.For his part, the Doctor contained his impatience as best he could which did not gounobserved by Ian and Barbara who realised what should have happened at Su-Chow.On the fifth day they encountered a merchant caravan travelling in the opposite direction.Courtesies were exchanged and questions put about the possibility of other caravans along theroute.The merchant, a bumptious, overweight, middle-aged man from Kan-Chow, reported thatsince leaving Kan-Chow he had only seen a group of Tartar horsemen riding towards the city.Headmitted that he was alarmed at their approach, believing them to be bandits which, by theirappearance, they could have been, their leader having a vivid scar down one side of his face.Butthey rode on leaving the caravan in peace.Tegana was intrigued to learn that Acomat must haveovertaken them at night and would be waiting for him in Kan-Chow.Barbara was the first to see it on the eighth day of their journey.They were travelling through avalley towards Kan-Chow when she saw in the distance a grey line which snaked up and over thehills.She pointed to it excitedly.'Look, Ian, it's the Great Wall of Chi - Cathay,' she corrected herself with a glance at Marco.'Good for a two thousand mile stroll along the top,' Ian replied.'It was built three hundred years before the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ,' Marco added.'And do you know why it was built?' Tegana demanded, punching himself on the chest.'To keepWar Lords, Tartars like me out of Cathay.' He roared with laughter.It occurred to the Doctor that,after all, Tegana had a vestige of humour in him.By noon on the tenth day they were installed in the way-station at Kan-Chow under the shadow ofthe Great Wall and, after Ian had bathed and changed his clothes, he knocked on the Doctor'sdoor.He was invited in, sat down in a chair and then the Doctor began juggling with the microswitches. 'Been like that since Su-Chow,' Ian remarked as the Doctor sent five of them flying into the air to bedeftly caught, one by one, in his mandarin's hat.'By this time tomorrow, Chesterton, we shall be elsewhere,' the Doctor prophesied.Ian thoughtabout the prospect for a moment.'I won't be sorry but there will be all those loose threads left dangling,' he replied.'What happensto Marco, Ping-Cho and Tegana?''My dear fellow, we know what happens to Polo.He almost reaches home but gets captured by theGenoese and chucked in the clink which serves him right after the way he's treated us.' The Doctordusted his hands dismissively.'Ping-Cho will no doubt marry her civil servant and as for Tegana,with all due respect, I can only wish for the worst.' Ian volunteered to let Barbara and Susan knowthat they were under starter's orders.'Be careful what you say to Susan,' the Doctor cautioned, 'particularly if Ping-Cho is around.ThatChinese child makes me nervous.' Ian was surprised.'Good Lord, Doctor, why?''She knows I have a duplicate key,' he replied and told Ian about the incident on the courtyard atTun-Huang.'When I came out of the TARDIS the pair of them were standing there,' he concluded.Ian smiled.'Doctor, the least of our worries is Ping-Cho.'9 Too Many Kan-Chow CooksIan's conjecture about Ping-Cho was more accurate than the Doctor's prophecy and the onlyperson concerned about her was Susan as they sat in her room.'Will you be leaving tonight?'Ping-Cho asked.'Possibly,' Susan replied.'I want you to know that this journey has been the happiest time of my life, in spite of all thedangers and Messer Marco's odd behaviour after Tun-Huang.' 'I keep wondering what Tegana saidto him.' 'I've asked Messer Marco a hundred times but he remains silent.' Ping-Cho looked earnestlyat Susan, 'You will say goodbye, won't you?' 'Of course.''No matter how late it is.''I promise.My room's just along the passageway and I must pass yours to go downstairs.'Ping-Cho looked perplexed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Upstairs, Ping-Cho sat miserably on the edge of her bed while Susan tried to comfort her, sayingthat it wouldn't be so difficult as they would share a horse all day, venturing off into the foothills,eating their meals together, and Barbara wouldn't say a word if she crept into Ping-Cho'scompartment for a whispered midnight conversation.But that was not the way it turned out to be.When Ping-Cho came onto the courtyard in themorning, a horse had been saddled for her and, with it, a Mongol bearer to hold the reins and walkalongside.Susan was given another horse and the Doctor sat in the lead wagon with the Mongoldriver whilst Barbara and Ian, on horseback, kept him company on either side.Marco and Teganawould ride off into the foothills in search of pheasants, quails, hares and wild boars to supplementtheir evening meals.Though the atmosphere among them was tense, the progress was good and on the ninth eveningthey pitched camp within sight of Su-Chow.During their evening meal, the Doctor made severalmental calculations.The way-station at Su-Chow was no more than half a day's travel away whichwould give them ample time to take a bath, have their clothes cleaned, and dine at leisure.Whenall was quiet, he would slip into the TARDIS to refit the verified circuits of the microswitches, thengather his team together and take leave of this vexacious Venetian and his uncouth barbariccompanion, although he did feel a brief pang of remorse about separating Ping-Cho and Susan.After dinner he challenged Marco to a game of chess and, to everyone's astonishment, allowedhimself to be beaten on the thirty-fifth move.'Shah mat,' Marco cried in triumph.The Doctor studied the board.'Why, so it is,' he said blithely and congratulated Marco on his decisive victory.'You'll grant me myrevenge tomorrow evening at the way-station?' he requested.'Whenever you like, Doctor,' Marco replied, 'but we're not staying at Su-Chow.Our next stop will beat Kan-Chow in ten days time.Shall we wait until then?''As you please,' the Doctor mumbled, realising that their quick escape was no longer possible andregretting he had thrown away an easy victory on the thirtieth move.Beyond Su-Chow they travelled across undulating prairies which stretched away northwards and,to the south, the Nan Shan mountain range with its snowcapped peaks still dominated the horizon.The weather was temperate, the caravan maintained an average of five leagues a day and, as theyjourneyed on, Marco relieved much of the tension by allowing Ping-Cho and Susan to spend moretime together.For his part, the Doctor contained his impatience as best he could which did not gounobserved by Ian and Barbara who realised what should have happened at Su-Chow.On the fifth day they encountered a merchant caravan travelling in the opposite direction.Courtesies were exchanged and questions put about the possibility of other caravans along theroute.The merchant, a bumptious, overweight, middle-aged man from Kan-Chow, reported thatsince leaving Kan-Chow he had only seen a group of Tartar horsemen riding towards the city.Headmitted that he was alarmed at their approach, believing them to be bandits which, by theirappearance, they could have been, their leader having a vivid scar down one side of his face.Butthey rode on leaving the caravan in peace.Tegana was intrigued to learn that Acomat must haveovertaken them at night and would be waiting for him in Kan-Chow.Barbara was the first to see it on the eighth day of their journey.They were travelling through avalley towards Kan-Chow when she saw in the distance a grey line which snaked up and over thehills.She pointed to it excitedly.'Look, Ian, it's the Great Wall of Chi - Cathay,' she corrected herself with a glance at Marco.'Good for a two thousand mile stroll along the top,' Ian replied.'It was built three hundred years before the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ,' Marco added.'And do you know why it was built?' Tegana demanded, punching himself on the chest.'To keepWar Lords, Tartars like me out of Cathay.' He roared with laughter.It occurred to the Doctor that,after all, Tegana had a vestige of humour in him.By noon on the tenth day they were installed in the way-station at Kan-Chow under the shadow ofthe Great Wall and, after Ian had bathed and changed his clothes, he knocked on the Doctor'sdoor.He was invited in, sat down in a chair and then the Doctor began juggling with the microswitches. 'Been like that since Su-Chow,' Ian remarked as the Doctor sent five of them flying into the air to bedeftly caught, one by one, in his mandarin's hat.'By this time tomorrow, Chesterton, we shall be elsewhere,' the Doctor prophesied.Ian thoughtabout the prospect for a moment.'I won't be sorry but there will be all those loose threads left dangling,' he replied.'What happensto Marco, Ping-Cho and Tegana?''My dear fellow, we know what happens to Polo.He almost reaches home but gets captured by theGenoese and chucked in the clink which serves him right after the way he's treated us.' The Doctordusted his hands dismissively.'Ping-Cho will no doubt marry her civil servant and as for Tegana,with all due respect, I can only wish for the worst.' Ian volunteered to let Barbara and Susan knowthat they were under starter's orders.'Be careful what you say to Susan,' the Doctor cautioned, 'particularly if Ping-Cho is around.ThatChinese child makes me nervous.' Ian was surprised.'Good Lord, Doctor, why?''She knows I have a duplicate key,' he replied and told Ian about the incident on the courtyard atTun-Huang.'When I came out of the TARDIS the pair of them were standing there,' he concluded.Ian smiled.'Doctor, the least of our worries is Ping-Cho.'9 Too Many Kan-Chow CooksIan's conjecture about Ping-Cho was more accurate than the Doctor's prophecy and the onlyperson concerned about her was Susan as they sat in her room.'Will you be leaving tonight?'Ping-Cho asked.'Possibly,' Susan replied.'I want you to know that this journey has been the happiest time of my life, in spite of all thedangers and Messer Marco's odd behaviour after Tun-Huang.' 'I keep wondering what Tegana saidto him.' 'I've asked Messer Marco a hundred times but he remains silent.' Ping-Cho looked earnestlyat Susan, 'You will say goodbye, won't you?' 'Of course.''No matter how late it is.''I promise.My room's just along the passageway and I must pass yours to go downstairs.'Ping-Cho looked perplexed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]