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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM92acZszLM
"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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsr5pB7pRFL
"But I must speak to Nenetl," Dr. Smith snapped.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxd4a6m23s2
"It is forbidden." The guard was adamant.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyYHFI1qpi
"Rot and rubbish on being forbidden!" Dr. Smith exploded. "Get out of my way, you nefarious Neanderthal!"392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwb6C1oLMJ
Quickly, Ann opened the door. "Let my aged servant pass," she commanded.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPovKN5LHj
In obedience the guard stood to one side, but said that Dr. Smith's presence would be reported.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOqmeQSd61
"So be it!" Ann slammed the door in the guard's face. Then she looked at Dr. Smith. 392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDCeERUOlz
His face was ashen.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVLC6KYSRE
"Dr. Smith, those stairs..." she began.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57It7uItIG
Dr. Smith shook his head. "It's young West," he said.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSTcNYvTHp
"What about Don?" Ann asked in alarm.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTiZS5bMpn
"I think he's dead," Dr. Smith replied in remorse, "drowned by Yaotl. And it was all my fault. Oh, the pain!"392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdunV0ckAT0
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. 392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzqQsiJpMm
"You said "think," Dr. Smith. Does that mean you don't know, that you're not sure?" she asked, clutching at a mental straw.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshq06SipGv
Dr. Smith told her everything that had happened in the garden.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjmrBk2iVk
"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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GKTutKibL
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWK6hstueln
"West, my dear chap, you're alive!" Dr. Smith exclaimed and embraced him. "I was afraid you were drowned.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqafRKn9bj
"And I nearly was," Don replied and began to recount his adventure in the tunnel.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJQTRTs3f8
Suddenly, Ann interrupted him. "The wall's closing," she cried in alarm.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1J4I80PeMs
Don held up the strip of silk.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbaKZhrNi0
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHJ2iRpF32
Dr. Smith thought this was an over-simplification but he said nothing as he still felt guilty about the tunnel.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8aNR1DuM8
"Why don't you go through to the TARDIS while I go to the seminary and fetch Penny?" Don suggested.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqzgHeOfDV
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOfuHTQFhv
Ann agreed and added that fetching Penny might not be as easy a task as Don imagined.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbR41Vw4QkZ
"Why not?" Don asked.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhAh3N1Sfr
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShddPzHW4O
"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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUihOhsfpNG
"Beware of Yaotl, West," Dr. Smith felt obliged to warn him. "He's a sly, wily devil."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKyyQN2UV6
Don stopped and grinned.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPg3krlwmGP
"But I'll have the psychological advantage, Dr. Smith. He thinks I'm dead," he replied and hurried away.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRuGqw95wE
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl20lXr73UC
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpsfLuK3vo
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIVNJKkgeb
"I shall serve the High Priest well," Yaotl assured him.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5eui8q93l
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FycRC0cIn
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTAHLTRyfW
"Does Nenetl know that I am here?" Penny insisted.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGE7uJTbz4
"A true god is all-knowing, and all-seeing," he sneered.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwnvbN9hy3
"As the Great Spirit's handmaiden, I demand to be escorted to the temple and shown into her presence," she persisted.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9KlWx9gJh
"And so you shall, at the appointed time."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJD8HGRJmj
Penny shivered involuntarily at the cold menace in his voice.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DqqViEOSb
He turned back to Yaotl. "Guard her," he ordered, and limped out of the quartes with the two warriors.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrRK16YhkE
Yaotl pointed to the bedroom. "You may rest in there."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ycRG9Ik06
"I'm not tired," Penny said and sat on a cushion.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZibvhcOHZK
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeFzBzEa1m
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0lfE2EGCF
"Do you know where Don is?" the Chosen Warrior was asking Penny.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXItF0rYlec
"You'd be surprised," Don thought, but he didn't catch Penny's reply.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6Ax2JYJxW
"Then I shall tell you. He's dead," Yaotl announced.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeeeezCV7a
"I don't believe you!" Don heard Penny shout.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5KlovPn9a
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOubYnnk7ZG
"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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUdmB3hTsq
"Don!" Penny gasped. "I knew he was lying. He tried to make me believe you were dead."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaA2GYRMXw
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGEZcAxDPD
"They made me bring everything from the seminary."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjC3TqyoOS
"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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnfUjs4gcW
"Where are we going?" Penny asked.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGGCN1WSSH
"To the TARDIS. Where do you think?" he answered.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9p494B0Q8
As they left Don enquired how Penny had found her school. She made a raunchy face. "Not much better than yours in 1960s England."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV77mYM0HSW
Dawn streaked the sky as Ann waited anxiously in the antechamber with Dr. Smith, who was scribbling mathematical formulae on a pocket notepad.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEyZE1bWaH
"I hope they're all right," Ann said.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6woW6f0Piu
"I've come to the conclusion that young West is a remarkably resourceful chap," Dr. Smith remarked, grimacing as he rechecked his calculations.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpW8OpDi1EP
"I just want us to get away as quickly as possible," Ann confessed.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyapfLCo7nY
Dr. Smith looked up a them. "And history?" he asked.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RtkacxxZk
"Can remain unchanged," she replied.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6ZX2AbMlE
"No rewriting?"392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZZKJ7Jdje
"No rewriting."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALvQLKOnqT
Dr. Smith nodded and tapped the notepad with his pencil.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFsZGVhGUb
"It won't be easy, my dear. It won't."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRzH3GzKhm
Ann looked puzzled. "What won't?" she asked.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6v4oJdnbVW
"Opening up the wall. I've been doing some calculations and I don't believe we have the strength," he replied.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrpvAxYx06
"Dr. Smith, I barely touched the wall and it began to swing open."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslXagBGHWd
"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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BPtPlpuIE
"But where is the upwards thrust?" he asked her.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavcIb7G9Mu
"The counterbalance swinging down will supply it," Ann replied.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrsgdTuNZV
Dr. Smith shook his head. "No, my dear, things don't tend to move unless..."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD0OkLktu4
"....you start the ball rolling," Ann finished for him.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9Vtr31NOX
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCa9s5rIAr
"What can we do?" Ann asked.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpWQgJTkjQ
"Try," Dr. Smith replied, as he slipped the notepad back into his pocket.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QP6VBKlHz
At that moment Penny and Don came breathlessly into the antechamber. "Anyone for the Skylark?" Don gasped.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqxLfQkHrp
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmiaEZcY3g
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvk5dWYE3d2
They began tugging on the silk, but nothing happened.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AgQkr2t1C
"What if I push in at the top of the wall while you pull out at the bottom?" Don suggested.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfdwztClza
"It's from the inside out, West, not from the outside in," Dr. Smith said. "You're up against the law of..."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzguhyoZSe
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIddkVoKPrz
None of the others said a word.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdvNQC2IF1
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIcWCksyYa
"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."392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqzc1587gl
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?"392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7y9XUBHaP
