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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nRc70BwOv
"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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZF5gSPxqbx
"But I must speak to Nenetl," Dr. Smith snapped.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrySPlP3BY
"It is forbidden." The guard was adamant.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhk18YY8SD
"Rot and rubbish on being forbidden!" Dr. Smith exploded. "Get out of my way, you nefarious Neanderthal!"366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EzOiMIkTQ
Quickly, Ann opened the door. "Let my aged servant pass," she commanded.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJclSeNkrNu
In obedience the guard stood to one side, but said that Dr. Smith's presence would be reported.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYt9IKNlMx
"So be it!" Ann slammed the door in the guard's face. Then she looked at Dr. Smith. 366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbdsauUU7c
His face was ashen.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAktGVk6mLP
"Dr. Smith, those stairs..." she began.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsp3jBW76tu
Dr. Smith shook his head. "It's young West," he said.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlx6wcGk2JS
"What about Don?" Ann asked in alarm.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqslmpo8JYd
"I think he's dead," Dr. Smith replied in remorse, "drowned by Yaotl. And it was all my fault. Oh, the pain!"366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcLlcnlHFS
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. 366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡialca8QAr4
"You said "think," Dr. Smith. Does that mean you don't know, that you're not sure?" she asked, clutching at a mental straw.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdTF1umHtM
Dr. Smith told her everything that had happened in the garden.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tKSUwhJ3p
"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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5DycUj5C9
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Hp5ah3bhH
"West, my dear chap, you're alive!" Dr. Smith exclaimed and embraced him. "I was afraid you were drowned.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGBd1CI1ec
"And I nearly was," Don replied and began to recount his adventure in the tunnel.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYr3lPcuDp0
Suddenly, Ann interrupted him. "The wall's closing," she cried in alarm.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXMBGfVjQF
Don held up the strip of silk.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjqYkRm7qR
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8uCvk9hd8
Dr. Smith thought this was an over-simplification but he said nothing as he still felt guilty about the tunnel.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzRdRUro1T
"Why don't you go through to the TARDIS while I go to the seminary and fetch Penny?" Don suggested.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugUoifsZzO
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uGyw97roX
Ann agreed and added that fetching Penny might not be as easy a task as Don imagined.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyR15UGp6p6
"Why not?" Don asked.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwIcFeLidA
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWN6a4uFiZS
"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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3YrWsXjHa
"Beware of Yaotl, West," Dr. Smith felt obliged to warn him. "He's a sly, wily devil."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RqIBB8wMH
Don stopped and grinned.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvJpKJM3yA
"But I'll have the psychological advantage, Dr. Smith. He thinks I'm dead," he replied and hurried away.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNw3e3HGY7
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKJ8tlQWlv
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOshsfwZbCJ
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGLLR7PHEh
"I shall serve the High Priest well," Yaotl assured him.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEgxjLGblf
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmh3UIxI3H
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67kJTO2KZP
"Does Nenetl know that I am here?" Penny insisted.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwuew8KqnE
"A true god is all-knowing, and all-seeing," he sneered.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJTirEVGHM
"As the Great Spirit's handmaiden, I demand to be escorted to the temple and shown into her presence," she persisted.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscSm4OEhNk
"And so you shall, at the appointed time."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWZ7Me3ky3
Penny shivered involuntarily at the cold menace in his voice.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRK3OwZuPr
He turned back to Yaotl. "Guard her," he ordered, and limped out of the quartes with the two warriors.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3b2SD26TzB
Yaotl pointed to the bedroom. "You may rest in there."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyDkIZ1lHk
"I'm not tired," Penny said and sat on a cushion.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0IHvYxm5n
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQ5VZMJFTd
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡib67YpPpyy
"Do you know where Don is?" the Chosen Warrior was asking Penny.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgO6WF946t
"You'd be surprised," Don thought, but he didn't catch Penny's reply.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOsIsG9d8N
"Then I shall tell you. He's dead," Yaotl announced.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5U8ELfnZT
"I don't believe you!" Don heard Penny shout.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRhZPMFyzE
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHaSMRPSD4
"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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIc3G0pMoLW
"Don!" Penny gasped. "I knew he was lying. He tried to make me believe you were dead."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKNZyAfg1L
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXi2c9DX9Po
"They made me bring everything from the seminary."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1Rq1XuJ3V
"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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPkz2GgSjk
"Where are we going?" Penny asked.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYuVjWOtcI
"To the TARDIS. Where do you think?" he answered.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOHggBbYsQ
As they left Don enquired how Penny had found her school. She made a raunchy face. "Not much better than yours in 1960s England."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITR5g28Wpy
Dawn streaked the sky as Ann waited anxiously in the antechamber with Dr. Smith, who was scribbling mathematical formulae on a pocket notepad.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOkVhNaS54
"I hope they're all right," Ann said.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1b2BidTcv
"I've come to the conclusion that young West is a remarkably resourceful chap," Dr. Smith remarked, grimacing as he rechecked his calculations.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ910TSCheYR
"I just want us to get away as quickly as possible," Ann confessed.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8v5wG0Gepc
Dr. Smith looked up a them. "And history?" he asked.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCjjH0ALN2
"Can remain unchanged," she replied.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wL9HOFGJA
"No rewriting?"366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIVkoQ6ITP
"No rewriting."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenGnEavByW
Dr. Smith nodded and tapped the notepad with his pencil.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4r87EuOx5
"It won't be easy, my dear. It won't."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wEphDSiWT
Ann looked puzzled. "What won't?" she asked.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhsN2mPubX
"Opening up the wall. I've been doing some calculations and I don't believe we have the strength," he replied.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEil9nfdOb
"Dr. Smith, I barely touched the wall and it began to swing open."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlv8bPN4UO
"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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlL0rxIBjui
"But where is the upwards thrust?" he asked her.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOcxOaEIab
"The counterbalance swinging down will supply it," Ann replied.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdv2fKEwtex
Dr. Smith shook his head. "No, my dear, things don't tend to move unless..."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Md7DanS1K
"....you start the ball rolling," Ann finished for him.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3USUcO7Gby
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeD74WDZOw
"What can we do?" Ann asked.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGilaBXSI9k
"Try," Dr. Smith replied, as he slipped the notepad back into his pocket.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7gaugoo8W
At that moment Penny and Don came breathlessly into the antechamber. "Anyone for the Skylark?" Don gasped.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21b9sgBxnU
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.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIZk3wIE3l
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4HcKR9aZW
They began tugging on the silk, but nothing happened.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBRFcDWyb3
"What if I push in at the top of the wall while you pull out at the bottom?" Don suggested.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBZhVkPU8w
"It's from the inside out, West, not from the outside in," Dr. Smith said. "You're up against the law of..."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQz9DJdOuM
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPZZAYG8h6
None of the others said a word.366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhm14vNrig
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKgRpeduPK
"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."366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3v2AJNJHN
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?"366Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gG0jzu7Vs
