Doctor Who: The Highlanders Read Online Free PDF Page B

notifying his ambassador.’
    Perkins, puzzled, raised his tatty grey wig and started scratching his scalp. ‘Article XVII... Aliens?’
    Grey turned to the Sergeant. ‘Who is this extraordinary rogue?’
     
    The Sergeant shrugged his shoulders. ‘Claims to be a frog doctor, sir.’
    ‘No, German,’ corrected the Doctor. ‘And better acquainted vith the English law than you seem to be, Solicitor.’
    The Sergeant pushed the Doctor back. ‘I’m the only law that matters to you now, matey, and if this gentleman don’t want you, you hang. All right, lads.’ The men raised the noose for the Doctor, but Grey raised his hand.
    ‘Wait,’ he said. He turned to the Doctor. ‘You show a touching faith in His Majesty’s justice, sir, and a doctor, too. Well... we need doctors in the plantations. You can send him along with the other prisoners, Sergeant, to Inverness.’
    Jamie spoke for the first time. ‘What about the Laird?’
    Grey turned to him. Jamie pointed to the wounded Colin.
    ‘The Laird McLaren. Either the Laird goes wi’ us or you can hang me right here. I’ll no go without him.’
    ‘Ho,’ said the Sergeant, ‘we’ll see about that.’
    ‘Sergeant,’ Grey restrained him. He turned to the Doctor. ‘What do you think, Doctor? Can this man be healed of his wound?’ He indicated Colin.
    The Doctor nodded. ‘With proper care.’
    Grey took another pinch of snuff. ‘Whether he’ll get that where he’s going is somewhat doubtful, but I’ll leave him in your care. Send them all to Inverness, Sergeant.’
    ‘Right sir. Shun !’ The men came to attention.
    ‘Corporal!’ barked the Sergeant. One of the bigger of the soldiers shuffled forward and saluted. ‘You accompany this gentleman’ – he indicated Grey–‘and the prisoners to Inverness. I’ll wait here for Lieutenant Ffinch.’
    ‘Where’s that you’re taking us?’ asked Ben, looking anxiously at the Doctor. He realised the danger of being separated too far from the TARDIS, their one hope of getting back to his own time.
    ‘To Inverness,’ said Grey, ‘to start with. Then perhaps a sea voyage. Say... three thousand miles?’ He smiled at them: a slow, sinister smile.
    ‘Three thousand miles?’ said Ben. The soldiers formed a group around the Doctor, Ben and Jamie and, lifting the wounded Laird between two of them, set off across the moor. The Sergeant refilled his pipe and sat down in front of the cottage, waiting for his officer’s return.
     
    5

Polly and Kirsty
    Polly, walking barefoot and carrying her thin shoes in her hand, stumbled after Kirsty, the fleet-footed Highland lass.
    Kirsty was leading her through another part of the moor towards higher ground. Around them were tall outcrops of rock, some as large as a house with great splits and fissures big enough to hide a man. Kirsty made for one, and when Polly looked up from rubbing her leg, scratched for the twentieth time that day, her companion had disappeared.
    But she had no time to panic before Kirsty suddenly emerged from a slender fissure of rock. ‘Whist,’ she called.
    ‘Do you want to draw them over here?’ Polly came over curiously.
    ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘we’re miles ahead of them now. They’ll never catch up with us. What have you found?’
    ‘It’s a cave,’ said Kirsty, ‘I’ll show you.’ She led Polly through the rock fissure, sliding agilely around a slight bend, and Polly, to her astonishment, found herself in a large cave worn from the interior of the rock by a small stream. In one corner, away from the fissure which ran up twenty feet and showed a thin strip of grey sky, there were blankets and a rough cot, and several old chests.
    ‘You don’t mean to say you live here,’ exclaimed Polly, turning to Kirsty.
    Kirsty turned angrily on the other girl. ‘You think we live in caves?’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ muttered Polly.
    ‘Nay,’ said Kirsty. ‘My clan use it as a hide-out after cattle raids.’
    ‘Cattle raids?’ said Polly. ‘You