Doctor Who: The Myth Makers Read Online Free PDF Page B

usual resilience, he determined to make the best of a bad job. Rather neatly he did it too, in my opinion.
    ‘Exactly!’ he said, before Agamemnon could attempt to stand on ceremony, ‘That is what I should like to know! Who is in command round here?’
    Absolutely the right tone, under the circumstances – because so unexpected, you see? And you could tell Agamemnon was somewhat disconcerted by it.
    ‘I... er... that is to say, I have that honour,’ he replied defensively.
    ‘Ah, just so. Then you, I take it, are Agamemnon?’
    ‘Well, most people, you know, call me Lord Agamemnon –
    but let that pass for the moment.’
    ‘I would prefer to – at least until we see whether you are worthy of the title.’
    ‘Most people find it advisable to take that for granted.’
    ‘Dear me, do they now? Then perhaps you will explain why this mountebank, Odysseus, presumes to be a law unto himself –
    insults your guests, and even dares to laugh at Zeus?’
    ‘Careful, dotard!’ rumbled Odysseus. ‘It seems,’ he said to the company at large, ‘that times upon Olympus are not what they were, and gods must go a-begging.’
    The remark had a mixed reception: Menelaus, for instance, got under the table, while Achilles looked angry and Agamemnon thoughtful.
     
    ‘Odysseus will be reprimanded,’ he conceded. ‘If, that is, you are who you say you are.’
    ‘Should that make any difference? Whether I be god or man, I come to you in peace.’
    ‘Quite so. But if I may inquire, with all respect, which are you?’ Not wishing to commit himself at this point, the Doctor passed the buck.
    ‘Didn’t Achilles tell you?’
    ‘Achilles is a good lad, but impressionable. Whereas Odysseus, with all his faults, is a man of the world, and perceptive with it – and he seems to disagree. Now, you see my quandary? I suppose I can hardly ask for your credentials, can I?’
    ‘I would not advise it,’ said the Doctor, hastily, ‘I suggest, however that you treat with me honour – as befits a stranger.’
    Achilles was feeling a bit left out of things, and tried to grab some of the action. ‘Of course he’s right – of course we must –
    and it’s what I’ve been trying to do. Fools, don’t you see, he’s Zeus and he’s come to help us?’
    A good try – but he still hadn’t won the meeting over, not by a long sight. The Doctor knew it, and made what he took to be a shrewd point.
    ‘Look here, suppose for a moment that I were an enemy, then what could one man do, alone, against the glory that is Greece, eh?’
    ‘A neat phrase,’ admitted Agamemnon.
    ‘And a good point,’ added his brother, confirming the Doctor’s opinion and emerging cautiously from hiding.
    ‘Which only you would be fool enough to take,’ snarled Odysseus, out of patience. ‘The man is a spy! Deal with him –
    and be brief, or I shall undertake it for you!’
    Achilles bounded forward, in that impetuous way of his.
    ‘After I am dead, Odysseus, and only then!’
     
    Odysseus could make a concession, if he had to. ‘If you insist,’ he smiled, ‘I shall be happy to oblige you, giant killer.’
    But Agamemnon lurched mountainously between them.
    ‘Silence, both of you! This needs further thought, not sword-play.’
    ‘Then since my thoughts seem to be of such little account,’
    said Odysseus, ‘allow me to withdraw. I for one, want no dealings with the gods – I need a breath of pagan air!’
    And he stormed out into the night, to the relief of the rest of those present. Only Achilles seemed inclined to pursue the matter, and knelt at the Doctor’s feet, almost cringing with unsought servility.
    ‘Father Zeus, I ask your pardon, the man is a boor. If you command me I will let the pagan air he values into his blasphemous guts.’
    ‘Oh, do get up, my dear fellow, there’s a good chap,’ said the Doctor embarassed. ‘No, Achilles – whether he knows it or’not, Odysseus is one of my most able servants. He is the man who will