The Ice Warriors Read Online Free PDF Page A

and began to jot down the monitor readings on his shirt cuff. His face grew more and more disturbed.
    ‘Still out of phase…’ muttered Clent, unaware of the bizarre onlooker at his shoulder. ‘Seven two point four…’
    ‘Seven two point four?’ repeated the Doctor to himself. ‘That’s bad…’
    ‘We must balance those readings, Miss Garrett!’ declared the Leader. ‘Seventeen degrees off the norm!’
    Jan heard, but could do little; her eyes remained glued to the control panel.
    Clent paused anxiously before the final monitor screen; he mopped his brow with his handkerchief and whispered the desperate figures to himself.
    ‘One three seven nine already… If it reaches fifteen hundred…’ He took a deep breath. How long could they last?
    ‘One three seven nine!’ echoed the Doctor, his face expressing equal alarm. Unable to keep quiet any longer, he tapped Clent on the shoulder. Jamie and Victoria held their breath. What was he doing?
    ‘Excuse me,’ said the Doctor politely, ‘but I’m afraid you’re in serious trouble here, old chap…’
    Clent turned on the Doctor. The sight of the oddly dressed, obviously non-scientific intruder brought a flush of justifiable anger to his face.
    ‘Who the blazes are you?’ he demanded. Without waiting for a reply, he shouted an order to the security guards. ‘Get these scavengers out of here – quickly!’
    ‘I’m trying to help!’ protested the Doctor as he and his young friends were expertly bundled towards the corridor.
    ‘Get them on to the next available flight out of here!’ shouted Clent. He turned back to the control panel dismissively.
    ‘In two minutes thirty eight seconds,’ cried the Doctor, as he was pushed out of the door, ‘that Ioniser is going to explode. The readings say so. Why don’t you do something about it?’ The effect on Garrett and the guards was startling; even Clent froze in shocked alarm.
    ‘You can’t possibly know that!’ he snapped. ‘I haven’t even processed the figures through the computer yet!’
    ‘My dear chap, I don’t need a computer!’ replied the Doctor.
    For once, Clent paused, unsure of himself. Garrett flung a look of grim desperation at her leader.
    ‘If he’s right, it’s already too late to escape,’ she stated icily. The security men, uncertain what to do, made no attempt to check the Doctor as he slipped quickly back into the room.
    ‘It doesn’t
have
to happen. If you’ll just allow me…’ he said brightly, his hands already hovering over the controls.
    ‘Don’t!’ shouted Clent. But his cry came too late. The Doctor had gone into immediate action – and as though mesmerised by the stranger’s personality, Miss Garrett was actually helping him!
    ‘Uncouple the stabilising circuits and the reactor link for a start,’ the Doctor directed, his eyes taking in the monitor readings. Jan obeyed automatically.
    ‘Raise the density phasing to par… quick as you can!’
    Miss Garrett frowned. ‘There isn’t enough power—’
    ‘Then we’d better produce some, hadn’t we? A short burst from the reactor link – now!’
    Without arguing, Jan switched on a heavy duty connector; there was an immediate hum of power.
    ‘Now off!’ commanded the Doctor. Then, without waiting for her to complete the action, he snapped home a series of switches. ‘Tie in each of the circuits to the reactor link…
now
bring in the computer stabiliser…’ He paused, then smiled to himself, obviously pleased. ‘That should hold it, I think…’
    He turned. Clent and Miss Garrett were looking at him in sheer amazement. That a ragged clown could perform such a miracle! Remembering his earlier brusqueness, the Doctor began to apologise.
    ‘Not a perfect job, mind you…’ he murmured genially. ‘You ought to get an expert in really…’
    Clent, remembering his position as Leader of the Base, snapped out of his reverie and tried to reassert his authority.
    ‘It was all bluff, wasn’t it – that