'Writing it all down in the log he is. Says he can't understand it.'
The electric lights went out again. The two men looked at each other.
Reuben was triumphant. 'Done it again, see?' Vince shook his head. 'Poor old Ben. He'll be spitting blood, won't he?'
Lantern in hand, Ben hurtled down the stairs at a dangerous speed, and arrived panting in the generator room. Once again the generator was chugging merrily away, with nothing to explain the total loss of power. 'Not again,' he muttered. 'I don't believe it! Makes no flaming sense...' He began checking over the generator.
There was a shattering crash behind him as the door to the coal bunker was flung open with tremendous force. Ben spun round, and his face twisted with horror at the hideous sight before him.
In his terror he dropped his lantern. The generator room was plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the glow of the thing in the doorway.
There was a faint crackling sound as it flowed towards him. Ben screamed with terror...
2
Strange Visitors
The melancholy boom of the siren drowned the sound of Ben's dying scream.
Vince released the handle and took out his watch. 'She's been off over two minutes this time.'
Reuben nodded gloomily. 'She'll not come back on again so quick this time.'
Vince shrugged. 'Don't make a lot of difference, do it, not in this fog. A ship'd have her bows right on Fang Rock before they'd see our old lamp in this.'
Reuben stared out into the night. There was nothing to be seen but grey swirling fog. 'It's a queer do, this fog. No cause for it.'
Vince tried to remember the scientific principles Ben had taught him. 'Cold air and warm air mixing. That's what causes fog.'
Reuben snorted. 'I've been thirty year in the service, Vince. One look at the sky and I know when fog's coming. And today was clear as clear. It isn't natural...'
Uneasily Vince said, 'Maybe I'd best go down, see if Ben needs a hand.'
'Aye, you do that, lad.' As Vince moved away the old man repeated softly, 'It isn't natural...'
The Doctor and Leela reached the lighthouse at last and climbed the steps. The Doctor pounded on the heavy wooden door. 'Keeper! Keeper!' There was no reply. He shoved at the door and it creaked slowly open.
They stood on the threshold of the generator room, peering into semi-darkness. The room was lit only by the faint glow from the boiler fire. The Doc-tor listened to the steady throbbing of the machinery. 'The generator seems to be working—so why isn't there any power?'
'I'm not a Tesh' Leela paused, correcting herself. 'I mean a—Teshnician! '
The Doctor peered at the generator. 'Could be shorting out somewhere I suppose...'
Leela could see him mentally rolling up his sleeves. 'And I suppose you're going to mend it?'
A little guiltily, the Doctor stepped back. 'What, without permission? Wouldn't dream of it! We'd better find the crew—this way, I think.'
They crossed the room and began climbing the stairs. 'Teshnician, where are you?' called the Doctor. 'Hullo, anybody there?'
A light bobbed down towards them and a scared voice called, 'That you, Ben?'
'No, it isn't.'
They rounded the curve of stairs on to the landing and saw a thin young man in a fisherman's sweater. He was clutching an oil-lamp and was obviously very frightened. He stared at the Doctor and Leela in sheer disbelief. 'Here... who are you then?'
'I'm the Doctor, and this is Leela. You seem to be having some trouble.'
'How'd you get here?'
'We came in the TARDIS,' explained Leela helpfully.
Before she could go into more detail the Doctor said hurriedly, 'We're mislaid mariners. Our... craft is moored on the other side of the island.'
Vince nodded, reassured. Funny name, TARDIS, but then, lots of people gave their boats fancy foreign names. 'Got lost in the fog, did you? You'd best come into the crewroom.'
As he led them inside he asked, 'Where are you making for?'
Leela gave the Doctor a look and said, 'Brighton!'
Vince laughed. 'Well, well, you did get lost then, didn't you?'
He began lighting oil-lamps, filling the room with their warm yellow glow.
The Doctor looked round. Except for its semi-circular shape the room was much like the main cabin of a ship. Bunks lined the walls, there were chests and lockers, and a litter of personal possessions. There was a table in the centre of the room. Against the wall stood an old wooden desk, and a smaller table with a wireless telegraph apparatus.
Vince bustled about, offering them chairs. He was nervous and chatty, obviously glad of company. 'I'll get you some hot food, soon as we're sorted out. You'll not want to put to sea again in this. This TARDIS of yours, small craft is she?'
'Yes,' said the Doctor.
'No,' said Lecla.
Vince stared at them.
'Big in some ways, small in others,' the Doctor explained hastily. 'Now then, what's the trouble here?'
'Generator keeps playing up, sir. Lights go off then come on again, for no reason.'
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. 'Tricky things, some of these early generators.'
'Ours isn't an early one, sir. It's the latest modern design. Driving Ben wild though, all the same.' 'Ben?'
'He's the engineer, sir.'
'Are there just the two of you?'
'Three, sir. Old Reuben's still up in the lamp room. Fit to bust, he is. Fair killing himself.'
Leela was puzzled. 'He is under a spell?'
Vince gave her a look. 'What I mean is, he's one of the old-fashioned sort, see? Hates electricity. Never been happy since they took out the oil.'
The Doctor smiled. 'I know the type. In the early days of oil he'd have been saying there was nothing like a really large candle!'
'That's old Reuben right enough!'
'Where's your engineer now? I should have thought he would have been working on the generator.'
'But he is, sir. You must have seen him when you came in.'
'No, I didn't.'
'He'll have stepped out for a moment then. You missed him in the fog.'
'No,' said Lcela definitely. 'If anyone had been near I would have heard them.'
Vince looked utterly baffled. 'Suppose I'd better go and look for him then.' It was clear he didn't have much enthusiasm for the task.
'That's all right,' said the Doctor. 'Tell you what ' he paused. 'What's your name?'
'Vince, sir. Vince Hawkins.'
'I'll go and look for your engineer, Mr Hawkins. As a matter of fact I'm something of an engineer myself. Perhaps I can give him a hand. You look after the young lady.'
There was a note of authority in the Doctor's voice and Vince said meekly, 'Right you are, sir.'
The Doctor went down the stairs and Vince smiled shyly at Leela. 'This is quite a treat for me, miss.'
'Is it?' Leela gave him a puzzled look and wandered over to the telegraph, idly lifting the brass key and letting it fall.
'Don't touch that please, miss,' said Vince apologetically. 'Ben's pride and joy, that is. No one else is allowed to handle it.' Leela moved away from the telegraph and Vince went on. 'It's a lonely life on the lighthouse you see. Sometimes I go out and talk to the seals, just for a change from Reuben and Ben.'
'Seals are animals. Sea creatures?'
'That's right, miss.'
'Then it is stupid to talk to them. You should listen to the old ones of your tribe, it is the only way to learn.'
Vince sighed. 'I'll get you some food and a hot drink, miss.'
Leela tugged ruefully at her wet dress. 'I need some dry clothes more than anything else.'
'I'm afraid we don't have anything suitable for a lady,' began Vince.
'I'm not a lady, Vince,' said Lecla calmly. She eyed him thoughtfully. 'We are much of a size. Clothes such as you wear will be quite suitable for me.'
Vince looked down at his fisherman's trousers and sweater. 'But
these are men's things, miss, working clothes...'
He broke off, gasping. Leela had unbuttoned her wet dress and was calmly stepping out of it. 'That's my clothes-chest over there, miss, just you help yourself. I'll get you that hot food.' He turned and almost ran into the kitchen.
As she struggled out of the wet skirt, Leela stared after him in puzzlement. There was no doubt about it, these Earth people were very strange...
The Doctor gazed into the darkness of the generator room. 'Anyone here?' he called. 'Ben? Ben?'
No answer. The Doctor crossed the room, passing the still-throbbing generator, and opened the outside door. A blast of icy air, mixed with fog, swirled into the room. The Doctor called out into the night. 'Ben? Ben, are you there?' Still no answer. Only the thunder of the waves on the nearby rocks. Puzzled, the Doctor closed the door—and the lights came on.
The Doctor rubbed his chin. 'Curiouser and curiouser!' He began walking round the generator, examining it more closely. The brightness of the electric lamps had dispelled the shadows behind it, and now the Doctor saw a huddled shape lying against the wall. He knelt to examine it, just as Vince came in, and looked round the brightly-lit room in astonishment. 'Well done, sir. You are an engineer and no mistake.' Suddenly Vince realised that the Doctor was nowhere in sight. 'Doctor, where are you?'
The Doctor appeared from behind the generator. 'Over here.'
'You managed to find the trouble, then?'
'I always find trouble,' said the Doctor sombrely. Vince looked uneasily at him, sensing the strangeness of his manner. 'Ben'll be pleased.'
'I doubt it.'
Leela came into the room. She was wearing Vince's best pair of boots and one of his spare jerseys, and buckling the belt on his best shore-going trousers.
'Oh Ben'll be pleased right enough, sir,' said Vince. 'He couldn't make head nor tail of what was wrong. I wonder where he's got to?'
The Doctor pointed to the shape behind the generator. 'Ben's down here. He's been dead for some time.'
Vince rushed over to the body. 'Ben!' he gasped. 'Oh Ben, no... no...' His voice trailed away.
'What killed him, Doctor?' asked Leela practically.
'As far as I can tell, a massive electric shock. He must have died instantly.'
Vince looked up. 'The generator, you mean? But he was always so careful.'
Leela looked at the throbbing machine. 'It was dark...'
'He had a lantern, though.' Vince rubbed a hand over his eyes. 'I just can't believe this has happened.'
Gently the Doctor helped him to his feet. 'Vince, hadn't you better go and tell Reuben?'
Vince nodded wearily. 'Yes sir.' He stumbled away.
The Doctor looked at the body, and Leela looked at the Doctor. 'You do not believe he was killed by the machine?'
'No.'
'Then what—'
The Doctor put a finger to his lips and crept silently over to the coal store. He picked up a heavy shovel and nodded to Leela. She flung open the door... but there was nothing there except coal.
The Doctor threw down the shovel. 'I thought perhaps there was something nasty in the coal shed, but apparently not.' He shut the door. 'But there's something very nasty somewhere on this island.'
'A sea creature?'
The Doctor was prowling restlessly about. 'If it is, it's a most unusual one. It opens and shuts doors, comes and goes without so much as a wet footprint, and has a mysterious ability to interfere with electrical power.' He kneeled by Ben's body and examined it once more. He saw that there was some-thing caught beneath it, and dragged it free.
'What have you found, Doctor?'
'Ben's lantern,' said the Doctor slowly. He held it up. The heavy metal frame was melted, warped, twisted, like candle wax in the heat of a furnace. The Doctor handed it to Leela. 'What kind of sea creature could do a thing like that?'
3
Shipwreck
Reuben listened to the news of Ben's death in stunned silence. When Vince had finished, the old man said slowly, 'Ben knew every inch of that machine. Don't make sense, boy, him dying like that.'
'That's what happened, according to the Doctor. Massive electric shock, he said.'
'This Doctor—foreigner is he?'
'Don't think so. Young lady speaks a bit strange like, though. Why?'
'Spies!' said Reuben dramatically.
Vince smiled, despite his grief. 'Spies? What'd spies be doing on Fang Rock?'
'There's Frogs,' said Reuben. 'And Ruskies. Germans too. Can't trust none of 'ern.'
'These two ain't spies, Reuben.'
'Well, all this trouble started just about the time they got here. Don't forget that!'
'You ain't saying they might have done for Ben?'
Pleased with the effect of his words Reuben said solemnly, 'I'm saying there's strange doings here tonight, and for all we know them two strangers are at the bottom of it. Reckon I best go down and keep an eye on 'em.'
Vince didn't know what to think. His instinct was to trust the Doctor, but what Reuben had said was true enough. Another thought struck him. 'Here, Reuben, you'll have to send a message to the shore station. We need a relief engineer—and the boat can take Ben away...'
'I'll see to it soon as it's light. Where is he?'
'Generator room. I know it don't seem respectful. But it's only till the boat comes...'
Reuben lowered his voice. 'He won't rest easy, you know, lad!'
'What do you mean?' stammered Vince.
'If he was killed by that machine there'll be anger in his soul. Men who die like that don't never rest easy!'
Reuben stumped off. Vince stood alone in the lamp room. The events of the last few hours suddenly closed in on him and he began shaking with fear.
The Doctor was examining the telegraph apparatus when Reuben came into the crew room.
'Very interesting this, Leela—a fine example of an early Marconi wireless telegraph.'
'Leave that be, sir, if you don't mind,' said Reuben sharply.
The Doctor turned. 'You'll be Reuben I take it. Shouldn't you be using this telegraph to report your engineer's death?'
'Wireless won't bring Ben back. I'll semaphore in the morning, when the fog clears.'
'You do know how to use the telegraph?'
''Course I do, we all does. But Ben was the expert. I'll use the semaphore tomorrow.'
The Doctor nodded understandingly, guessing that the old man had only the vaguest idea how to work the device, but was too obstinate to admit it.
Reuben stripped a blanket from a bunk and folded it over his arm. Leela touched it curiously, but he snatched it away.
'You leave that alone, miss.'
'What is it for?'
'I'm going to make Ben a shroud. We have proper customs here in England. It ain't fitting for a body just to be left.'
Suddenly the Doctor realised the reason for Reuben's hostility. 'You think we had something to do with Ben's death?'
'I know what I know. And what I think.' 'Incontrovertible,' said the Doctor politely.
Reuben glowered at him. 'Don't start talking in your own lingo neither, I won't have that.'
'What are you going to do? Clap us in irons?'
'I'm senior on this lighthouse now, and—'
'See here, I'm only trying to help you,' snapped the Doctor.
Reuben backed away. 'Vince and me'll manage. Now I'll just go and tend to poor Ben.'
'Stubborn old mule...' muttered the Doctor irritably.
Leela was still carrying the twisted remains of the lamp. 'You think the creature that did this will come back?'
'I just don't know.'
As always, Leela was in favour of direct action. 'If it is here on the rock we should take weapons and hunt it! '
The Doctor tapped the lamp with a long finger. 'I don't fancy playing tag in the darkness with something that can do this.' He paused for a moment. 'Young Vince is still pretty shaken. I think I'll go up and have a word with him. You stay he
re.'
The Doctor went out. As soon as he was gone, Leela slipped a heavy sailor's knife from her boot. She'd found it at the bottom of Vince's chest and appropriated it immediately. Despite the Doctor's prohibitions, Leela never felt properly dressed without a weapon. She hefted the knife thoughtfully, tested point and edge with her thumb, then set off down the stairs.
In the lamp room Reuben sat cross-legged by Ben's body, sewing the corpse into its shroud. Like all old sailors he was handy with needle and thread. He didn't hear Leela as she slipped silently past him and out into the fog.
The Doctor leaned against the lamp-room wall. Vince tended the steadily flashing light and gave regular blasts on the foghorn, while he told the Doctor about the light in the sky. The Doctor listened keenly. 'And what time was all this?'
'Couple of, hours ago, just getting dark. It went down into the sea, over there.'
'How far away?'
'About a mile or two, near as I could tell. Dunno how big it was, you see. Soon after that the fog started to come down, and it got cold, all of a sudden like.'
'Yes,' said the Doctor thoughtfully. 'I noticed the cold. Good lad, Vince, you've been very observant.'
'Thank you, sir.' Vince was both flattered and puzzled by the Doctor's interest in his story.
The Doctor stared out at the fog that surrounded the tower. 'A fireball, eh? That might explain a great deal...'
Knife in hand, body poised for instant attack, Leela crept silently through the darkness. She had already covered most of the tiny island, and so far she had found nothing. She had hoped for some kind of tracks, but nothing showed on the bare rocky surface.
Her foot slipped and she almost tumbled into a shallow rock pool. She drew back, then paused, looking harder at the water. Something was floating on the surface of the pool. Several somethings, in fact. Leela knelt down. Fish! Tiny, dead fish.
There was a faint crackling behind her and she whirled round. She crouched motionless, listening, peering into the fog. But she saw nothing. Just the swirling fog. Stealthily she crept on, moving in the direction of the sound...
DOCTOR WHO AND THE HORROR OF FANG ROCK Page 2
