Doctor Who: The Highlanders (2 page)

‘Then we’d better get out of here quickly,’ said Jamie.

Alexander turned, looked down at the dead Redcoat at their feet, and nodded. He turned back to his father and helped him back on his feet.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and his companions were still trying to locate the battle. It was very frustrating. Over the hill the fog had really closed in around them. They could hear the sounds of the battle and, occasionally, there was a flash in the grey distance. But they could see nothing clearly because of the heavy mist.

‘Do you know where we are yet, Doctor?’ asked Polly.

The Doctor looked at her and shook his head.

‘No, and if we go much further we won’t be able to find our way back to the TARDIS.’

‘Hey,’ Ben interrupted. ‘Look at this.’ He was standing on a large rock at the side of the path they were following.

There, set against a dry stone wall, was a small cannon.

‘What do you make of it?’ he asked. The Doctor came up.

‘That cannon-ball must have come down ’ere,’ Ben continued. He looked down. ‘There, look.’ He picked up another similar black heavy cannon-ball. ‘Exactly like the geezer that just missed us!’

The Doctor glanced closely at the cannon and sniffed it.

‘I don’t think so,’ he said.

‘But it is. Look, same size,’ said Ben, holding up the cannon-ball. ‘This gun hasn’t fired for the last hour at least,’ the Doctor said.

‘Why do you say that?’ said Polly.

‘It’s been spiked,’ replied the Doctor.

Ben stared at him. ‘Spiked?’

The Doctor pointed to the cannon mouth. ‘It’s had a spike hammered down inside to stop it being used.’

Ben looked inside the barrel. ‘Yeah, Doctor,’ he said,

‘you’re right. It’s been spiked.’

Meanwhile, the Doctor was busy examining the inscription cast into the side of the solid iron of the gun.

‘Here, Polly, you should be able to work this out.’

Polly glanced at it and read ‘
Honi soit, qui mal y pense
.’

‘Evil to him that evil thinks,’ she translated.

‘We all know what that means, Duchess,’ said Ben crossly. He always felt that Polly was a bit, as he put it,

‘uppity and toffee-nosed,’ and resented her parading her superior knowledge before him. ‘It’s the motto of the Prince of Wales, right, Doctor?’

‘We must have gone back in time,’ said Polly, disappointed. ‘But when?’

‘Well,’ said the Doctor, ‘I have a theory...’ He stopped.

The others looked at him. ‘But I’ll tell you later.

Meanwhile, isn’t that a cottage over there?’ He pointed forward to where the mist had cleared slightly. Ahead of them was a small crofter’s cottage sunk into the hillside, with a thatched roof, thick stone walls, one small window, and a solid-looking oak door. ‘Let’s see if we can find someone in there,’ said the Doctor.

Ben and Polly started running down the path towards it.

2

Polly was the first one to reach the door. She put her hand on the latch.

‘Hold on, Duchess,’ said Ben behind her. ‘Don’t forget there’s some sort of argy-bargy going on around here. Let’s be a bit careful about what we do, eh?’

‘Oh, you mean let you go in first because you’re a man,’

said Polly sarcastically. Just as Ben resented what he called her ‘toffee-nosed’ attitude, she resented his ‘big brother’

protectiveness, especially as she was about a head taller than he was. She swung the doorknob and pulled, but nothing happened.

‘Here, let me,’ said Ben.

The Doctor had now come up and joined them. Ben put his shoulder to the door, which slowly swung open. He stepped inside, followed by the others.

Inside, the cottage was cramped and plainly furnished.

There was a large, blackened fireplace with an iron grill and a pot suspended over a peat fire; a plain, roughcut wooden table, two chairs and a couple of three-legged stools. The floor was covered with coarse rush matting.

Ben stepped forward and began investigating the contents of the pot. ‘Stew,’ he said. ‘Smells good too!’

‘Ah!’ The Doctor stepped forward, picking up a hat left lying on the table. It was a tam-o’-shanter, a Tartan beret with a silver badge holding a long brown feather. The Doctor was very fond of hats. It was a standing joke in the TARDIS that he could never resist trying on any new hat he came across. This one was no exception. The Doctor pulled on the tam-o’-shanter and turned to the others.

‘How do I look?’ he said.

Polly giggled. ‘Very silly.’ Then she glanced more closely at the hat. ‘Oh, look. It’s got a white band with words on it.’

‘What kind of words?’ asked the Doctor.

Polly slowly read the antique scrawl: ‘
With Charles, our
brave and merciful Prince Royal, we will die or nobly save our
country.
’

‘What?’ said the Doctor. He pulled off the hat, looked at it with disgust, and slung it back on the table. ‘Romantic piffle!’

The Doctor and his companions had been too preoccupied to notice the door leading to the rear part of the cottage stealthily open behind them. Suddenly, Jamie sprung out and placed a dirk at Ben’s chest. Alexander followed and laid his claymore blade across the Doctor’s throat. ‘You’ll pick that up,’ he snarled, ‘and treat it wi’ due respect.’

The Doctor smiled and nodded. ‘Of course, of course,’

he murmured, and gingerly bent down. ‘If you’d just move that sword a little.’ Alexander moved the sword away slightly and the Doctor picked up the hat.

‘Now give it to me,’ said Alexander. The Doctor handed it to him. ‘Thank ye. Now this way with ye. Quick.’

Alexander ushered Ben and the Doctor at swordpoint into the back bedroom, and turned to Jamie. ‘Take a look outside, Jamie lad – there may be more of them.’

Jamie ran to the door and glanced around. The mist was closing in again, and the sounds of battle had died down.

There was no sign of other pursuers. Reassured, he turned back, closed the door, and followed the others through into the bedroom. Inside, there was just a small rough wooden cot with bracken for a mattress on which the wounded Laird McLaren was lying. The only other furnishing was a roughly carved spinning-wheel. As the Doctor and his companions entered with Alexander’s claymore behind them, prodding them, Colin tried to rise.

‘We must away! We must away to the cave,’ he cried.

But Kirsty pushed him down. ‘You’re no in a fit state to travel, father.’

‘We have the supplies in the cave,’ said Colin. ‘And arms. We need must get there. We’ll aye be safe in the cave.’ He stopped as his eyes began to focus on the Doctor and his companions. ‘Who are these folk?’

Alexander shrugged his shoulders. ‘I ken not. They are no honest Scots, that’s for certain. They threw down the Prince’s cockade.’

‘Cockade?’ said Polly.

‘What Prince?’ said Ben.

The Doctor smiled and nodded a confirmation of something he’d obviously been pondering. ‘Prince Charles Edward, of course. Bonnie Prince Charlie.’

‘There!’ said Alexander. ’Ya heard that accent, did ye? I thought so. English, the three of them. Camp followers of the Duke of Cumberland. Come to steal from the dead.

Shall I kill them now?’ He raised his claymore. Polly retreated behind Ben. The Doctor and Ben stood their ground. Then Colin shook his head. ‘Wait,’ he said to Alexander. ‘Perhaps they’d like to say a wee prayer before they die.’

‘Die?’ echoed the Doctor.

‘Die for what?’ demanded Polly. ‘You can’t mean to kill us all in cold blood.’

‘Yeah! We’ve done nothing, mate,’ Ben added.

Alexander frowned. ‘Our blood’s warm enough, dinna fear. Your English troopers give no quarter to men, women or bairns.’

Polly shrunk back, frightened. ‘Doctor, tell them who we are.’

Kirsty turned. ‘
Doctor
,’ she said. She went over and seized Alexander’s arm. ‘Did you hear what she said? She called him
Doctor
.’

Alexander pushed Kirsty back. ‘Get back to your father,’

he said.

‘Hold awhile,’ insisted Kirsty. ‘We have sore need of a doctor.’

Colin shook his head, closing his eyes in pain. ‘Nay,’ he said. ‘Nay, doctor.’ His head shook slightly, and then he slumped back unconscious.

‘Father.’ Kirsty leapt forward and felt for his heartbeat.

‘How is he?’ asked Alexander.

‘He’s still alive – but he needs help.’

Alexander stood uncertainly for a minute, with the bloodstained sword held threateningly before the Doctor and Ben, then Kirsty stepped forward and stood between the Doctor and Alexander. ‘You can kill him afterwards, but let him help the Laird first.’

Alexander turned around uncertainly, looking at the door, which gave Ben an opportunity. He had noticed a pistol down at the side of the unconscious Laird. Now he leapt forward, grabbed it and pointed it at Alexander and Jamie, pulling the hammer back and cocking it.

Kirsty shrieked, backing away; behind her, Jamie and Alexander started forward.

Ben turned the pistol and held the muzzle against Colin’s temple. ‘Back. Both of you, or your Laird won’t need no more doctors.’

The two men faltered irresolutely.

‘Do what he says,’ said Kirsty. ‘Please.’

‘I really think you’d better give me that thing,’ said the Doctor. He stepped forward and held his hand out for Alexander’s sword. For a moment it seemed as though Alexander was going to lunge forward; then the Highlander dropped his sword.

‘And the other one,’ Ben called. A moment’s hesitation, and Jamie flung down his dirk beside the claymore.

‘That’s much better,’ said the Doctor. He bent down and picked up the weapons. He handed the dagger to Polly and put the claymore under the cot. ‘Now, if you’d just step back and give us a little more room...’

After a moment’s hesitation, Alexander and Jamie stepped back.

‘That’s better. Now,’ said the Doctor, ‘we can look at the patient.’ He turned to Kirsty. ‘I think we need some fresh water for this wound.’

Kirsty stood irresolute, staring as though she did not comprehend him. The Doctor unhooked a leather bucket from a rough wooden peg on the wall and handed it to her.

‘Here we are. You’ll find a spring just a short way back up the track.’

‘I’ll not leave my father,’ said Kirsty.

‘Don’t worry,’ said the Doctor. ‘We won’t harm him.

You do want me to help him, don’t you?’

Kirsty remained by her father, staring suspiciously. The Doctor shrugged and turned to Polly. ‘Will you go with her, Polly?’

‘Of course, Doctor.’

‘Off with you both, then.’

Polly turned to Kirsty. She picked up the bucket. ‘Your father will be perfectly safe with the Doctor. Come on.’

Alexander had now relaxed a little. He nodded towards Colin. ‘Go,’ he said. ‘And take Father’s spyglass with ye.

Watch out for the Sassenach dragoons.’

Still glancing suspiciously at the Doctor, Kirsty went over, took a small brass telescope from her father’s belt, and joined Polly by the door. The girls went out together.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had unbuttoned Colin’s bloodstained coat and was examining his shoulder. It was a deep wound. ‘Musket-ball?’ the Doctor looked enquiringly over at Alexander.

Alexander nodded. ‘Aye.’

‘It looks clean enough,’ said the Doctor, ‘but we’ll have to bandage it. I wonder if I have any antiseptic on me. I usually carry a little iodine – one never knows when it will come in handy.’

‘Anti what?’ asked Alexander, frowning.

‘Some medicine – er – herbs... to heal the wound,’

explained the Doctor.

Alexander started forward menacingly. ‘Ye’ll no poison my father!’

The Doctor had now found a small bottle of iodine in his pocket. He held it up. ‘It’s certainly not poison,’ he said as he opened it and put a small dab on his tongue.

‘There. See?’ He grimaced. ‘It doesn’t taste very nice, but it’s certainly not harmful.’

Reassured, Alexander nodded. The Doctor turned back to the wounded Laird. ‘I think you can put that thing away now,’ he said to Ben.

Ben looked over at the others and shook his head.

‘Oh, they’ll be all right,’ said the Doctor. ‘They can see we mean them no harm.’ He turned around. ‘Will you both give me your word you will not attack us? We’re only trying to save your Laird from bleeding to death.’

Alexander nodded solemnly. The Doctor looked at Jamie, who also nodded. ‘You have our word.’

‘All right, Ben, you can put the gun down now,’ said the Doctor.

‘What? You’re not going to trust these blokes?’

‘A Highlander’s word,’ said the Doctor, ‘is his bond.’

The pistol wavered uncertainly in Ben’s hand.

‘At least keep it out of my way,’ added the Doctor.

Ben shrugged. He never understood what the Doctor was up to. He tossed the gun onto the table and it went off with a deafening bang, shattering one of the earthenware jugs on the shelf by the bed.

‘Ya fool,’ said Alexander.

‘You’ll bring every English soldier within miles around here,’ said Jamie.

‘Well,’ asked Ben, ‘what’s so wrong with that? If they’re English, we got nothing to worry about, have we?’

The Doctor looked up. ‘Oh dear. You should have spent more time with your history books, Ben.’

‘Eh?’ said Ben uncomprehendingly.

Jamie looked through the small window. ‘Whist ye!’

Alexander ran to the door and looked out. ‘Redcoats,’ he turned back inside. ‘There’s six or more of them. They’ll slaughter us like rats in a trap here.’ He ran over and fished out the claymore from under the bed.

The Doctor stepped forward and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, and for a moment Alexander seemed about to forget his promise and run him through.

‘You won’t stand a chance with that,’ said the Doctor.

‘We must use our wits in this situation.’ Alexander shook his head fiercely. ‘You’ll just have to trust me, won’t you?’

said the Doctor. He turned and started pouring the iodine over the Laird’s wound. The Laird stirred in pain.

Jamie was looking out of the tiny window. ‘They seem to be moving off,’ he said. ‘Perhaps they won’t come inside.’