Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders

them all move off, making an elaborate pretence of going in
different directions. Waiting enough time to give them a chance
to get going, Yates rose to his feet and moved off after them.
His sandalled feet made no sound as he crept along the
corridor. Barnes was the nearest thing to a leader, now that
Lupton was gone. The meeting, if there was one, would be in his
room. Yates moved quietly up to the door. Sure enough, a DO
NOT DISTURB notice hung on the door-knob. Yates grinned.
Talk about advertising! They were the most inept bunch of
conspirators he’d ever had to tackle.
He bent down and put his ear to the keyhole. He could hear
a low mumble of voices. He managed to pick out Barnes’ voice.
‘Lupton may not be dead. Maybe he just can’t get back. If that’s
the case, we’ve got to try and help him. We must re-establish the
link.’
Yates straightened up and smiled. It looked as if the
conspirators’ interests and his own were the same. He rapped
firmly on the door.
There was a sudden tremendous flurry and scurry from
inside. Yates rapped again and said, ‘You might as well open up,
Barnes. I’m coming in.’
One click and the door was unlocked. Barnes’ voice called
shakily, ‘Come in then if you must.’
Yates went into the room. It was in semi-darkness, curtains
drawn. A little reading lamp formed a pool of light around the
armchair where Barnes sat, looking elaborately unconcerned.
‘You may as well stop all this nonsense,’ said Yates. ‘Tell your
friends to come out of hiding. I’ve been listening at the door
and...’ Lights exploded inside his skull, and everything went
black.
Some time later, Yates woke up, gagged, bound hand and
foot, with a nasty lump on the back of his head. He was on
Barnes’ bed. The room was empty. ‘Fine investigator I made,’ he