Marco Polo Original Airdate: 22 Feb, 1964

Marco Polo

Original Airdate: 22 Feb, 1964

(Transcriber's note - this story only exists now as an audio recording.)

Episode One - The Roof of the World

[Snowfield]

(There's a large footprint in the snow.)

SUSAN: Must've been made by a giant. What do you make of this?

IAN: Well, it could be a perfectly ordinary footprint, Susan, and the sun's melted the edges and made it look a bit bigger.

SUSAN: Oh.

(The Doctor comes out of the Tardis.)

IAN: You all right, Doctor?

DOCTOR: Yes. Oh, a little bit out of breath. Oh, that's quite understandable. After all, we're several thousand feet above sea level.

SUSAN: Do you know where we are then, Grandfather?

DOCTOR: Well, I directed the ship towards Earth and it looks as though I've been successful.

SUSAN: But what about that? (the footprint)

DOCTOR: That? Oh, I can't see anything without my glasses. Anyway, I don't like this place. You'll have to excuse me. I've got a lot of work to do first.

(The Doctor goes back into the Tardis.)

IAN: Barbara, I wonder, do you think it could be the Earth? If it were, where do you think we could be? In the Alps?

BARBARA: Or it could be the Andes.

SUSAN: Himalayas, the roof of the world.

IAN: The roof of the world. I wonder. If only. Well, the Doctor isn't very reliable, you know. Mustn't count on anything.

(The Doctor comes out of the Tardis again.)

DOCTOR: Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear. We're always in trouble, Isn't this extraordinary? It follows us everywhere.

IAN: What's the matter?

DOCTOR: All the lights in the ship have gone out. The whole circuit has burned itself to a cinder, and added to that it affected the water. We haven't got any.

IAN: Well, the water's no bother, Doctor. I mean, we've got snow, plenty of it. But how about the heating?

DOCTOR: Oh, the heating as well. Everything's gone to pot.

BARBARA: But that's serious. We could freeze to death.

DOCTOR: Serious. Are you telling? There's no need for you to tell me that, really.

IAN: I think I'd better try and find some fuel.

DOCTOR: Fuel? Now where on earth do you expect to find fuel here, hmm?

IAN: Well, I must try, mustn't I?

DOCTOR: Oh well, I wish you luck.

BARBARA: I'll come with you, Ian.

IAN: Thank you.

SUSAN: Yes, me too.

IAN: No, Susan, you stay here.

DOCTOR: You stay with me, child. You might be able to help me.

SUSAN: Okay.

IAN: Oh, come on, Barbara, we haven't much time.

DOCTOR: Now, Susan, go into the ship and fetch me the two L oh, will you? You know what it is. Even if I do find the fault, I don't suppose I shall be able to repair it before it gets dark, and then we shall all freeze to death.

[Mountainside]

BARBARA: Ian, wait a minute. I must rest.

IAN: Come on, Barbara. We haven't found anything yet. We must find something.

BARBARA: All right then, you go on. I'll catch up with you.

IAN: All right.

BARBARA: Oh, it's hopeless.

(Ian goes on. Barbara closes her eyes, reopens them and sees something furry near her.)

BARBARA: Ian!

IAN: What is it? What's the matter?

BARBARA: I, there was there was an animal or something! Just standing there staring at me. You don't believe me, do you? Well, look at these footprints.

IAN: I'd better take you back to the ship.

[Snowfield]

(The Doctor and Susan are looking at a broken component.)

SUSAN: Can you mend it, Grandfather, or have you got to make a new one?

DOCTOR: I'm afraid it's going to need a new one, dear. It's going to take me days. Oh well, I don't know, really, I always seem to

(Ian and Barbara enter.)

DOCTOR: Well, Chesterton?

IAN: Just as you predicted, Doctor, nothing but snow and ice.

DOCTOR: Yes.

BARBARA: Have you found the fault?

DOCTOR: Yes, yes, yes, but it's going to take such a long time. Time we don't have. Now the only chance is to try and get down to a lower altitude and, you know, before it gets cold and we

BARBARA: Doctor, there are strange things on the mountain. I saw one of them.

DOCTOR: What's she talking about now?

IAN: Well, I only saw a print.

DOCTOR: Print? What sort of print? Paws, hooves, what?

IAN: To tell you the truth, I thought it was made by a fur boot.

BARBARA: No, Ian, I'm sure it wasn't human.

DOCTOR: And if it were, that means there's shelter nearby.

(Susan sees the figure again.)

SUSAN: Look!

BARBARA: Look, there it is.

IAN: Quick, after it. It's our only chance of shelter.

SUSAN: Come on, Grandfather.

DOCTOR: All right. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Mountainside]

IAN: Which way did it go?

(Suddenly, they are surrounded by Mongols.)

SUSAN: Grandfather!

IAN: Keep still. We're travellers, lost on the mountains. Will you give us shelter?

TEGANA: Hear me, Mongols. In these parts live evil spirits, who take our likeness to deceive us and then lead us to our deaths. Let us therefore destroy these evil spirits before they destroy us.

IAN: We're not evil spirits. We are people like yourselves.

TEGANA: Destroy them.

POLO: Stop! Put up your swords.

TEGANA: Would you have us killed? These are evil spirits.

POLO: I command you in the name of Kublai Khan.

(The Mongols put their weapons away.)

POLO: The old man has the mountain sickness?

IAN: Yes, he has.

POLO: My caravan is further down the pass. Come.

IAN: Come on, Doctor.

SUSAN: Who is he, Barbara?

BARBARA: I was asking myself the same question.

[Tent]

POLO: We have guests, Ping-Cho. They are cold and hungry.

PING-CHO: (a young girl) Yes, Messer Marco.

IAN: Sit down, Doctor.

(Ping-Cho gives the Doctor a bowl of soup.)

DOCTOR: Thank you, my dear.

SUSAN: He's not like her, or any of the others.

BARBARA: No, he's a European, Susan, and he mentioned Kublai Khan.

SUSAN: Kublai Khan?

BARBARA: He was a great Mongol leader, who conquered all of Asia. He had a European in his service. He was a Venetian and his name

POLO: I'm afraid the liquid is not too warm, but the cold here is so intense, it even robs a flame of its heat.

DOCTOR: Oh, it's excellent nourishment, sir.

IAN: The cold can't affect the heat of the flame, sir. The liquid boils at a lower temperature, because there's so little air up here.

POLO: You mean the air is responsible?

IAN: Well, the lack of it. Just as the lack of it is responsible for the Doctor's mountain sickness.

BARBARA: Is your name Marco Polo?

POLO: It is, my lady, and may I ask who you are?

DOCTOR: Oh we're travellers yes. That's my grandchild, Susan, and that's Miss Wright, and that's Charlton.

IAN: Chesterton. Ian Chesterton.

POLO: My companions are the Lady Ping-Cho and the Warlord Tegana. We travel to Shang Tu.

BARBARA: Shang Tu? That's in China, isn't it?

POLO: China? I do not know this place. Shang Tu is in Cathay.

BARBARA: Oh, silly of me. Yes, of course, Cathay.

POLO: Well, you must all be very tired. Ping-Cho, you will share your quarters with?

SUSAN: Susan.

POLO: Susan. I will sleep here with the others, and Lady?

BARBARA: Miss Wright.

POLO: Miss Wright, you will have mine.

BARBARA: Thank you.

DOCTOR: Thank you. You saved our lives.

POLO: I'm rather curious to know why you were wandering around the mountainside at night, but questions can wait until morning.

DOCTOR: Oh, there were two, young man, that I would like to ask.

POLO: Well, ask them.

DOCTOR: What year is this and where are we, hmm?

POLO: You do not know?

DOCTOR: That is why I'm asking you.

POLO: How long have you been travelling? It is twelve hundred and eighty nine and this is the Plain of Pamir, known to those who travel to Cathay as The Roof of the World.

IAN: The Roof of the World?

DOCTOR: Twelve hundred and eighty nine. Ah..

[The girl's compartment]

(The girls can't sleep.)

PING-CHO: Are you asleep, Susan?

SUSAN: No.

PING-CHO: Where are you from?

SUSAN: That's a very difficult question to answer, Ping-Cho.

PING-CHO: You do not know where your home is?

SUSAN: Well, I've had many homes in many places. What about you?

PING-CHO: I come from Samarkand. My father is government official there.

SUSAN: But I thought Mister Polo said that

PING-CHO: Messer Marco! That's what we call him in Cathay.

SUSAN: Well, I thought Messer Marco said that you were going to Shang Tu. Are you on holiday?

PING-CHO: No, Kublai Khan's summer palace is in Shang Tu. I am going there to be married.

SUSAN: What? But how old are you?

PING-CHO: I am in my sixteenth year.

SUSAN: Well, so am I.

PING-CHO: Do you marry at our age in your land? Here it is the custom.

SUSAN: Is your fianc� handsome?

PING-CHO: My what?

SUSAN: Your, the man you're going to marry.

PING-CHO: I have never seen him.

SUSAN: What?

PING-CHO: The marriage has been arranged by my family. I know only two things about him.

SUSAN: What are they?

PING-CHO: He is very important man.

SUSAN: That's a good start.

PING-CHO: And he's seventy-five years old.

[Tent]

TEGANA: You should have let me kill them.

POLO: Why? Because their clothes are different from ours? Because their words are unfamiliar to our ears? No, Tegana, they are travellers.

TEGANA: They are evil spirits. Sorcerers. Magicians. Tomorrow, if we live until then, you may see that I speak the truth.

POLO: I think the sun's rays will dispel the shadows from your mind, Tegana.

TEGANA: Is that what you believe. Listen, the carriage they travel in has no wheels. It just stands there like a warlord's tomb on one end. And another thing. It is not large enough to carry four people.

POLO: It must be.

TEGANA: I say it is not, and yet I saw all four walk from it. Upon my sword, I swear it to you.

[Outside the Tardis]

(Day)

POLO: So, this is your caravan?

IAN: Yes, the Doctor calls it the Tardis.

POLO: Where are the wheels?

IAN: It doesn't have any.

POLO: Then how does it move?

IAN: Through the air.

TEGANA: Did I not say they that they were evil spirits?

POLO: Are you of the Buddhist faith?

IAN: No, why?

POLO: Well, at the Khan's court in Peking, I have seen Buddhist monks make cups of wine fly through the air unaided and offer themselves to the Great Khan's lips. I do not understand it, but I have seen it. There is room for all of you inside here, Miss Wright?

BARBARA: Yes.

POLO: And one enters here?

BARBARA: It's locked.

POLO: Where is the key?

BARBARA: The Doctor has it, and you wouldn't let him come up here.

POLO: Oh yes, he has the mountain sickness. Have you the power to make it fly?

IAN: No, only the Doctor has that power.

POLO: Why is it here?

SUSAN: It's damaged.

POLO: What?

IAN: Part of it is broken.

POLO: But it could be moved by hand?

IAN: Oh yes, if you had sufficient men.

POLO: Well, we'll make a sledge and take it down the pass. Then we shall see.

[Tent]

(Ping-Cho is cooking, when the Doctor enters.) 

DOCTOR: Ping-Cho, this smells very, very good! What is it?

PING-CHO: Bean-sprout soup, my lord.

DOCTOR: Allow me. (he tastes it) Oh, it's delicious, delicious.

PING-CHO: My lord is kind.

DOCTOR: You know, it's rather surprising to find the daughter of a high government official working as a servant in Marco Polo's caravan.

PING-CHO: I wish to serve, my lord, although, among Messer Marco's retinue, there is a man who calls himself a cook.

DOCTOR: His name wouldn't be Tegana, would it?

PING-CHO: Oh no, my lord. The Warlord Tegana is a special emissary from the camp of the great Mongol Lord Khan Noghai, who has been at war with Kublai Khan.

DOCTOR: Yes, Mongol fighting Mongol.

PING-CHO: The war is over, my lord. Noghai has sued for peace and Tegana travels to Kublai's court to discuss the armistice plans.

DOCTOR: Yes, oh well, yes. Well, for an emissary of peace, he has rather blood-thirsty habits, doesn't he?

(Marco Polo, Ian, Barbara and Susan enter.)

POLO: I find your caravan most unusual, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Yes, Messer Marco, it is different.

POLO: And in need of repair?

DOCTOR: That is true.

SUSAN: Messer Marco has ordered a sledge to be made. He's going to bring the Tardis down here.

DOCTOR: Oh indeed? That's charming of you. Very charming of you. It won't take me very long to repair. A day or two. But I assure you that I shall not hold up your journey any longer than is necessary.

POLO: I'm afraid we can't stay here. One crosses the Plain of Pamir as quickly as possible. However, we will be spending a few days at Lop.

BARBARA: Lop? Where's that?

POLO: It's a town on the edge of the Gobi Desert, beyond Kashgar and Yarkand.

DOCTOR: I see, and you will be taking us along with you, including the Tardis?

POLO: Doctor, I once transported an entire army and its equipment from Cathay to India, all without loss.

DOCTOR: Oh good, good. Then I can work as we proceed.

POLO: No.

DOCTOR: Why not, hmm?

POLO: The Mongol bearers still half believe that you are evil spirits. They also believe that outside your caravan, you are harmless. However, should any of you attempt to enter, there would be trouble.

DOCTOR: I see. You saved our lives, Messer Marco and the least we can do is to respect your wishes. No one will enter the Tardis until we reach Lop.

POLO: Good.

POLO [OC]: Success. My plan has worked. The strangers and their unusual caravan accompany me to Lop. Our route takes us across the Roof of the World, down to the Kashgar Valley and southeast to Tarkand. Here we join the Old Silk Road, along which the commerce and culture of a thousand years has travelled to and from Cathay. I wonder what the strangers' reaction will be when I tell them what I propose to do?

[Lodgings]

POLO: My caravan is large, Yeng, so I shall need plenty of food and water before venturing out into the Gobi Desert.

(Yeng leaves. Susan and Ping-Cho come down the stairs.)

POLO: Is the accommodation to your liking, Ping-Cho?

PING-CHO: Thank you, Messer Marco. It is most comfortable.

SUSAN: Oh, I think it's fab.

PING-CHO: Fab? What is that, Susan?

SUSAN: Well, it's, it means wonderful! It's a verb we often use on Earth.

DOCTOR: Oh, Messer Marco, these way-stations, do you have many of these in Cathay?

POLO: Yes, the Khan has them dotted at regular intervals throughout his domain. Those who work in his service and wear the Khan's gold seal have the right to demand anything they may require. Provisions, horses, shelter.

SUSAN: May I have a look, please?

POLO: Of course.

SUSAN: Thank you.

IAN: Doctor.

DOCTOR: Yes?

IAN: They've set the Tardis up in the courtyard.

DOCTOR: Oh, excellent, excellent. If you'll pardon me, I have a lot of work to do and

(The Doctor tries to get into the Tardis, but is stopped by Mongol soldiers. He goes back inside.)

DOCTOR: What does this mean?

POLO: Please sit down, Doctor.

DOCTOR: I don't wish to sit down. I want you to call your guards off.

POLO: Please be seated.

DOCTOR: No.

POLO: I beg you to hear me out.

DOCTOR: But I have work to do.

BARBARA: I think, perhaps, we should listen to him. Come on.

DOCTOR: Oh, very well.

POLO: My home is Venice. I left there with my father and my uncle to come to Cathay in twelve seventy one. The journey to Peking took us three and a half years. When I arrived at the Khan's court, I was twenty one. I was an alert young man, good at languages, and willing to learn. The Khan liked me.

DOCTOR: Oh, really?

POLO: On my twenty fifth birthday, I was given an appointment in the Khan's service.

BARBARA: Twelve seventy seven.

POLO: It was, as you say, twelve seventy seven. Since then, I have travelled to every corner of his domain and beyond it. Two years ago, my father, my uncle and I asked the Khan for permission to go home. He refused. I think we had all served him too well.

DOCTOR: Well, I really don't see what this has to do with my repairing the Tardis.

POLO: Doctor, I have not seen my home for eighteen years. I want to go back.

DOCTOR: Well, ask the Khan again.

POLO: I intend to. This time, I shall offer him a gift so magnificent that he will not be able to refuse me.

IAN: You mean to give the Doctor's caravan to him?

POLO: Yes.

DOCTOR: You're mad.

POLO: You can make another.

DOCTOR: What? In Peking, or Shang Tu?

POLO: You do me an injustice, Doctor. I will not leave you stranded in Cathay, just as I did not let you die on the mountain. No, you will come with me to Venice and make another one there.

DOCTOR: Oh, you think so, really? Oh no. Oh no.

IAN: Marco, it's impossible.

POLO: Surely, for a man who possesses a flying caravan, all things are possible?

IAN: No. We need special metals, materials, things that don't exist in Venice. I'm afraid you don't understand all the problems involved.

DOCTOR: And neither do you, young man.

POLO: Well, travel home by ship. We trade with every port in the world. It may take you longer, but you'll get there eventually.

DOCTOR: Eventually. He doesn't know what he's talking about. The man's a lunatic. Ho.

POLO: No, Doctor, desperate. There are many men who are jealous of the Polo influence at court, and the Khan suffers from an affliction for which there is no cure.

BARBARA: What's that?

POLO: Old age. If he dies, I may never see Venice again.

DOCTOR: Well, that is your problem, not mine.

POLO: I have just made it yours, Doctor.

BARBARA: But you do see Venice again, Marco, I know you do.

IAN: What makes you so sure that the Doctor's caravan is a suitable present? The Doctor is the only one who can fly it.

POLO: I told you about the Buddhist monks. They will discover its secret. A caravan that flies. Do you imagine what this will mean to the Khan? It will make him the most powerful ruler the world has ever known. Stronger than Hannibal. Mightier than Alexander the Great.

IAN: Marco, you don't understand.

POLO: I refuse to listen you to any more. My mind is made up. Your caravan goes with me to Kublai Khan.

BARBARA: Doctor, come on. Come and sit down.

DOCTOR: Oh well, what a mess.

SUSAN: Grandfather. Grandfather.

DOCTOR: Yes. Go by sea, he says.

SUSAN: Why are you laughing? He means it.

BARBARA: Doctor, he's serious.

DOCTOR: I know he is. Yes.

SUSAN: What are you going to do?

DOCTOR: (in total hysterics) I haven't the faintest idea.

[Alleyway]

MAN: Be careful, my lord. One drop will poison an army.

TEGANA: I will use it well, on all but the first of Marco Polo's water gourds, for tomorrow, the caravan sets out to cross the Gobi Desert. Now, you will follow us, and on the third night I will walk back to you. Then we will ride back here to Lop, wait for two days, and then return to the caravan to collect the thing of magic, and bring the mighty Kublai Khan to his knees!

Episode Two - The Singing Sands

POLO [OC]: I have taken charge of the travellers' unusual caravan, and set out into the Gobi Desert. The journey across this vast ocean of sand is slow and hazardous. To make matters worse, the old Doctor continually shows his disapproval of my action by being both difficult and bad-tempered. For three days now, during which time we have covered no more than thirty miles, I have had to endure his insults.

[Tent]

(Night)

IAN: How much water does a caravan like this use crossing the Gobi Desert, Marco?

POLO: We will use one barrel every five days, Ian. I have allowed for eight gourds to carry us across to the other side.

TEGANA: The bones of many men who thought they had enough lie bleached in the desert sand.

POLO: I think we should exercise some restraint, Tegana. I'm sorry the Doctor wouldn't eat with us this evening.

SUSAN: Yes, so am I, Messer Marco. I've given him food.

(Susan goes behind a partition)

POLO: A game of chess, Ian?

IAN: Oh, well, I'm not very good, but I'll give you a game.

POLO: I gladly accept your challenge.

BARBARA: What magnificent pieces.

POLO: Yes, I purchased them in Hamutz, on my first journey to Cathay. Now, they go with me everywhere.

TEGANA: Do you

SUSAN: I'm sorry, Marco.

(Susan runs out of the tent.)

TEGANA: Do you play chess, lady?

BARBARA: Not very well, Tegana. Excuse me.

(Barbara leaves.)

TEGANA: I find it a fascinating game of strategy of war. Two equally balanced armies deployed upon a field of battle, and each commander determined to be the one who cries shah mat.

IAN: Shah mat? Check mate?

TEGANA: It means the king is dead.

[Outside the tent]

BARBARA: We'll get the Tardis back, Susan.

SUSAN: Yes, at Kublai Khan's court when it's too late. We should be up there. Another time, another galaxy.

BARBARA: We'll think of something.

SUSAN: How? Ian's playing chess with Marco. Grandfather's being rude and sulking by himself.

BARBARA: Oh, I don't think he's sulking, is he?

SUSAN: Well, he won't eat. He won't even talk to me.

BARBARA: Well, you know him better than I do, but I'd have said he was just feeling defenceless. He has a wonderful machine, capable of all sorts of miracles, and it's taken away from him by a man he calls a primitive. Look, Tardis is the only home we have at the moment. When we're in it we feel safe and secure. When we're out of it.

SUSAN: Will he talk to me? Confide in me?

BARBARA: Oh, he's like a rubber ball. He'll come bouncing out of there soon full of ideas.

SUSAN: One day we'll know all the mysteries of the skies, and we'll stop our wandering.

BARBARA: Then you and I will say goodbye.

SUSAN: Oh, not yet. Not for a long time.

BARBARA: Well, I think we should say goodnight anyway.

SUSAN: Are you coming?

BARBARA: No, not for the moment.

SUSAN: Goodnight.

[Tent]

(Susan enters.)

SUSAN: Ping-Cho?

POLO: Shh. She's gone to bed.

SUSAN: Oh, well, I'll go too then. Goodnight.

POLO: Goodnight, Susan. Sleep well. Now, what was I about to do? Ah yes.

IAN: Ouch.

[The girl's compartment]

SUSAN: Not asleep yet?

PING-CHO: No, I was thinking.

SUSAN: What about?

PING-CHO: How peaceful it is in the desert.

SUSAN: Oh, it's a lovely night.

PING-CHO: The moon will rise later. That is the time to see the desert. It is like a great silver sea.

SUSAN: The metal seas of Venus.

PING-CHO: Where?

SUSAN: Oh, a long way from here. I've never seen a moonlit night. How long before the moon rises?

PING-CHO: Two or three hours. I'll call you then.

[Tent]

BARBARA: Night in the desert is very beautiful.

POLO: Don't be deceived by it, Miss Wright, the desert is always dangerous.

IAN: Like my Queen. Check.

TEGANA: Marco, can you save your King?

POLO: I think so, Tegana. Check.

[Outside the girls' compartment]

(The moon has risen, and the Milky Way is in full view too.)

SUSAN: Oh crazy. Hey, Ping-Cho.

PING-CHO: Shh. The guard'll hear you. Crazy?

SUSAN: We like dig it. You know, like it.

PING-CHO: This language of yours is very strange.

(Tegana comes out of the main tent and talks to a guard.)

SUSAN: Tegana. Let's follow him.

PING-CHO: He'll be angry.

SUSAN: You're not afraid?

PING-CHO: No. I am not. Come.

[Tent]

(The two men are woken by the sound of neighing.)

IAN: What is it, Marco?

POLO: The horses are very restless.

[Outside the tent]

POLO: There's a sandstorm coming, Ian.

IAN: How do you know?

POLO: Notice how still it is. As if everything were waiting. They sense it too.

IAN: Will it be a bad one?

POLO: Bad enough. I must attend to the horses.

[Desert]

(Susan and Ping-Cho are trying to follow Tegana.)

SUSAN: He walks so quickly. Can you still see him?

PING-CHO: Yes. There he is, over there.

SUSAN: Oh, let's give up.

PING-CHO: Who is afraid now?

SUSAN: No, I'm not afraid. It's just that it's so hot I can hardly breathe.

PING-CHO: Yet it was most pleasant when we left the caravan.

SUSAN: Oh, come on, let's go back.

PING-CHO: All right. Susan? Listen.

SUSAN: What's that?

PING-CHO: Where?

SUSAN: That cloud on the horizon.

PING-CHO: Susan, it's a sandstorm!

SUSAN: What! It's coming this way! Ping-Cho, we must get back before it reaches us!

PING-CHO: No, the caravan's too far away!

SUSAN: No, come on! We must get back. We can't stay here!

PING-CHO: No, we'll get caught in it, and we'll never find our way!

SUSAN: Ping-Cho, come on!

PING-CHO: No, we must shelter here!

SUSAN: No.

(The storm catches them, and their screams are barely audible over the noise of the sand.)

[Tent]

BARBARA: Ian, what is it? What's happened?

IAN: Don't be afraid, Barbara. It's a sandstorm. It sounds as if all the devils in hell were laughing.

POLO: It's the wind shifting the sand.

BARBARA: It's terrifying!

POLO: Not always, Barbara. Sometimes, it sounds like musical instruments being played. The clashing of drums and cymbals. I've heard it sound like a great many people talking as they trekked across the desert. It can also be like a familiar voice calling your name. You're not the only one to be afraid. Travellers of the Gobi Desert have good reason to fear the singing sands, Barbara.

IAN: It's fantastic that the doctor's still asleep.

POLO: Tegana's not here. His bed's empty.

IAN: What?

POLO: Has anyone seen him?

IAN: Well, he can't be out in this.

POLO: He must be.

BARBARA: Well, what will happen to him?

POLO: If he finds shelter, he'll be all right.

BARBARA: Well, can't we do anything?

POLO: Nothing.

BARBARA: I think I'll see if the girls are all right. Ping-Cho?

POLO: Tegana's no fool. He can look after himself. Don't worry.

BARBARA: They're gone. They're not there!

IAN: Gone?

POLO: Barbara, you can't go out there!

BARBARA: Let go!

POLO: Barbara, you'll be lost in seconds!

IAN: Calm down, Barbara! Marco's right. There's nothing we can do.

BARBARA: The girls.

POLO: We must wait until the storm calms down. There's nothing we can do now.

BARBARA: Oh, it's all your fault anyway! If you hadn't kept us prisoner here, none of this would have happened. Susan! Susan!

[Desert]

(The girls are cowering in the sandstorm when they hear the name 'Susan' being called in the wind.)

SUSAN: Ping-Cho, what's that? There it is again. It's Ian. I can hear him. Ian! Ian! Ian! We're here. Ian!

(then she screams)

[Tent]

IAN: Let me go look for them.

POLO: Not until it's light.

IAN: Let me go as soon as the storm is over.

POLO: Ian, you'd miss them in the dark. You must wait until it's light.

(In the desert, Susan stops screaming when she recognises Tegana.)

(Later, the sand storm has passed.)

BARBARA: We can't just go on sitting here.

IAN: Shh. The Doctor's still asleep. We don't want him to know about the girls.

POLO: Barbara, I give you my word that until we find the girls, we will not leave this place.

(Tegana, Ping-Cho and Susan enter.)

BARBARA: Susan! Do you know you had us half worried to death. Where have you been?

SUSAN: We went for a walk.

BARBARA: A walk?

POLO: Without asking me? Don't you dare do that again, do you understand? That also applies for you, Ping-Cho.

SUSAN: I'm sorry, Messer Marco. Has Grandfather been very worried?

IAN: Luckily for you, he's been asleep the whole time.

POLO: And we don't want him to know anything about this. I'm surprised that you'd encourage such a venture, Tegana.

TEGANA: oh, they weren't with me. I found them, crouched behind a sand dune.

POLO: You were alone?

TEGANA: Well, it was a pleasant night. I decided for a walk. I told the guard. He knew all about it.

POLO: In future, the guards will be told to notify me immediately if any of you wish to leave the camp. Now go and change. We have to break camp soon.

SUSAN: Yes, Messer Marco.

(Tegana, Ping-Cho and Susan leave.)

BARBARA: This has been a terrible experience for us all, Marco. Couldn't we spend one more night here?

POLO: I'm sorry, Miss Wright.

BARBARA: But surely one day can't make all that much difference?

POLO: One day without progress is one day's water wasted, And in the Gobi Desert that could mean the difference between life and death.

POLO [OC]: Progress today has been good, although we were all very tired after a sleepless night. How can I ever repay Tegana for saving Ping-Cho and Susan? We covered fifteen miles before I gave the order to set up camp for the night.

[The girls' compartment]

PING-CHO: Susan? Susan.

SUSAN: I still can't get this sand out of my hair.

PING-CHO: Last night there were moments when I was sure I would never be here again.

SUSAN: Ping-Cho, did you believe Tegana last night, when he told Messer Marco about going for a walk?

PING-CHO: Why not?

SUSAN: Well, I don't think Tegana's the kind of man who goes for a walk just because it's a nice night. I think he goes because he has a reason to go.

PING-CHO: Susan, why would he lie to Messer Marco?

SUSAN: I don't know.

PING-CHO: He's an important man. He's a special emissary of the great Mongol leader who has been at war with Kublai Khan. Tegana is to arrange a peaceful settlement between them. Would a man like that lie about walking in the desert?

SUSAN: No, no, he wouldn't. That's what's so strange.

PING-CHO: What?

SUSAN: The fact that he did.

[Tent]

(Tegana is polishing his sword and Polo is writing in his journal.)

TEGANA: What is that you do?

POLO: I keep a journal.

TEGANA: Why?

POLO: Because it interests me.

TEGANA: Marco!

(Tegana comes at Polo with his sword, but Marco has his own weapon ready.)

TEGANA: That's excellent, excellent. But it's better a man keeps the blade of his sword clean, and it's edge sharp. You continue your writing, Marco. I'll see to the horses tonight. I'll give the guard his instructions.

POLO: No, send him to me. Please.

(Outside, Tegana lures away the guard from the supply wagon, then slashes all but one of the water gourds.)

[Outside the tent]

(In the morning, Polo, Ian and Barbara are surveying the sabotage.)

IAN: All of them, Marco?

POLO: Yes, except for the one we're using.

IAN: How much is there left?

POLO: Without rationing, enough for today.

IAN: And with rationing, how long will it last?

POLO: Three, four days.

BARBARA: Enough to get us back to Lop?

POLO: If we're very careful with it, yes.

IAN: But who would have done it?

POLO: Bandits, Ian.

BARBARA: Bandits? In the desert?

POLO: Yes, it has happened before, but not to me. The bandits follow a caravan out into the desert. Then one night, this happens. The caravan is forced to turn back. Then when everyone is weak through lack of water, the bandits attack.

IAN: So if we turn back, we're bound to be attacked.

POLO: Yes.

TEGANA: Then we shall fight.

IAN: There must be somewhere else we can go to.

POLO: The nearest is a small oasis, but that's one weeks journey north from here.

IAN: Marco, if we pressed really hard, walked day and night, how long would it take us?

POLO: Five, possibly six days.

IAN: As long as that?

POLO: Yes, and with the water rationed we'll be growing weaker all the time. There is another danger, Ian. Bandits always camp near an oasis.

BARBARA: Then we must go back to Lop.

IAN: But they're bound to be waiting for us there. No, we must go north, and take a chance.

POLO: Yes, what Ian says makes sense. We go to the oasis.

TEGANA: We shall all die of thirst. I will not go.

POLO: Then what will you do?

TEGANA: Return to Lop. I'm not afraid of any bandits. Just give me my share of the water.

POLO: No, Tegana.

TEGANA: You refuse the War Lord Tegana?

POLO: I am Commander of this caravan, and I am responsible to Kublai Khan for your safety. We go north together.

POLO [OC]: Have I made the right decision? Each day, our progress towards the oasis becomes less. On the first day, we covered twenty miles. On the second, fifteen. The third, ten. The fourth day's total was eight. Now on the fifth day we have travelled only two miles before the heat of the sun has forced us to stop. We are nearly exhausted, and our situation is perilous.

[Desert]

(They are in the shade of an awning, sharing a little water.)

POLO: The worst of the sun is nearly over. We must move on again as soon we've had this.

IAN: The bearers have their ration?

(The water runs out when Polo gets to Ian.)

POLO: No.

IAN: You take it.

POLO: We will share.

DOCTOR: Marco, is this all we're going to get until tonight, hmm?

POLO: Until we reach the oasis, Doctor, yes.

BARBARA: There's no more?

TEGANA: How much further?

POLO: I cannot say.

TEGANA: I will go to the oasis and bring back water.

POLO: You think you could reach the oasis?

TEGANA: Yes. My horse is still the strongest.

POLO: Very well, Tegana.

TEGANA: You wait for me here.

POLO: No. No, while we can we'll push on towards the oasis.

IAN: Good luck, Tegana!

(Tegana rides off.)

POLO: We must go.

DOCTOR: Susan.

(The Doctor collapses.)

SUSAN: Oh, Grandfather! What's the matter with him?

IAN: He's exhausted.

POLO: We'll fix up a cot for him in the wagon.

BARBARA: To be jostled and bumped about? He needs to rest in comfort, Marco. What about the Tardis?

IAN: He'd be more comfortable, Marco.

SUSAN: Please, Messer Marco.

POLO: Very well. The Doctor can travel in his own caravan. Susan, you can go with him. But you, Barbara, and you, Ian, must remain with me.

IAN: Thank you. Marco, without water, the Doctor isn't going to last twenty four hours.

POLO: None of us are, Ian, without water. Our fate rests with Tegana.

[Oasis]

(Tegana arrives, drinks and refills his gourd.)

TEGANA: Here's water, Marco Polo. (pours it on the sand) Come for it!

Episode Three - Five Hundred Eyes

POLO [OC]: What has happened to Tegana? Is he lost? Perhaps he never found the oasis. But in the hope he did, I inched our caravan forward through the night. What misery. A bitterly cold wind swept down from the north and set us shivering as we stumbled on. I fear the end is not far off.

[Camp]

POLO: No sign of Tegana.

IAN: Nothing but sand.

POLO: Tegana is our only hope now.

BARBARA: Surely, he should be back by now.

POLO: He would not start back from the oasis in the dark for fear of missing us.

PING-CHO: Then we must get going.

POLO: Yes.

IAN: Hot again soon, Marco. Hadn't we better get started?

POLO: We would not get very far, Ian. No, we must wait here.

BARBARA: The Doctor and Susan are still in the Tardis.

IAN: Let them sleep, Barbara.

[Tardis]

(The Doctor is woken by water dripping onto his face.)

DOCTOR: Water! Susan, Susan, child. Susan, wake up. Wake up, quickly! Fetch some cloth and cups.

SUSAN: All right, Grandfather.

DOCTOR: We must catch the water. We mustn't waste a drop! Come along, child, wake up, quickly! Look at it, streaming down the walls. Look. We must collect it. It's water!

SUSAN: Water!

DOCTOR: We must. Quickly, quickly, before the ship heats up in the sun. Hurry, child. Hurry, please.

[Camp]

(Only Ian is still on his feet.)

IAN: Not a sign of him.

(Susan comes out of the Tardis.)

SUSAN: Water! Look! Water!

DOCTOR: Please wait. We must be careful.

POLO: This is in your caravan?

DOCTOR: Yes, but it's not pure water you see.

POLO: You told me you weren't carrying any, Doctor!

DOCTOR: I haven't got any water, don't you understand. I wouldn't allow us to get into this state if I had water, young man. No, this was the water that was running off the walls. It's condensation. It's unbelievable. Condensation, do you understand?

POLO: No, I do not understand!

DOCTOR: Chesterton, make him understand. It was condensation off the walls and I

POLO: The old man lied to me!

SUSAN: No, he did not lie.

IAN: Marco, you remember, last night it was cold. Bitterly cold, Marco. The outside of the caravan cooled, but the inside stayed warm, and so moisture formed on the inside. It's condensation, we just call it that. It's just a name.

SUSAN: That's true, Messer Marco. It was running down the walls, and from the ceiling. We, we took it in this, look, we squeezed it in here. You see?

DOCTOR: You understand now?

POLO: I have seen this happen. Let me see you drink it.

DOCTOR: Not too much. Steady.

(Barbara takes a sip.)

[Oasis]

(The caravan joins Tegana.)

TEGANA: There were bandits here last night when I arrived, so I had to wait in hiding until this morning when they left. And then when I prepared to leave for you, I saw your caravan coming across the desert towards me.

POLO: Had the Doctor not discovered water, you might have been too late to save us, Tegana.

BARBARA: And are those bandits likely to return?

TEGANA: No, I overheard them saying they were going to ride for Karakorum.

BARBARA: Karakorum? That used to be to the north, on the great Steppes.

POLO: It still is, Barbara. Well, the sooner we leave here the better.

BARBARA: But, Marco

POLO: This oasis is dangerous, Barbara. We must leave here as soon as possible.

BARBARA: Marco, we're all in need of rest, and the Doctor is still very weak.

POLO: We will stay here until tomorrow morning, no longer. Please tell the others.

(She leaves Polo and Tegana alone.)

POLO: What amuses you?

TEGANA: You don't really believe their story, do you, of water forming inside a caravan?

POLO: Yes. I know it to be true.

(meanwhile, elsewhere)

DOCTOR: I think I can repair the circuit in a week, maybe less.

BARBARA: We're leaving here tomorrow.

DOCTOR: Oh, we're always rushing around. A good day's rest would do us all a lot of good.

BARBARA: Marco's worried about bandits.

DOCTOR: Oh, rubbish.

BARBARA: Tegana said there were some here last night. Well, if they were, they were very clean about it.

IAN: What do you mean?

BARBARA: Look, last night was very cold, but there's no sign of a fire having been lit.

IAN: Perhaps they didn't want anyone to know they'd been here.

BARBARA: Yes, that may be. But I think Tegana just used the bandits as an excuse for not coming back to us with water.

IAN: Maybe. Well, the thing to do is to ask Tegana.

TEGANA: Ask Tegana what?

IAN: How many bandits were there here last night?

TEGANA: Twelve.

IAN: It was a cold night. Didn't they light a fire?

POLO: If they had, Ian, the remains would still be visible. Doctor?

DOCTOR: Well?

POLO: Barbara may have told you that we're leaving here tomorrow, so get all the rest you can today. You may use your caravan again, but before we leave in the morning, it will be locked and the key handed over to me.

DOCTOR: Young man, you have no concept of what is happening, have you? And you still don't seem to realise that you're speaking to a man of superior intellect.

POLO [OC]: My conscience pricks me. I was adamant despite the Doctor's protests, that the key and his caravan should be handed over to me. Now we journey on across this burning desert and I shall not rest until I see the temple spires of the city of Tun-Huang.

[Tun-Huang Way Station]

(The Tardis has been placed in the courtyard.)

SUSAN: I've never seen so many temples in my life.

PING-CHO: Tun-Huang is a famous city, Susan.

SUSAN: Yes.

BARBARA: Isn't the cave of the Thousand Buddhas near here?

SUSAN: Thousand Buddhas?

POLO: Yes. Have you heard of the cave of the Five Hundred Eyes?

BARBARA: No, I haven't.

PING-CHO: I do not know that one either, Messer Marco.

BARBARA: I'm intrigued by this cave, Marco. Why is it called Five Hundred Eyes?

POLO: On the walls are painted the faces of two hundred and fifty evil men who once lived there. They were the Hashashins.

SUSAN: Hashashins?

POLO: Yes, and they were so called because they used a drug, hashish.

SUSAN: Are there still Hashashins in the cave?

POLO: No, Susan. They were put to the sword twenty years ago by a great Mongol conqueror called Hulagu.

PING-CHO: There is a story of Hulagu and the Hashashins.

SUSAN: Oh, tell it to us, Ping-Cho.

PING-CHO: Later, if you wish.

SUSAN: Why not now?

PING-CHO: It needs preparation.

SUSAN: Oh.

[Courtyard]

DOCTOR: It seems we shall be stopping here for a while. It means I can get on with more work.

IAN: Huh?

DOCTOR: Repairing the circuit, young man.

IAN: Aren't you forgetting something, Doctor?

DOCTOR: Don't you realise they will be much less vigilant? I shall be able to sneak into the Tardis, no worry at all.

IAN: Yes, but you've given Marco Polo the key.

DOCTOR: A key, my boy. A key. What use do you think it's going to be to him, hmmm? And where do you suppose I got that from?

IAN: I have no idea.

DOCTOR: I made it.

IAN: Made it? When?

DOCTOR: On the night of the oasis. Only chance I had. She knows all about it, don't you, Susan?

SUSAN: Yes.

IAN: You crafty old fox.

SUSAN: Grandfather?

DOCTOR: Yes?

SUSAN: What do you know about the Hashashin?

DOCTOR: Well, now, let me think, let me think. Yes, they were some kind of sect. Why?

SUSAN: Well, Ping-Cho knows a story and she's going to tell us about it.

DOCTOR: Oh, how delightful. Yes, yes, why not?

[Tun-Huang Way Station]

BARBARA: Ian, Ian, I must talk to you.

IAN: What is it?

BARBARA: It's about Tegana. I caught him off-guard.

IAN: Shh. Later. Come and sit over here.

BARBARA: No, I'll be all right over here.

SUSAN: Ping-Cho. Oh, Ping-Cho, are you ready?

PING-CHO: I am ready, Susan.

SUSAN: Oh, good.

PING-CHO: Gracious maidens, gentle lords, pray attend me while I tell my tale of Ala-eddin, the Old Man of the Mountains, who by devious schemes, evil designs and foul murders ruled the land.

No host of arms, no vast array of banners served this wicked lord. They were but few, ruthless, reckless men who obeyed his cruel commands.

Thus did he persuade them.

Promising paradise, he gave his followers a potent draught and whilst they slept transported them to a vale where streams of milk and honey, wine and water, flowed.

Here were gardens and flowers of every hue and essence. Here, too Golden pavilions outshone the sun and even the stars of heaven envied the bejewelled interiors strewn with incomparable silks, tapestries, and treasures.

Hand-maidens, dulcet-voiced, soft of face, attended them, and thus bemused did they dwell in this man-made paradise until Ala-eddin intent upon some evil deed, proffered again the hashish draught and brought them sleeping to his castle.

What lord, are we cast out of paradise? Awakening, they cried.

Not so. Go abroad, seek out my enemies and strike them down. But care not for your lives. Paradise is eternal.

So terror stalked the land for many years. Then one day, came mighty Hulagu to stand before Ala-eddin's lair for three long years in siege. Thus fell Ala-eddin and his men.

Now honest hands reap harvests of life From the soil where death and evil reigned. And those who journey through the vale are heard to say 'tis truly paradise today.

(A well deserved round of applause.)

(Barbara follows Tegana leaving the room)

DOCTOR: That was really delightful, Ping-Cho.

PING-CHO: My lord is kind.

POLO: Thank you, Ping-Cho.

IAN: Charming, Ping-Cho, charming. Susan, do you know that we use the word Hashashin in English today?

SUSAN: No.

IAN: Yes. Assassins.

SUSAN: Assassin!

IAN: Yes.

SUSAN: Ping-Cho, is the lair of Ala-eddin near here?

PING-CHO: No, Susan. It was on a mountain called Mount Alumet in Persia.

SUSAN: Persia? But Messer Marco said that Hulagu killed the Hashashins near here.

POLO: So he did, Susan. Some of Ala-eddin's followers lived near here, in the cave of Five Hundred Eyes.

[Cave of 500 Eyes]

TEGANA: Malik? Malik?

MALIK: Who calls my name?

TEGANA: Tegana, the Mongol War Lord.

MALIK: We have waited for you Tegana.

TEGANA: You need wait no more, old man. What news from Noghai?

MALIK: You shall hear it. You shall hear it. Come, follow me.

(Tegana follows Malik along a passage. Malik twists a stalactite and a secret door opens to reveal...)

[Inner Chamber]

ACOMAT: Welcome.

TEGANA: Acomat! What news from Noghai?

ACOMAT: He has formed his army and marches now for Karakorum.

TEGANA: Good.

ACOMAT: Where he will await news of your success.

TEGANA: I will not fail him.

ACOMAT: You failed at Lop. You were to meet our courier on the third night in the desert.

TEGANA: There was a sandstorm.

ACOMAT: He did not return.

MALIK: Before the courier left, he spoke of gift to Noghai.

TEGANA: Yes, a caravan that flies. It belongs to an old magician who accompanies us. Polo's taking it to the Kublai Khan.

ACOMAT: With such a caravan, Noghai would be invincible.

TEGANA: Yes, that is why you must capture it. You will attack our caravan as we're going to Shang-Tu.

ACOMAT: It shall be done.

TEGANA: And then, deliver it to Noghai.

ACOMAT: And Polo and those that go with him? What of them? Kill them?

TEGANA: Of course.

(A Mongol whispers to Malik.)

MALIK: Did a woman accompany you here?

TEGANA: No.

MALIK: There is one in the outer cave now.

(Barbara is feeling her way along the passage. She gets to the dead end and turns back to the entrance, where a Mongol is waiting to grab her. Obligatory scream.)

[Tun-Huang Way Station]

POLO: This is the most dangerous thing she could have done! What kind of country do you come from where a woman can wander alone through the streets at night?

TEGANA: You will never find her alive in Tun-Huang.

IAN: We won't find her sitting here.

POLO: Wait, Ian. We will search together. The city is divided into distinct areas. Tegana, you will take one, we will take another. We will meet back here in two hours time.

IAN: Let's get started.

DOCTOR: Do you need my help?

POLO: No, Doctor, you stay here. And nobody else move.

(Ian, Polo and Tegana leave.)

DOCTOR: Don't worry, child. We'll find her. Don't worry.

[Courtyard]

(It is night, and a spy is watching as the Doctor sneaks across to the Tardis.)

SUSAN: Grandfather. Grandfather. Don't worry about Ping-Cho, you can trust her.

DOCTOR: Well, it looks as though I must, doesn't it? What is it, hmm?

SUSAN: We think we might know where Barbara is.

DOCTOR: Oh, where?

PING-CHO: Messer Marco was telling us about the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes.

SUSAN: Yes, and Barbara was very interested. So we thought she might have gone off to a look without asking anybody, because Messer Marco might have tried to stop her.

DOCTOR: Do you know where this Cave of Five Hundred Eyes is?

PING-CHO: I do not know, my lord, but Chenchu would know.

(The spy comes out of hiding.)

DOCTOR: Aha, my friend! And how long have you been lurking there, hmmm?

CHENCHU: I arrived this very moment my lord.

DOCTOR: Where is the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes?

CHENCHU: The Cave of Five Hundred

DOCTOR: Yes. Where is it?

CHENCHU: On the road to Su-Chow, my Lord. Set back against the foothills.

DOCTOR: Well, how far is it from here?

CHENCHU: About a third of a league, my lord.

DOCTOR: A mile, a mile, yes. Now you two go back in there and wait. Go along, go along, go along.

CHENCHU: My lord is going there now, at this time of night? But it is haunted, my lord. The spirits of the Hashashins walk. You should not go, my lord.

SUSAN: You mustn't go there alone, Grandfather. And anyway, we must stay with you.

PING-CHO: Messer Marco will be angry. He told us to stay here.

DOCTOR: Never mind about him. Which road?

CHENCHU: The road to Su-Chow.

SUSAN: Grandfather, you'll never find it on your own. Come on.

DOCTOR: Yes, all right, if you insist. Then come along, both of you, quickly.

CHENCHU: Do not go, my lord. Not at night. You will not come back alive!

[Cave of 500 Eyes]

(The Doctor, Susan and Ping-Cho enter.)

PING-CHO: Frightening.

SUSAN: Look at those eyes.

PING-CHO: I'd prefer not to, Susan.

DOCTOR: How extraordinary. Look. Yes, it's quartz. Yes, a mineral ore. Look, you see the veins going through the rock structure. And look how cleverly that face is carved so that at the eye the quartz is exposed. Now, isn't that interesting, hmm?

SUSAN: Grandfather, we're supposed to be looking for Barbara.

DOCTOR: Hmm? Barbara? Oh yes, of course. Yes, yes, we mustn't waste time. No. Come on. Now, let's see if we can find the spirits.

[Tun-Huang Way Station]

CHENCHU: My lord?

TEGANA: Oh, it's you.

CHENCHU: He's gone, my lord.

TEGANA: Gone?

CHENCHU: The old lord has gone. After you had gone, the young ladies approached me. They were looking for him.

TEGANA: Well, wasn't he in his room?

CHENCHU: Not so, my lord. He was out there. That's where they found him. That's why I came and told you, my lord. But he forced me to tell him the way to the cave.

TEGANA: What cave?

CHENCHU: He forced me, my lord. He forced me.

TEGANA: What cave!

CHENCHU: The Cave of Five Hundred Eyes.

TEGANA: You fool!

CHENCHU: He forced me.

[Cave of 500 Eyes]

DOCTOR: A fool's errand, it's a fool's errand, child. That's what you've brought me on. And I had so much work to do in the Tardis. Now, come along, we mustn't waste any more time here. Barbara's probably in bed and asleep by now. If you had any sense, where both of you should be.

(Ping-Cho finds a dropped handkerchief.)

PING-CHO: My lord, look.

DOCTOR: Hmmm?

SUSAN: That's Barbara's. She must have been here. Barbara!

PING-CHO: Miss Wright! SUSAN: Barbara!

(In the secret chamber, one Mongol has a knife at Barbara's throat whilst another looks through a peep-hole in the wall.)

SUSAN: Barbara!

PING-CHO: Miss Wright!

DOCTOR: Miss Wright!

SUSAN: Barbara! Barbara! Barbara! (screams) They moved! The eyes moved!

Episode Four - The Wall of Lies

[Tun-Huang Way Station]

CHENCHU: Oh, Tegana took a horse, and rode off.

POLO: To the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes?

CHENCHU: So I believe my lord.

POLO: When will your companions realise I know what I'm talking about when I say it's dangerous to wander about at night? First Barbara, and now the Doctor goes off, taking Susan and Ping-Cho with him.

IAN: All right, Marco, you can be angry later. Let's get to this cave. Do you know where it is?

POLO: Yes.

[Cave of 500 Eyes]

(The Doctor is examining the eyes.)

DOCTOR: It must be your imagination, child. These eyes didn't move. It's quartz.

SUSAN: I saw them move, Grandfather. I swear I did.

DOCTOR: Oh rubbish, child.

PING-CHO: Look. Look.

DOCTOR: Tegana!

TEGANA: What are you doing here?

DOCTOR: If you must know, sir, we are looking for Miss Wright.

TEGANA: Well, why would she be in this cave?

DOCTOR: I think this is your answer. We found it.

(the handkerchief)

TEGANA: You found that here?

SUSAN: Yes. Over there.

TEGANA: In the passageway. It is not wise to remain in these caves. They are possessed with evil spirits.

DOCTOR: I'm not afraid of ghosts.

TEGANA: Oh, yes, I forgot. You're the magician, aren't you?

IAN [OC]: Doctor? Susan?

SUSAN: That's Ian. Ian!

IAN [OC]: Susan!

SUSAN: Ian!

DOCTOR: Ian!

IAN [OC]: Doctor, where are you?

SUSAN: Ian! Over here!

DOCTOR: Over here.

IAN [OC]: Doctor!

SUSAN: Round the corner!

DOCTOR: Over here, my boy.

IAN: Doctor! Ah. Have you found Barbara?

SUSAN: No.

DOCTOR: Just this handkerchief. We found that over there.

IAN: This is Barbara's.

TEGANA: Leave before the spirits are angered.

DOCTOR: This man thinks this cave is haunted.

PING-CHO: He's not the only one. Susan saw the eyes in one of the faces move.

DOCTOR: Oh, rubbish, child, rubbish.

IAN: Which face, Susan?

SUSAN: This one here.

IAN: Marco, quick. Look!

TEGANA: Do not strike them down, great spirits of Hashashin. Depart! The War Lord Tegana entreats you.

IAN: Is it safe for us to look now?

TEGANA: Do as you will.

(Tegana leaves.)

DOCTOR: Well, what are you looking for, Chesterton?

IAN: Susan was right. She did see the eyes move.

DOCTOR: Oh, rubbish, rubbish.

SUSAN: Of course I did.

DOCTOR: What proof have you?

IAN: I've just seen them move myself. Look. These eyes you see here have been set in from behind. There must be some sort of a room behind this rock face. Look, there's a crack. There's a door here.

POLO: Yes. All we need now is to find out how to open it.

(The door swings open without their help.)

POLO: Ian!

(A Mongol is about to kill Barbara, so Polo overpowers him. Ian unties Barbara.)

IAN: It's all right, Barbara.

BARBARA: There were four of them. They played dice to see who'd kill me, and he won. He won.

IAN: All right Barbara. You're safe now Barbara. Safe now. Don't worry.

[Tun-Huang Way Station]

POLO: We were just in time, Tegana. A moment or two later, and she would have been killed.

TEGANA: What is that to you?

POLO: I'm responsible for their safety.

TEGANA: Why not let them go on their way.

POLO: My conscience does not permit it. Look, I took their caravan away from them. The least I can do is see them safely on their way home.

TEGANA: You think they hold you in such esteem?

POLO: The Doctor, no, with good reason. The others, yes.

TEGANA: Marco, which one leads them?

POLO: The Doctor.

TEGANA: And leaders are obeyed. Has not that cunning Susan already won Ping-Cho from your side?

POLO: She's a child, Tegana.

TEGANA: Only a fool defends his enemies. Be warned, Marco. They will set us at each other's throats by lies and deceit, and then, when they have divided us, then they will destroy us one by one.

POLO: They are harmless, Tegana.

TEGANA: Harmless? They possess a caravan that flies.

POLO: What power they have is locked inside it, and I have the key.

TEGANA: This very evening, Marco, when we were out looking for this Barbara, Chenchu thought the old man was in his room and he was not. Marco, he was out there with his caravan.

POLO: What are you saying?

TEGANA: I'm saying, does a magician need a key to open a door?

(Ian, Barbara, Susan and Ping-Cho enter.)

POLO: How are you feeling?

BARBARA: Still bit shaky.

POLO: You realise you're most fortunate to be alive.

BARBARA: Yes, I know.

POLO: Why did you go to the cave? You know my rule about obtaining permission to leave here.

IAN: Tell him, Barbara.

BARBARA: I followed Tegana there.

TEGANA: Me? I've only been there once, and you were there when I arrived.

BARBARA: But that's not true. I followed you there.

TEGANA: I have only been there once.

BARBARA: But why would I lie? I was almost killed.

POLO: Be quiet!

TEGANA: Mark well all that I have said.

POLO: Tegana.

TEGANA: My friend, mark it well.

(Tegana leaves, then eavesdrops from the top of the stairs.)

POLO: Ping-Cho, you will remove your belongings to another room. From this night on, you will not share with Susan again.

PING-CHO: But Messer Marco

POLO: Obey me!

POLO [OC]: Poor Susan and Ping-Cho. Yet what alternative had I but to separate them? Now my caravan seethes with suspicion and discontent as we journey south-west. The route takes us to the ancient cities of Su-Chow and Kan-Chow, where the Great Wall of Cathay begins. Following the wall, we travel south to Lan-Chow, which lies on the banks of the Yellow River. Here, our route swings north, and with the river always in sight, we journey towards Shang-Tu.

[Tent]

DOCTOR: The trouble is, Polo's change of attitude has slowed down my progress on the circuit.

IAN: I think you've done brilliantly to make any progress at all, Doctor.

BARBARA: How much longer do you think you'll need?

DOCTOR: Well, with a bit more time, and a lot of luck, I should say about another night.

BARBARA: But that's marvellous, Doctor.

DOCTOR: The following evening will even be better.

BARBARA: And that's when we say goodbye to Marco Polo.

DOCTOR: Yes, and a jolly good riddance.

BARBARA: Well, I shall be jolly glad to leave here. In fact, the only regrets I'll have will be for Susan.

DOCTOR: What do you mean?

BARBARA: Oh, I think she and Ping-Cho are very fond of each other. It's a pity they've been kept apart so much.

DOCTOR: It's a pity there was any association at all. That Chinese child makes me nervous.

IAN: What on Earth do you mean?

DOCTOR: She found out about the key.

IAN: What?

DOCTOR: Yes, on the night that Barbara was captured. Susan and Ping-Cho thought Barbara had gone down to the cave and met with an accident, so they came looking for me just as I was about to enter the Tardis. It was then Ping-Cho saw the key.

[Outside the tent]

SUSAN: Ping-Cho, what's the matter?

PING-CHO: For me this journey, in spite of all the dangers, was the happiest time of my life, until Tun-Huang.

SUSAN: What did Tegana say to make Messer Marco change so much? Did you ask Messer Marco?

PING-CHO: A hundred times, but he remains silent.

SUSAN: If only we could find out. If only we could prove that Tegana had seen the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes before.

PING-CHO: It won't make much difference soon.

SUSAN: Why not?

PING-CHO: You will be leaving.

SUSAN: Leaving?

PING-CHO: Your grandfather must have nearly finished the work in your caravan by now.

SUSAN: Ping-Cho, he has.

PING-CHO: Will you go home? Will you say goodbye to me before you leave?

SUSAN: Of course I will.

PING-CHO: Even if it is very late?

SUSAN: No matter what time of night it is. Hey, this'll cheer you up.

PING-CHO: What?

SUSAN: I'd forgotten you knew anything about the key.

(But Tegana has been eavesdropping.)

POLO [OC]: For the past three days, I have followed the course of the Yellow River as it flows north to the small town of Sinju, which lies nestled against the Great Wall.

[Sinju Way Station Courtyard]

POLO: Have you seen my clothing bag, Tegana?

TEGANA: Er, yes, it's in the passageway outside your door.

POLO: Thank you.

TEGANA: Oh, I want to go into town.

POLO: Very well.

TEGANA: Thank you.

(Polo and Tegana leave.)

PING-CHO: The passageway. Why have I not thought of it before? Susan? Susan, I've got proof. I can prove it!

SUSAN: What?

PING-CHO: That Tegana lied.

POLO: You can prove what?

PING-CHO: Messer Marco, do you remember Tegana's reply when Miss Wright said she had followed him to the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes?

POLO: Yes, he said he'd never been there before.

PING-CHO: He lied, Messer Marco.

POLO: You bring a very serious charge, Ping-Cho. I hope you have proof.

PING-CHO: When he came into the cave, Susan's grandfather showed him Miss Wright's handkerchief, saying we had found it over there, and the old lord pointed to a dark corner of the cave. And do you remember what he said? He asked if we had found it in the passageway.

POLO: Well?

PING-CHO: If he had never been to the cave before, how could he know that the dark corner was a passageway?

SUSAN: Yes.

POLO: This is your proof? You call this evidence?

PING-CHO: Yes, Messer Marco.

POLO: And on these grounds you dare to call the War Lord Tegana a liar? You foolish child, how dare you make such a reckless accusation. Believe me, it will take much more than this to shake my confidence in Tegana.

[Tea Room]

ACOMAT: It was your fault. You should have killed them all when you

TEGANA: You listen to me, Acomat, and you listen well. The day after tomorrow, the caravan sets out to cross the bamboo forest. On the second night, I shall silence the guard, and then when all is well, I shall signal you with a burning torch. Then you will move in and slaughter them all. But with stealth, mind you.

ACOMAT: And the magician's caravan?

TEGANA: You will send that on to Noghai, whilst I will continue on to Shang-Tu with terrible stories of bandit attacks.

ACOMAT: Polo?

TEGANA: Well, I should let Polo die like an old woman in her bed.

ACOMAT: The old magician. How can you kill him?

TEGANA: With a stake through the heart.

[Sinju Way Station door]

(Night)

DOCTOR: There isn't very much more to do. I won't be long. Keep your eyes open.

BARBARA: Yes.

(But there's a guard posted near Tardis, so the Doctor hides and waits until he walks away. Then he uses the real key to let himself into the Tardis.)

(Barbara sees Tegana enter the courtyard and go to look at the Tardis. She goes back inside.)

[Sinju Way Station]

BARBARA: Ian?

(As the Doctor works in the Tardis, Barbara talks to Ian and Susan.)

BARBARA: I think Tegana must have seen him going into it.

IAN: Where's Tegana now?

BARBARA: I don't know.

IAN: Stay here.

(Ian looks around the courtyard.)

IAN: Not a sign of him. Where's Marco?

SUSAN: He must be in his room.

IAN: Good. Now listen. Go and get the Doctor out of the ship, then hide. I'm going to try a bluff. If it works, we may be able to turn the tables on Tegana. Now, go quickly.

(Barbara and Susan leaves, then Polo comes down the stairs.)

IAN: Ah, Marco, I was just coming to have a word with you.

POLO: What about?

IAN: Well, I should have thought that was pretty obvious.

POLO: Be more explicit, Ian.

IAN: Oh, come on Marco, we're friends aren't we?

POLO: We were.

IAN: Well, why the sudden change? And tell me, why separate Susan and Ping-Cho?

POLO: Susan's a bad influence.

IAN: Oh, you can't really mean that.

POLO: Ping-Cho's first loyalty is to me, yet she backed you against Tegana.

IAN: Perhaps that's because we were telling the truth. It is possible, you know.

POLO: Let me tell you something, Ian. Tegana is a special emissary of Noghai, on his way to talk peace with Kublai Khan. He's a very important man. You are mysterious travellers from some far off land I know nothing about. Now, if you were in my position, a servant of Kublai Khan, whose word would you take?

IAN: Well, I should keep an open mind.

(Tegana enters.)

TEGANA: Marco, I have something rather interesting to show you.

POLO: What is it?

TEGANA: The old magician is in his caravan.

POLO: He's what? Is this true, Ian?

IAN: Well, why don't we go outside and have a look?

[Sinju Way Station Courtyard]

POLO: Are you sure about this?

TEGANA: He's got another key. I saw him go inside.

IAN: So all we can do now is wait for him to come out.

POLO: This you are prepared to do?

IAN: If it'll convince you that Tegana is making trouble, we can wait here all night.

POLO: Tegana, are you absolutely positive?

TEGANA: When the War Lord Tegana says it is so, Marco, it is so. He is in there.

(The Doctor comes out of the Tardis.)

IAN: Doctor, lock the door quickly!

POLO: I'm sorry I doubted your word, Tegana. Give me the key, Doctor.

DOCTOR: No.

POLO: You're an old man and I do not wish to use force.

DOCTOR: That is what you'll precisely have to do, Polo.

(Tegana wrenches the key from the Doctor.)

TEGANA: Did I not say he had another key?

DOCTOR: Put that key in the lock, Polo, and you will destroy the ship. Then where will your precious Khan be, hmmm? You need more than a key to enter my ship. You need knowledge. Knowledge you will never possess.

POLO: Tell me.

DOCTOR: No, understand? No! I'd let you wreck it first!

POLO: Guards! Guards!

(The guards have already taken Barbara and Susan.)

DOCTOR: Let go of me!

POLO: Bear witness. I wear the gold seal of Kublai Khan, and by the authority it invests in me, I do hereby seize and hold your caravan in his name. Be warned. Any resistance to this decree is instantly punishable by death.

DOCTOR: You poor, pathetic, stupid savage.

POLO: Take them away!

TEGANA: Marco, are you now convinced which of us makes trouble?

POLO [OC]: What a nightmare this journey has become. Our progress is impeded because Tegana, the bearers and I must constantly be on the alert for any signs of trouble from the prisoners, and Ping-Cho's resentment of me only serves to make my task more difficult. But I have succeeded in keeping her away from them by setting up a separate tent for the Doctor and his companions.

[Doctor's Tent]

IAN: We can't go on like this. We must get out!

(He breaks a plate.)

BARBARA: That's easier said than done.

IAN: I know Barbara. I know the odds are against us, but at least we've got to try.

DOCTOR: Yes, I quite agree with you. The ship's waiting outside, with the circuit finished and installed.

BARBARA: And Polo has both keys.

DOCTOR: Oh, that wretched child.

SUSAN: Grandfather, Ping-Cho wouldn't tell him about the second key. I know she wouldn't.

DOCTOR: Oh, my dear Susan.

IAN: Oh, don't you worry about that now. We must concentrate on getting one of those keys back.

DOCTOR: Yes, and the only way I can see it, is that we should have to capture Polo.

IAN: Why not? Take him hostage.

BARBARA: But we're hopelessly outnumbered.

IAN: Only by day. At night, we've got the edge on them. They've only got one guard, remember.

SUSAN: Yes, but how are you going to disarm him?

IAN: I don't know. Somehow. I'll do it.

DOCTOR: Now just a minute. First things first, young man. How are we going to get out of here, and remember that guard is out there watching for us, hmmm?

(Ian picks up a piece of broken plate.)

IAN: With this. I'll cut my way out.

DOCTOR: That's a very good idea. Good.

IAN: As soon as I've dealt with that guard, I'll come back for you.

DOCTOR: Right.

SUSAN: Grandfather, supposing Messer Marco won't give him the keys?

DOCTOR: Don't worry, my child. I think by the time I've finished with that gentleman, he'll only be too glad to let us go.

(Ian cuts his way out of the tent and finds the guard, but he is already dead.)

Episode Five - Rider From Shang-Tu

[Bamboo Forest]

(In the darkness, two men are observing the caravan.)

ACOMAT: Are the men in position?

MONGOL: The caravan is surrounded, my lord.

ACOMAT: Do they know the signal to attack?

MONGOL: Each one has been told that lord Tegana will wave a burning torch.

ACOMAT: Then we shall watch for it.

[Outside the tent]

DOCTOR: What's the matter? Did you kill him?

IAN: No, of course not. He was dead.

BARBARA: Dead?

IAN: Yes, he's been stabbed.

BARBARA: Bandits?

IAN: They must be just on the point of attacking us.

SUSAN: Grandfather, what are we going to do?

DOCTOR: Well, continue with our plan, get the keys, and get out of here as soon as possible.

SUSAN: Tegana!

IAN: We're already too late, Doctor. The only thing I can do now is warn Marco.

BARBARA: Be careful, Ian.

IAN: I will.

[Marco Polo's compartment]

IAN: Marco. Marco, wake up. No, no, it's all right. Marco, the guard's dead, I think we're in for a bandit attack.

POLO: Bandits? Where's Tegana?

IAN: He's outside. I didn't tell him. I thought it best to tell you first.

[Camp]

(Tegana puts his burning torch back on the fire.)

POLO: Tegana, wake the bearers.

TEGANA: What is it?

POLO: Bandits.

TEGANA: What's he doing free?

POLO: Never mind about that. A guard's been killed. Now, wake the bearers and get some swords, quickly. Call the others.

IAN: Doctor, Susan, Barbara, quickly, here.

POLO: Miss Wright, Susan, go into the tent and stay there.

SUSAN: What about Ping-Cho?

POLO: Now, she sleeps now, but if she wakes up, make sure she stays with you.

BARBARA: Yes.

(Susan and Barbara go into Ping-Cho's tent. Tegana enters, fully armed.)

POLO: Are the bearers awake?

TEGANA: Yes, they've taken their positions around the edge of the camp.

POLO: Do you know how to use one of these?

IAN: No, but given half a chance, I'll learn.

DOCTOR: Pardon me.

POLO: (gives a sword to the Doctor) If you're half as aggressive with this as you are with your tongue, Doctor, we can't lose.

IAN: How many of them are there likely to be?

POLO: Oh, more than enough for us.

DOCTOR: Well, we look a bit silly standing here, don't we?

POLO: Then what do you suggest we do?

DOCTOR: Use the Tardis.

POLO: Your caravan? To go where?

DOCTOR: Yes, get out of here, anywhere where it's safe.

TEGANA: Look, this is another of the magician's tricks. I don't believe there are any bandits.

POLO: Tegana, a guard is dead.

TEGANA: Could they have not killed him? What better way to give this lie the ring of truth.

IAN: Not everyone lives by your standards, Tegana.

TEGANA: Well, where are these bandits if there are any? Why haven't they attacked? I warn you Marco, if you go in their caravan, they will surely destroy you.

DOCTOR: If you believe that, Polo, you're a bigger fool that even I think you are.

POLO: You deceived me before, Doctor. No, we will not use your caravan. If there are bandits, we shall fight.

DOCTOR: Well, we're not going to get very far with this overgrown bread knife! We shall have to use more enterprise than this.

IAN: The Doctor's right, Marco. We need more than these swords. Wait a minute. Perhaps we can outwit them.

POLO: How?

IAN: We'll use this bamboo.

POLO: Well, what good would that do?

IAN: If we throw it on the fire, it'll expand and blow up. It's a terrifying noise. It's worth a chance, Marco.

POLO: Let us hope time is our ally.

[Bamboo Forest]

ACOMAT: What keeps him then? The moon will soon rise to deny us darkness.

MONGOL: Perhaps he is sleeping.

ACOMAT: True. He is not as young as we are. Tell the others that unless he signals before the moon's first light, we attack then.

MONGOL: As my lord commands.

ACOMAT: But not with stealth, as lord Tegana wished. We'll make sport of it.

[Camp]

(The Doctor is dozing as Polo and Ian put bamboo by the fire.)

POLO: Does the lamb conceal the wolf, or the wolf the lamb? Were you trying to escape?

IAN: Yes.

POLO: It was very reckless of you.

IAN: It was the only thing we could do.

POLO: Even though failure might have meant death?

IAN: We hoped we'd succeed.

POLO: Tell me, Ian, what were you going to do to me?

IAN: Take the key from you, and use you as a hostage until we were safely at the Tardis.

POLO: Then, I shall have to be more careful in future.

IAN: Marco, I wish I could explain to you how important the Tardis is to us.

POLO: And I wish I could explain to you, Ian, how important it is to me.

IAN: The moon will soon be up.

POLO: Yes, we must gamble that the attack comes now. Tegana, wake the bearers.

TEGANA: They are alert, Marco.

IAN: All three of them, that makes seven. We can wake the Doctor. Marco, the bamboo will need time to heat up.

POLO: Yes, we must gamble that the attack comes now.

(They put bamboo on the fire.)

TEGANA: There are no bandits! This was all a ruse.

(A flock of birds rises.)

IAN: A ruse, Tegana?

POLO: Good luck, Ian.

IAN: Doctor, wake up. The bandits.

(They take up their weapons and wait. Then the Mongols attack.)

ACOMAT: So, the mighty War Lord is awake!

(Tegana kills Acomat. The bamboo starts exploding, and the Mongols run back into the forest.)

IAN: They're running! They're running! We've won! We've won!

SUSAN: What was the explosion?

POLO: Bamboo. The bandits thought there were devils in the fire, and fled.

DOCTOR: No, it wasn't the devils in the fire. Their leader was killed. That's why they broke up and ran.

TEGANA: Well, in battle all men face death.

DOCTOR: And few expect to meet it, hmm?

POLO [OC]: At sunrise, we buried the dead, broke camp, travelled to the edge of the bamboo forest, and out beyond it onto the plain. But at midday, as we were all tired after the events of the previous night, I ordered a halt.

[Tent]

(The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are sitting at a table.)

BARBARA: Surely he can't punish us! By trying to escape, we saved his life.

DOCTOR: If that fool had any decency at all, he'd let us go.

IAN: I doubt if he'll do that, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Well, then we must go on trying to escape. The circuit's finished, and all we need are those keys.

IAN: That's not going to be very easy, is it, after last night. Marco's bound to be on his guard.

(Polo and Tegana enter.)

POLO: I have a question to ask all of you. Will you promise on your honour, not to attempt another escape?

(silence)

POLO: So be it.

DOCTOR: We sacrificed our freedom to save you.

POLO: Yes, I know. And in return, I revoke the seizure of your caravan by official decree.

DOCTOR: Huh. Very noble of you, I'm sure.

IAN: What you're really saying, Marco, is that we're no longer Kublai Khan's prisoners, only yours?

POLO: That's right.

DOCTOR: Thanks for nothing.

POLO: All the freedoms you enjoyed before will be restored. Susan and Ping-Cho can share each other's company, and no guards will watch you by night.

DOCTOR: And the keys to the Tardis?

POLO: As before, Doctor, they remain with me. And I shall be guarded day and night.

TEGANA: Marco, let me be your sword.

POLO: You are in my charge, Tegana, not I in yours.

(Polo leaves.)

TEGANA: Work your magic on him if you will, but make no move against me.

(Tegana leaves.)

IAN: He knows we're on to him.

DOCTOR: Strange that Tegana should watch the fire. A sort of menial job he'd order a guard to do.

BARBARA: How could he? The guard was dead.

IAN: Tegana wasn't to know that, otherwise he'd have given the alarm.

DOCTOR: Would he?

IAN: You mean he was implicated in the attack?

DOCTOR: Of course he was. The bandit knew him. I'm certain he did.

BARBARA: Ian, do you remember that bandit we buried this morning? I knew I'd seen him somewhere before. He was in the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes.

DOCTOR: Yes, and he had to kill him or be exposed.

IAN: But what's Tegana's game? What's he after?

DOCTOR: My ship.

IAN: Oh, no, Doctor, he's terrified of it. It must be something else. Whatever it is, we're in the way, that's for sure.

BARBARA: Marco too?

IAN: I don't know. Maybe.

BARBARA: Well, shouldn't we warn

DOCTOR: No, no, ssh ssh. We mustn't be impetuous. We must choose the right moment carefully.

(Susan and Ping-Cho enter with Ling-Tau.)

SUSAN: This is a courier from Kublai Khan. Have you seen Messer Marco?

IAN: Yes, he's in there.

PING-CHO: Please be seated.

LING-TAU: Thank you, my lady.

PING-CHO: I will fetch him.

SUSAN: His name is Ling-Tau.

IAN: You look as though you've travelled far.

LING-TAU: From the summer palace at Shang-Tu, my Lord.

[Marco Polo's compartment]

(Marco Polo hides the Tardis keys in the spine of his journal as Ping-Cho enters.)

POLO: What is it, Ping-Cho?

PING-CHO: A courier from the great Khan has arrived, Messer Marco.

POLO: Ask him to wait, please. I'll be with him in a moment. Ping-Cho, do I have your word not to tell anyone where these keys are?

PING-CHO: Yes, Messer Marco.

[Tent]

IAN: When did you leave Shang-Tu?

LING-TAU: Yesterday, my lord.

IAN: Yesterday!

BARBARA: What?

DOCTOR: But that's three hundred miles away, isn't it?

LING-TAU: We change horses every league my lord.

IAN: Every league.

LING-TAU: That's the reason we wear these, my lord. (bells around his waist) To warn the post-house of our arrival. And when we get there a fresh horse is saddled and waiting, ready for the next three miles.

BARBARA: And you ride without rest until you reach your destination?

LING-TAU: Yes, my lady.

DOCTOR: I would have thought it was a physical impossibility.

LING-TAU: Our bodies would be shaken to pieces, my lord, were it not for these. Bound tight, like this one, on my head.

IAN: Tell me, are there many men who can ride such long distances without a break?

LING-TAU: We are few, my lord.

DOCTOR: Three hundred miles a days on horseback. Very few people can ride more than twenty five.

LING-TAU: It's in our blood, my lord. We all come from the great steppes to the north.

(Polo and Ping-Cho enter.)

POLO: Courier!

LING-TAU: My lord Polo?

POLO: I am he.

LING-TAU: The mighty Kublai Khan sends his greetings to his faithful servant.

POLO: Thank you.

(Ling-Tau hands over his message.)

POLO: Thank you. (reads) We must leave here at once.

PING-CHO: Why, Messer Marco?

POLO: Kublai Khan wishes to see me without delay. Six days hard riding from here is the city of Cheng-Ting, where we can take horses and ride on to Shang-Tu.

PING-CHO: But our possessions, Messer Marco?

POLO: They will have to follow on one of the many trade caravans that travels the route.

DOCTOR: And the Tardis?

POLO: That too must follow on, Doctor.

POLO [OC]: My only concern now is to reach the Summer Palace as quickly as possible. So within an hour, we were on the move again, and on the sixth day of our journey, the spires of Cheng-Ting could be seen on our horizon. By later afternoon, we had arrived at the way station of the White City, as Cheng-Ting is often called.

[Cheng-Ting Way Station]

WANG-LO: And how long will you honour us with your presence, my lord?

POLO: We have to ride to Shang-Tu tomorrow.

WANG-LO: Oh, how sad. Good day, my gracious ladies. Cheng-Ting is so delightful at this time of the year.

DOCTOR: Well, where is it?

POLO: What?

DOCTOR: The Tardis. Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear.

WANG-LO: I was advised of your pending arrival, my lord Marco, by a courier who passed this way from Shang-Tu.

DOCTOR: Polo?

POLO: What is it now?

DOCTOR: I thought you said the Tardis was to be placed in the courtyard.

WANG-LO: To what does the old lord refer?

POLO: His caravan.

WANG-LO: Oh, that's what it is! I had it moved.

DOCTOR: Where to?

WANG-LO: The stables, my lord.

DOCTOR: The stables.

WANG-LO: Well, I could hardly leave it in the hanging garden, my lord, now could I?

POLO: It'll be safe enough there, Doctor. What, when does the next commerce caravan leave for Shang-Tu?

WANG-LO: The day after tomorrow, my lord.

POLO: Will you see that all the baggage goes with it, including that caravan?

WANG-LO: I shall make it a personal duty, my lord Marco. And now, if you step this way, I'll escort you to your apartment.

POLO: Thank you.

(Wang-Lo and Polo leave.)

DOCTOR: I could hardly have it placed in the hanging garden, now could I? What does he think it is? A potting shed, or something.

BARBARA: Well it's better there than in the courtyard, Doctor. At least it's out of sight.

[Way Station Courtyard]

(Susan and Ping-Cho are looking at the goldfish in a pond.)

SUSAN: Look at that one there. He's just like Wang-Lo, all fat, smooth and silky. And look at this one here. He's very solemn. He's just like Marco Polo. And look at this one dashing around all over the place. He's got Ian's energy. Ah, look, that one's all by itself. It's independent, like Barbara.

PING-CHO: There's you, Susan. A wicked goldfish.

SUSAN: Now, where are you Ping-Cho? Oh, look there. That little pretty one down there, with the wedding veil. Oh, Ping-Cho, I'm sorry.

PING-CHO: How I miss my home in Samarkand. And your home, Susan? You've never told me about that. Is it so very far away?

SUSAN: Yes, it is. It's as far away as a night star.

PING-CHO: But you can reach it from Venice, can't you?

SUSAN: No, Ping-Cho, no I can't.

PING-CHO: And if Messer Marco does give your caravan to Kublai Khan, you will never see your home again?

SUSAN: That's right.

PING-CHO: I gave him my word, Susan. I promised not to tell anyone where he put the key.

SUSAN: And I promise you that no-one will ask you.

[Stables]

(Kuiju has an eye patch and a monkey on his shoulder.)

KUIJU: What is it, lord?

TEGANA: A War Lord's tomb. I want it. Can you arrange to have it taken for me?

KUIJU: Are you prepared to pay a good price?

TEGANA: How much?

KUIJU: We want gold, not Kublai Khan's paper money.

TEGANA: You shall have it.

KUIJU: In advance.

TEGANA: One half tonight, the other half when I get the tomb.

KUIJU: One hundred golden pieces.

TEGANA: You shall have it.

KUIJU: That first part, my lord. When do I receive it?

TEGANA: Tonight.

KUIJU: The Street of the Beggars at midnight.

TEGANA: I shall be there.

KUIJU: So shall I.

(Kuiju leaves.)

TEGANA: A War Lord's tomb. More than that, a Khan's throne for Noghai.

[Marco Polo's room]

POLO: Come in.

PING-CHO: It is dinner time, Messer Marco.

POLO: Thank you, Ping-Cho. Oh dear, I have ink on my fingers. I will join you there.

(Polo leaves, and Ping-Cho takes the Tardis key from his journal.)

[Way Station Courtyard]

PING-CHO: I have something to give you.

SUSAN: What is it?

PING-CHO: Can't you guess?

SUSAN: No.

PING-CHO: This.

(She gives Susan the key.)

SUSAN: Ping-Cho! But you promised Messer Marco.

PING-CHO: Not to tell anyone. I haven't. You don't know where I got it.

SUSAN: But he'll be terribly angry.

PING-CHO: But one of us will be on their way home.

TEGANA: Good night, ladies.

PING-CHO: Goodnight, my lord.

SUSAN: Do you think he saw it?

PING-CHO: No, I don't think so. Let me go up to our room before you tell the others.

SUSAN: Yes, all right.

PING-CHO: You will say goodbye, won't you?

SUSAN: Of course I will. Ping-Cho, what can I say?

(That night, when everyone else is asleep...)

IAN: Got the key, Doctor?

DOCTOR: Yes, of course I have.

IAN: Get back. there's a guard.

DOCTOR: Dear, dear, dear, dear, haven't you any ideas?

IAN: Yes. Yes, I have.

(Ian pretends to be drunk, and approaches the guard.)

IAN: Why don't you have a drink?

(While the guard is distracted, the Doctor and Barbara sneak to the stables.) SUSAN: Ping-Cho.

(Susan goes back inside. Ian knocks the guard out and goes to the stables. Tegana is watching. Then Susan comes back from saying goodbye to Ping-Cho.)

[Tardis]

IAN: All right, Doctor, close the doors. Wait! Where's Susan? Where is she?

BARBARA: She must have gone to say goodbye to Ping-Cho.

DOCTOR: What on Earth does that child think she's doing? Great Olympus!

IAN: Don't panic. Give her a second. I knocked out the guard.

[Stables]

(Susan sneaks across the courtyard to the stables, and is almost at the Tardis when Tegana grabs her.)

SUSAN: Grandfather!

Episode Six - Mighty Kublai Khan

[Stables]

(The Doctor, Ian and Barbara have watched Tegana grab Susan on the scanner. Ian goes out.)

IAN: Tegana.

TEGANA: Stand still.

IAN: Let her go.

TEGANA: No.

IAN: Let us all go, I appeal to you. What possible difference could it make to you? You hate Marco.

TEGANA: Is the old man inside the caravan?

IAN: Yes.

TEGANA: And the other woman?

IAN: Yes.

TEGANA: Tell them to come out. Do as I command!

(The Doctor and Barbara come out, and Polo arrives on the scene,)

DOCTOR: There is no need.

POLO: What's happened?

TEGANA: They would all have escaped if I had not caught this one.

DOCTOR: Tell that man to take his hands off my grandchild.

POLO: The key first, Doctor. (The Doctor hands it over.) Release her, Tegana.

(Tegana goes to stab the Doctor.)

POLO: What are you?

TEGANA: Let me kill them, and be done with it.

POLO: We will kill no-one.

TEGANA: Are you mad? They will only escape again.

POLO: I don't think so.

(Tegana leaves and Ping-Cho arrives.)

SUSAN: I'm sorry, Grandfather.

DOCTOR: So long as you're safe, Susan. That's all that matters.

POLO: Where did you get this key, Doctor?

PING-CHO: Messer Marco...

IAN: I took it.

POLO: You did?

IAN: Yes, I searched your room last night.

POLO: I see.

IAN: What are you going to do about it?

POLO: Tomorrow morning at dawn, we ride for Shang-Tu. When next you see your caravan, it will be at the great Khan's Summer Palace, and that will make an end of it.

POLO [OC]: A day of hard riding. We left Cheng-Ting at dawn, and by dusk had covered forty miles. As this is a densely populated area of Cathay, accommodation is not hard to find, and we have stopped for the night at an inn. Our baggage, including the Doctor's caravan, is following on with a trade caravan.

[Inn]

IAN: How's the Doctor? Got over his ride yet?

BARBARA: No, I don't think we'll ever get him on another horse as long as he lives. Listen, we need the Tardis. You must talk to Marco.

IAN: Talk to Marco? I've done nothing else but talk to Marco.

BARBARA: Oh, Marco, Ian wants a word with you. I'm feeling a bit tired, so I think I'll go off to bed.

IAN: But. Just a minute. Barbara, come here. I. Well, I.

POLO: Well?

IAN: Marco, you must give us back the Tardis.

POLO: Is that what you want to talk to me about?

IAN: Yes.

POLO: Look, I've told you before, Ian. You know what this caravan means to me. If I give it to the Khan, he'll let me go home.

IAN: But we want to go home too, Marco. And we can't go home without the Tardis.

POLO: I have offered to take you back to Venice with me, and see you safely on your way home from there.

IAN: By boat. We can't go by boat, Marco, we need the Tardis.

POLO: Why, Ian? Why?

IAN: All right, I'll tell you why. And I'll tell you the truth. I don't suppose you'll believe it, but still. As I told you, I come from England. Barbara as well.

POLO: Well, I grant you England's a long way, but the journey's not impossible, Ian. The Crusaders did it.

IAN: The Crusaders? Oh, Marco. To me, the Crusaders lived seven hundred years ago.

POLO: What are you talking about, Ian? The Crusaders were in the Holy Land twenty five years ago.

IAN: I come from another time. Our caravan, it not only covers distance, it can cross time.

POLO: Travel into the past and the future?

IAN: Yes. I know it's difficult to believe, but it's the truth.

POLO: On my travels to Cathay, Ian, I have come to believe many things which I previously doubted. For instance, when I was a boy in Venice, they told me that in Cathay there was a stone which burned. I did not believe them, but there is such a stone. I have seen it.

IAN: It's black, isn't it.

POLO: Yes.

IAN: Coal.

POLO: In Cathay, we call it the burning stone. And if a stone burns, why not a caravan that flies? Birds fly. I have even seen fish that fly. You are asking me to believe that your caravan can defy the passage of the sun? Move not merely from one place to another, but from today into tomorrow, today into yesterday? No, Ian. That I cannot accept.

IAN: I'm telling you the truth, Marco.

POLO: Are you, Ian?

IAN: I swear it.

POLO: (holding out the Tardis key) Where did you get that?

IAN: From your room.

POLO: Whereabouts? Where had I hidden it? Come, Ian, surely you know where you found it? You didn't find it, did you? It was given to you, and you lied about finding it to protect Ping-Cho. Ian, don't you see it doesn't matter to me why you lied. What is important is the fact that you are capable of lying.

IAN: So you don't believe me when I say I came from another time.

POLO: If I did Ian, I would give you the key.

[The girls' room]

PING-CHO: Goodbye Susan.

[Inn]

(Next day)

BARBARA: Well?

IAN: There's no sign of her.

BARBARA: She must have run away. But why?

IAN: Because of that key, obviously.

SUSAN: I'm sorry, Messer Marco, I didn't hear a word.

POLO: I'm not blaming you, Susan, but we must find her and quickly.

BARBARA: Susan, have you any idea where she'd go? Well, speak up.

POLO: There are robbers and cut-throats on the road.

SUSAN: I, I think she might have tried to reach home.

POLO: Samarkand? But that's a thousand miles from here.

TEGANA: Will we go back and find her?

POLO: I suppose we must.

TEGANA: The Khan ordered you to ride without delay to Shang-Tu.

POLO: I am also responsible for Ping-Cho's safety.

TEGANA: Well, you're the one who will face his wrath.

IAN: Will the Khan be angry, Marco?

POLO: Of course he will.

IAN: Very well, then. You ride on, I'll go back and find Ping-Cho.

POLO: Alone?

IAN: Why not? I can remember the road we came along. She can't be far. But she is in danger, and you yourself can't go.

POLO: What do you hope to gain by this gesture, Ian? I'm sorry. When do you want to start?

IAN: As soon as possible.

POLO: Go with Messer Ian and prepare a horse and provisions.

(Ian and a bearer leave.)

BARBARA: Don't worry, Marco. He'll bring her back. You mustn't underestimate him.

TEGANA: Very good advice, Marco.

[Cheng-Ting Way station]

WANG-LO: When the embroiderers arrive, take them straight to the lady May-Chin. My ladies, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to.

(He sees someone with an eyepatch waving at him.) Please forgive us. Excuse me. What do you want?

KUIJU: The trade caravan to Shang-Tu.

WANG-LO: Where is the other man?

KUIJU: The old man is very ill. It's my authority to collect the

WANG-LO: I see. I've got eyes. It's in the stables.

KUIJU: Hey! Give that to me!

WANG-LO: Now, about your business!

KUIJU: The old man is a fool.

WANG-LO: (to other travellers) Please follow me.

(Ping-Cho approaches Kuiju as he heads for the Tardis.)

PING-CHO: My lord?

KUIJU: Yes.

PING-CHO: Are you with the caravan, my lord?

KUIJU: I am, my lady.

PING-CHO: Is your caravan bound for Samarkand?

KUIJU: It might. Why?

PING-CHO: I would like to journey with your caravan, unless it is going to Shang-Tu.

KUIJU: It's possible.

PING-CHO: I can pay.

KUIJU: Come to think of it, we do strike inland. I'll talk to the commander of the caravan.

PING-CHO: Shall I come with you?

KUIJU: No, you wait here. Give me the money. (she does) Don't worry, little one. I'll arrange it.

(Later, when Kuiju has not returned.)

WANG-LO: You paid money? You foolish child. You have been robbed.

PING-CHO: Robbed? What shall I do? It was all the money I had.

WANG-LO: Haven't I seen you before? Not long since. I know. You were with Messer Marco Polo's caravan.

PING-CHO: No, my lord, no.

WANG-LO: What have you done, child? Run away? Oh.

(Ian enters, and she runs to him.)

IAN: Ping-Cho, why did you do it?

PING-CHO: The key. And I can't marry a man old enough to be my grandfather. I can't. Please don't take me back. Please.

IAN: I must, Ping-Cho. I promised Marco.

WANG-LO: I knew I'd seen her before, my lord. Silly child let herself be robbed.

IAN: What?

WANG-LO: Oh, some villain, posing as a caravan driver, took all her money on the promise of letting her travel inland with the caravan.

IAN: Where did you meet this man?

PING-CHO: Here.

WANG-LO: At my way station? Impossible.

PING-CHO: No, my lord, he was in the courtyard with you.

WANG-LO: Oh, that one! But he was going to Shang-Tu. I have the document authorising him to take the old lord's caravan from the stables. Here it is.

IAN: So the Tardis is on the road to Shang-Tu, eh?

WANG-LO: Yes, my lord.

(The caravan driver arrives.)

DRIVER: The trade caravan to Shang-Tu, excellency. There is something here for us to take.

WANG-LO: Oh, but the other man said you were ill.

DRIVER: What other man?

WANG-LO: The one that took the old lord's caravan.

DRIVER: But here is my authorisation.

WANG-LO: But. But.

IAN: What's the matter?

WANG-LO: Oh, nothing, my lord. Just a slight confusion. I'm sure it can be rectified.

IAN: It's been stolen. The Tardis has been stolen!

POLO [OC]: I hope all is well and Ian has found Ping-Cho. Our progress towards Shang-Tu continues to be excellent, and we are now beyond the Great Wall, spending the fourth night of our journey at an inn about fifty miles from the Summer Palace.

[Another Inn]

TEGANA: You trust too much, and doubt too little! Marco, let me go back after him.

POLO: I will not agree to this.

TEGANA: But, Marco!

POLO: Look, it's no good. How will it appear if I stand before the Khan without you? You speak for Noghai. Silence could mean war.

TEGANA: But

POLO: You must be at the Summer Palace. You must be, I say.

TEGANA: Marco, the magician's caravan. Why do you think Ian offered so readily, so, so eagerly to go back after Ping-Cho?

POLO: What's your point?

TEGANA: Ping-Cho could be anywhere. The chances of finding her are very small. But, Ian knows where the caravan is. He knows exactly where it is.

POLO: You're wrong, Tegana. I think I know something of Ian's character.

TEGANA: You can't know it all. Marco, just give me a strong horse. Now, by using your name, I can bring them both back to you. I can bring the girl to you, and the caravan will be safe. You need the caravan. Because when peace is concluded with Kublai Khan, he might very well exchange this magician's caravan for your return to Venice. 

TEGANA: Ah, all their sympathies are with Ping-Cho. They are all against this marriage.

POLO: Then why did Ian go back to look for her?

TEGANA: Exactly.

(Susan and Barbara enter, laughing.)

TEGANA: I'm glad to see that your humour is not impaired by our misfortune.

BARBARA: What do you mean? What misfortune?

TEGANA: Well, your friend Ian has not returned. We can only assume that he's failed to find Ping-Cho.

BARBARA: Oh, you haven't given him enough time yet.

SUSAN: Anyway, I'm glad. I hope he doesn't.

TEGANA: Oh, I see. You want to see her alone, do you? Without friends? She might be kidnapped, murdered.

SUSAN: Well, that won't happen to her. She's got money. She can buy a safe passage home.

TEGANA: Money! Are we all sit in fear for her, and her intended husband sits in despair?

SUSAN: Oh, even you couldn't be so cruel as to want her to marry a man four times her age.

TEGANA: Even I? I thank you, lady. And this is your opinion too, I suppose?

BARBARA: I suppose so.

POLO: One moment. Are you opposed to Ping-Cho's marriage?

BARBARA: Look, why are we

POLO: Answer my question please.

BARBARA: Yes I am. Completely opposed to it.

TEGANA: How very unusual for you and Ian to disagree.

BARBARA: It isn't unusual at all. We don't agree about everything. And in this case, we're in complete agreement. All of us.

POLO: This marriage has the Khan's blessing. Am I to understand that you oppose it? Am I?

BARBARA: Yes.

POLO: All four of you?

BARBARA: Yes, all four of us.

POLO: Take your horse, Tegana. You have my leave to go. Use my name or such powers as you will, but bring them both to the Summer Palace!

TEGANA: I shall do so.

SUSAN: Why did you do that?

POLO: To make certain.

SUSAN: Certain of what?

POLO: That Ian has gone back to look for Ping-Cho, and not your caravan.

[Way Station Courtyard]

IAN: I've got to find it. I've got to. But where?

PING-CHO: Perhaps it is still here.

IAN: No, no, Ping-Cho. We should have heard. No, it's been taken, all right. Is must have been taken by some old road. Some route that's no longer used.

PING-CHO: The Karakorum road.

IAN: Karakorum? But Karakorum's the capital of the Mongol empire.

PING-CHO: Not any more. Not since the Khan built his palace at Peking.

IAN: Yes, but it'll still be an important place. I mean, caravans'll still go there.

PING-CHO: Karakorum was not a city of stone. It was just a collection of tents. When the Khan moved, the Mongols dispersed.

IAN: So the road isn't used any more?

PING-CHO: Never.

IAN: Then, that'll be the answer.

PING-CHO: Why would someone take the Tardis to Karakorum?

IAN: I don't know, Ping-Cho. But until I find it, we shall never leave Kublai Khan's Cathay.

[Summer Palace Throne room]

VIZIER: The Great War Lord and Master of the World, mighty Kublai Khan, is pleased to grant you an audience.

POLO: We wait the Great Khan's pleasure.

DOCTOR: It's all Chinese. Very interesting. It's odd that a Mongol should choose Chinese architecture, isn't it?

SUSAN: Did you see those beautiful pavilions?

BARBARA: Yes. Weren't they magnificent?

POLO: Some of them are made of solid gold.

SUSAN: Are they?

DOCTOR: What size are the grounds?

POLO: Oh, they're enormous. They have to be to accommodate the Khan's two great passions, hunting and falconry. Do you know, in his stables he has ten thousand white stallions?

DOCTOR: Yes, well, one's enough for me, young man. Red, white or blue. VIZIER: When great Kublai Khan appears, you will make your obeisance to him. so that he may look kindly upon you, and spare your worthless lives.

DOCTOR: Pray then, what am I supposed to do, sir?

VIZIER: Kow-tow. Kneel upon the ground and touch your forehead upon the floor three times.

DOCTOR: I shall do no such thing!

VIZIER: Kublai Khan is the mightiest man the world has ever seen. Not to pay him homage will cost you your head.

DOCTOR: Well, if it breaks my back, then he can take all of me. So why waste time on small items?

SUSAN: Grandfather, please.

DOCTOR: Oh, do be quiet child. I'm not going to make a spectacle of...

(a gong sounds)

VIZIER: Silence! Those who dare to come before the sight of the great Kublai Khan, kow-tow. Kow-tow before the War Lord of War Lords. Mighty and fearful in his strength. Kow-tow before the Ruler of Asia, India, Cathay and other territories. Kow-tow before the Master of the World.

(Everyone kneels down except the Doctor.)

SUSAN: Grandfather, come on, get down.

VIZIER: Kow-tow! Kow-tow!

DOCTOR: Yes, yes, yes. I'll manage it.

VIZIER: Kow-tow!

KHAN: Fools!

(A small wizened old man enters, shuffling along. The Doctor is still struggling to kneel. Both are groaning.)

KHAN: Do you mock our afflictions?

DOCTOR: It's my back.

KHAN: What ails it?

DOCTOR: It's broken!

VIZIER: Don't be impertinent!

DOCTOR: I am not being impertinent, sir. I'm far from unwell.

VIZIER: How dare you speak out!

KHAN: This gout will be the end of us.

(The Khan sits on his throne.)

KHAN: Marco, get up.

POLO: My lord.

KHAN: Get up, all of you. These gracious ladies also accompany you. Marco?

POLO: They do, my lord.

KHAN: We bid you welcome to our court, ladies. What's the matter with him?

POLO: Oh, five days hard riding on horseback, my lord. The Doctor's not accustomed to it.

KHAN: Doctor? Oh, is he? Are you, perchance, a physician?

DOCTOR: I am not a doctor of medicine, sire, otherwise I should be able to cure these pains.

KHAN: Oh, what a pity. Where is the War Lord Tegana?

POLO: Riding for Shang-Tu, my lord, with the lady Ping-Cho and a companion of theirs.

KHAN: Noghai's army's encamped at Karakorum.

POLO: But that's impossible, my lord. When Tegana joined my caravan, Noghai's army was only forty miles north of Samarkand.

KHAN: Then it stands hundred miles from Shang-Tu. We are very anxious to hear Tegana's explanation of his master's conduct.

POLO: I can understand my lord's concern, and it is my fault that he is not here.

KHAN: We are on our guard against treachery. Our patrols watch the Karakorum road, and tomorrow we'll ride for Peking.

SUSAN: Must we go too?

VIZIER: Silence. Speak only when you are addressed.

KHAN: Tut, tut, tut. What was it you said?

SUSAN: Well, I wondered if we might wait for Ping-Cho, my lord.

KHAN: No, I think it is better that you ride with us.

DOCTOR: Oh, not another horse.

KHAN: You spoke?

DOCTOR: I said I don't think I could get on another horse.

KHAN: Then walk!

DOCTOR: In my present condition, sir? And what about that lump of yours, hmmm?

VIZIER: The Master of the World has a carriage of state.

DOCTOR: Well, he's lucky. He won't be jogged about.

KHAN: Tomorrow you ride in state with us.

DOCTOR: Thank you.

KHAN: (in pain) Find suitable accommodation for our guests.

VIZIER: As my lord commands.

KHAN: Marco.

POLO: My lord?

KHAN: When Tegana arrives, bring him directly to us.

POLO: Very good, my lord.

KHAN: We have healing waters here which relieve my gout. Come, let us observe their effects upon your aches and pains.

DOCTOR: Very well, very well.

KHAN: Oh, what a trial old age is.

DOCTOR: It must be borne with dignity, sir.

KHAN: Oh, dignity. Yes, of course. Now, take my arm, friend.

(The two old men leave together, grumbling.)

SUSAN: That's the mighty Kublai Khan.

POLO: Laugh if you will, Susan, but he is the greatest administrator the world has ever seen.

SUSAN: I'm sorry, Messer Marco.

BARBARA: Marco, we can't leave here tomorrow. Not without Ian and Ping-Cho.

POLO: I'm afraid we have no choice, Barbara. Don't worry, Tegana will bring them to Peking.

BARBARA: Will he?

[Karakorum Road]

(Kuiju is resting. Ian and Ping-Cho watch from the shrubs.)

PING-CHO: That's him, Messer Ian. That's the man who robbed me.

IAN: Yes. It looks as though he's waiting for something. Waiting for somebody. That's why he's brought the Tardis here. Take cover. Get down, Ping-Cho.

(Kuiju and Ian confront each other.)

KUIJU: Who are you? What do you want? Speak!

PING-CHO: Where's my money?

(Ian disarms Kuiju and threatens him with his own knife.)

IAN: Where is it? Where's the young girl's money?

KUIJU: In my pouch, lord.

IAN: Get it, Ping-Cho. You're a greedy man, aren't you? And you brought the old lord's caravan here, I suppose, to get money? Well, was it?

KUIJU: Yes, lord!

IAN: And who's going to give you that money? Tell me! Tell me!

KUIJU: The War Lord Tegana.

IAN: Tegana.

(Tegana appears with his sword.)

IAN: I'll kill him.

TEGANA: Do so. He is of no importance. Come. Come.

(The two men square up to fight.)

Episode Seven - Assassin at Peking

[Karakorum Road]

IAN: Will the mighty War Lord kill a child as well?

TEGANA: If in my way, as you are.

IAN: And Kublai Khan? Is he in your way too?

TEGANA: I serve Noghai. And with that, (the Tardis) he'll rule the world.

IAN: Only the Doctor can make that work.

TEGANA: Noghai's sorcerers will reveal its secrets. Now, enough of this game.

LING-TAU: Disarm them!

(His soldier takes their weapons. Kuiju makes a run for it.)

LING-TAU: Stop him!

(A scream.)

LING-TAU: You fool. I did not command his death.

TEGANA: My name is Tegana, the War Lord. Get rid of these men

LING-TAU: I am Ling-Tau, captain and courier in the great Khan's service.

TEGANA: They were trying to steal the Khan's property.

IAN: That's not true.

LING-TAU: I remember both of you. You were with Messer Marco Polo's caravan.

PING-CHO: He is the thief. We caught him with that.

LING-TAU: Pardon me, my lady. I have not the authority to judge in this dispute. It's a matter for the great Khan.

TEGANA: Then take us to Shang-Tu.

LING-TAU: The great Khan has left the Summer Palace at Shang-Tu, my lord. You will see him in Peking.

[Peking Throne room]

(The Doctor and the Khan are playing backgammon.)

DOCTOR: My game.

KHAN: You're too good for us at backgammon. Tea?

DOCTOR: Please.

KHAN: Oh, that is our reckoning?

DOCTOR: Ah, yes it is, sire, yes.

KHAN: What do we owe?

DOCTOR: Er, thirty-five elephants with ceremonial bridles, trappings, brocades and pavilions. Four thousand white stallions, and twenty-five tigers.

KHAN: That's not too bad, so far.

DOCTOR: And the sacred tooth of Buddha which Polo brought over from India.

KHAN: Oh, that? What else? What more?

DOCTOR: I'm very much afraid all the commerce from Burma for one year, sire.

(A trumpet sounds.)

KHAN: Oh, the Empress. Hide it, hide it!

EMPRESS: Winning, my love?

KHAN: One wins, one loses, my dear.

DOCTOR: The great Khan is far too modest, my lady.

EMPRESS: You're not wagering are you? You know how it affects your gout.

(The Empress leaves.)

DOCTOR: How charming.

KHAN: Charming indeed, and yet there are moments, old friend, when we wish our character were more like that of our lamented grandfather, Genghis. Did you hear of him?

DOCTOR: Genghis Khan? No, I didn't meet him, but I have heard of him. Yes.

KHAN: Oh, he was the warrior of the family. Nothing frightened him. We are the clan of the statistician and the administrator. Oh, she will be furious with me when she finds out what I have lost.

DOCTOR: Oh, then you've lost nothing, sire.

KHAN: No, no, no. These are bets of honour.

DOCTOR: Well, one more game then, and if you win, you can take it all back again.

KHAN: And if you win?

DOCTOR: Well, er, Marco Polo has taken away my caravan and given it to you, sire. If I win, perhaps I could have my caravan back again?

KHAN: No, not that. No, take something else. The Island of Sumatra. We can't give you Marco's gift. We haven't even seen it yet.

DOCTOR: But none of this is important to me, sire. You see, win or lose, you can have it all back again. But if I win, my ship, Tardis, comes back to me, hmm?

KHAN: Let's play at that stake. (a knock at the door) Oh, go away!

POLO [OC]: It's Marco Polo, my Lord.

KHAN: Oh, Marco Polo. Well, would you object to one interruption?

DOCTOR: No, no, no.

KHAN: Enter.

(Polo enters and kow-tows.)

KHAN: We are too busy for that, Marco. Be brief, please. Be brief.

POLO: As my lord commands. The War Lord Tegana has arrived in Peking. When he reaches the palace, shall I bring him directly to you?

KHAN: No. No, we'll grant him an audience as soon as possible. Oh, we want to tell you something, Marco. We owe half of Asia to our friend at backgammon.

POLO: It is unusual for you to lose, my Lord.

KHAN: Oh, he is a fortunate one. But our friend here made a truly royal gesture which we have accepted, although it might upset you.

POLO: Why should it do that?

KHAN: That's our last game. Our losses against your gift to me.

POLO: The caravan?

DOCTOR: Yes, Marco. We're playing for the Tardis.

POLO: But my Lord

KHAN: Well?

POLO: Nothing, my Lord. I will leave you to your game.

DOCTOR: My throw.

KHAN: But. Yes, your throw.

[Peking Palace Cloister]

POLO: You will not believe this, but I swear it's true. They're playing backgammon for your caravan.

BARBARA + SUSAN: What?

POLO: If the Doctor wins, he has won back Tardis.

BARBARA: And if he loses?

POLO: He's lost everything.

SUSAN: Oh, Grandfather will win. I hope.

POLO: The sly old fox. The Khan hasn't even seen it yet, and he's taking it away from me.

BARBARA: Then this will solve everything. You've made your gesture and given the Tardis to the Khan, so he should let you go home. And with any luck, we can go home too. So we'll all have what we want.

SUSAN: Yes, all except Ping-Cho.

POLO: Yes, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about her, Susan. Her future husband is already in Peking.

SUSAN: What in the palace?

POLO: Yes, there is to be a banquet tonight in his honour, at which six thousand guests will attend.

SUSAN: Six thousand!

POLO: He's a very important man.

BARBARA: He must be. When is the wedding?

POLO: Tomorrow morning.

SUSAN: Poor Ping-Cho.

LING-TAU: My lord, Polo.

POLO: Yes? Oh, you're the courier that brought me the message from Shang-Tu, aren't you?

LING-TAU: I am my Lord.

POLO: It's a pleasure to see you again.

LING-TAU: No, my Lord, I fear not.

POLO: Why? What is wrong?

LING-TAU: Two members of your party, the lord known as Ian, and the lady Ping-Cho, are being held under guard.

POLO: Why?

LING-TAU: They're accused of stealing the Khan's property.

BARBARA: The Tardis?

POLO: Well, who accuses them?

BARBARA: Tegana.

LING-TAU: Yes, my lady.

BARBARA: That man is

SUSAN: Wait! But Grandfather's going to win back the Tardis, so no charges can be brought.

POLO: Susan, you don't take your prize until you win the game.

(The Doctor enters.)

SUSAN: Grandfather! Grandfather, you've not lost?

DOCTOR: He gave me this. A consolation prize. A piece of his paper currency.

SUSAN: Oh, Grandfather!

[Palace room]

POLO: You have told me all?

IAN: Everything from the moment I found Ping-Cho.

POLO: And you distinctly heard Tegana say that the Khan was his enemy?

IAN: Yes, Tegana said I serve Noghai, and he will conquer the world. Ping-Cho heard it as well.

PING-CHO: Distinctly, Messer Marco.

POLO: Ling-Tau, did you hear this?

LING-TAU: No, my lord. I did not.

POLO: That's a pity.

IAN: You mean our word isn't strong enough against Tegana's?

PING-CHO: There are two of us, Messer Marco.

POLO: No, Ping-Cho. Ian must stand trial alone.

PING-CHO: Why?

POLO: Your husband-to-be has asked the Khan to excuse you. He promises to take you away from Peking as soon as the marriage ceremony is over.

PING-CHO: And the Khan has agreed?

POLO: You are to be married tomorrow morning.

[Peking Throne room]

(Tegana and the Khan are inspecting the Tardis.)

KHAN: So this is our flying caravan. Thank you for recovering it for us, Lord Tegana.

TEGANA: Good fortune gave me the opportunity of serving the great Khan.

KHAN: The lady Ping-Cho has been excused of complicity in the theft.

TEGANA: The Khan shows much wisdom and compassion. What crimes she committed were done under the influence of others.

KHAN: Crimes? Who else was there?

TEGANA: The old magician, my lord, tried several times to regain the caravan.

KHAN: Were there other attempts to steal it? Marco did not mention them to us.

TEGANA: Is that not natural, my lord, that he would wish to guard them?

KHAN: You have served us well.

TEGANA: In dealings with Mongols like ourselves, yes, my lord. But he is as they are. And does not one's loyalty first lie with one's own kind?

KHAN: Your point is taken, Lord Tegana.

(Polo enters.)

KHAN: Marco, thank you for our gift.

POLO: I am the Khan's obedient servant.

KHAN: We are glad to know. But then, there were other attempts to steal the caravan? Why did you not invoke our laws?

POLO: To have done so would have been unjust, my lord. Our laws are alien to them.

KHAN: They were on our soil, therefore, subject to our laws. Why did you not invoke them?

POLO: The caravan belonged to them, my lord.

TEGANA: My lord, I can hold my peace no longer. Forgive me. How can that be? You claimed it in the Khan's name?

POLO: It was wrong of me to do so.

TEGANA: You wear the Khan's gold seal. It gives you your authority to take what you will.

POLO: When the cause is just. This was not.

KHAN: What was it then?

POLO: Selfish.

KHAN: What did you hope to gain?

TEGANA: He wanted to force you to let him return to Venice.

KHAN: You wanted to bribe us, Marco?

POLO: I'd hoped you would allow me to return home, my lord.

KHAN: Your gift has failed. It is ours because we won the right to keep it in a game of chance. Where is the key?

POLO: In my quarters, my lord.

KHAN: Bring it to us after the banquet, and then we'll examine our prize.

POLO: My lord, you do me a great wrong.

KHAN: We are distressed and angered by your conduct, Marco. Please think about it. You'll also attend us after the banquet, Lord Tegana. We'll discuss the terms of our settlement with Noghai. But we be on guard against you.

TEGANA: What have I that the Khan should fear?

KHAN: The power of persuasion.

[Peking Throne room - later that evening]

KHAN: Dead! And in the middle of the feast. How shall we tell her? Terrible! Horrible! Terrible and horrible! Horrible and terrible!

(Polo, Ping-Cho and Ling-Tau enter.)

KHAN: Oh, here you are, my child. Come, we have something to tell you. A tragedy has occurred at the table tonight.

PING-CHO: Tragedy, my lord?

KHAN: Your beloved husband-to-be, so anxious to be worthy of your love, drank a potion of quicksilver and sulphur, the elixir of life and eternal youth, and expired.

EMPRESS: Come into my arms, child. Let me share your grief.

KHAN: You're overdoing it, my dear, the child is dry-eyed.

EMPRESS: Oh, ungrateful wretch! Do you not weep for your lost love?

PING-CHO: My lady, I grieve an old man's death as all would do. But how can I weep for a love I have never known?

KHAN: Tell us, Ping-Cho. Do you wish to return to your home in Samarkand? Or would you like to stay a while in our Court and brighten all our days?

PING-CHO: If I may, my lord, I would like to stay.

KHAN: So be it. Wait, Marco. Tell us, my child, your opinion of the travellers from a distant land?

PING-CHO: They are my friends, my lord. As they will always be.

KHAN: Thank you, Ping-Cho. Wait, Marco. Let that young officer escort lady Ping-Cho to her quarters. (Ping-Cho and Ling-Tau leave.)

KHAN: She is forthright and honest. We trust her, as we once did you. Our mind dwells upon your conduct, Marco, and we've decided that you have to prove yourself worthy of our trust. If you fail this to do, we take from you our patronage, banish you from our Court, and let your enemies fall upon you. You have the key of the caravan?

POLO: Yes, my lord, but you would be well advised to have the Doctor with you when you open it.

KHAN: Fetch him, Marco, fetch him. No, wait. Not until our audience with the Lord Tegana is concluded.

[Outside the Throne room]

POLO: I underestimated you, Tegana.

TEGANA: No, you overestimated yourself.

[Palace room]

SUSAN: The Khan won't even see us.

DOCTOR: What's the point. We've tried everything.

BARBARA: What's Tegana's game?

IAN: Well, we can be quite clear about that. Tegana said, I serve Noghai and he will conquer the world with the help of the Tardis.

DOCTOR: I always knew Tegana was a two-faced villain.

SUSAN: Yes, well, that doesn't help Ian, does it? He's got to take the blame.

BARBARA: I wish I could remember what it was the Khan said that upset Marco so much.

IAN: What's it matter now?

BARBARA: Well, it was something about Noghai and Tegana.

SUSAN: I'm sure Tegana was behind that bandit raid. But why?

DOCTOR: It wasn't just my ship then. Whatever double-game Tegana is playing, he must have decided upon a long time before we appeared on the scene.

BARBARA: I remember!

DOCTOR: Hmmm?

BARBARA: The Khan was furious because Noghai had moved his armies from Samarkand to Karakorum.

DOCTOR: And that's why he delayed Marco Polo's caravan. To give Noghai more time to move his armies nearer Peking.

IAN: Yes, that makes sense. Even so, why should Kublai Khan fear Noghai? He has an enormous army, and he's already defeated him once, surely.

DOCTOR: Yes, but what you have to take into account where battles are concerned, dear boy, are its leaders. Kill the leader, and where are you? What happens? The whole army dissipates itself into chaos and utter confusion. It's happened throughout your history time and time again!

SUSAN: Grandfather, do you mean to say Tegana's going to assassinate the Khan?

DOCTOR: Exactly, and what could be a better answer then to disorganise everything here. It gives Noghai the perfect answer to overrun the country.

BARBARA: But then, we must get to the Khan before Tegana kills him, otherwise.

IAN: I've had it.

DOCTOR: Yes, we've all had it.

SUSAN: Look, how are we going to get Ian past the guard?

(Ian goes to the door and mimes the plan.)

DOCTOR: Guard! Open the door.

(The guard enters. The Doctor trips him with his stick. Everybody runs for it.)

[Corridor]

SUSAN: Which way?

IAN: Let's try down here. (They run on until they meet Polo and a guard.)

IAN: Marco.

POLO: Ian, what are you doing, you fool?

IAN: Marco, you must stop Tegana! He's going to kill the Khan!

POLO: Seize him!

IAN: Marco, listen to me, Tegana

POLO: Take him back to his cell, and keep him under close surveillance.

SUSAN: But Messer Marco, you must

LING-TAU: My lord!

POLO: What is it?

LING-TAU: A messenger has just arrived. Noghai's army is marching on Peking.

POLO: Tegana's in the throne room with the Khan now.

DOCTOR: Well, then, look, somebody must protect him.

POLO: Hold that, Doctor, and stay here, all of you.

(Polo gives a parchment to the Doctor and runs off.)

[Peking Throne room]

TEGANA: Your terms of peace are hard, my lord.

KHAN: Tegana, those who rise against us must be humbled.

TEGANA: They shall be honoured. I promised Noghai to make an end of this matter.

(Tegana draws his sword, and kills the Vizier by mistake.)

POLO: Tegana!

(Polo and Tegana have a sword fight in front of a growing crowd. Polo wins. Ling-Tau and warriors enter to take charge of Tegana. Then the Doctor and co. arrive.)

KHAN: We warned you, Tegana, those who rise against us will be humbled. You must die.

(Tegana grabs a sword and kills himself.)

POLO: Take him away. Doctor, take the keys quickly.

DOCTOR: Thank you.

POLO: Now go.

DOCTOR: Thank you.

POLO: Go.

DOCTOR: Come along.

PING-CHO: Susan, goodbye.

SUSAN: Bye, Ping-Cho.

PING-CHO: Your caravan, quickly.

SUSAN: Goodbye!

(The Tardis dematerialises.)

POLO: I'm sorry, my lord. I had to give them back their flying caravan.

KHAN: If you hadn't, the old man would have won it at backgammon. And it is true. A flying caravan. There's something for you to tell your friends in Venice.

POLO: No, my lord. They would not believe half the things that I have seen in Cathay. But what is the truth? I wonder where they are now? The past or the future?

Next Episode - The Seas of Death

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