'Only don't try to start anything,' warned Troilus, 'because I've got my sword; and I'm just longing for an excuse to use it!'

You could tell he was: he kept easing the thing in and out of its scabbard. Steven hastened to a.s.sure him that he deplored violence in any form especially that one.

Troilus sneered. 'I suppose that's why Paris was able to capture you? I thought you looked as if there was something lacking!'

Vicki sprang to Steven's defence: 'Look here, Troilus, if you've just dropped in to insult my friend, you can jolly well go back where you came from! I can't think what you're doing here, anyway. I'm sure I don't want to see you.'

'Oh, don't you? Very well in that case I'll just take your food back to the kitchens.' He picked up a hamper he'd dumped by the door... Our stomachs rumbled as one stomach. He turned in the doorway, and relented. 'Look, are you quite sure you don't want some of this? I've been to an awful lot of trouble to get it and the others would be furious, if they knew.'

My heart bled for the boy. Love isn't easy at the best of times and this wasn't one of them.

'Oh, please please, Troilus,' said Vicki, 'I'm sorry if I was rude but you were being so silly, and all over nothing. Diomede is is just my friend, aren't you, Steven?' just my friend, aren't you, Steven?'

'I try to be,' said Steven Diomede, 'but sometimes you make it very difficult.'

'She does, doesn't she?' agreed Troilus. 'I'd noticed that.

Well then, everything's all right. I say, do you mind if I join you?

I haven't eaten since I got back from patrol.' And he fell upon the salamanders in aspic like a wolf unfolded.

We hastened to compete. At this rate, there wouldn't be a lot left.

'Patrol?' enquired Vicki, between bites, 'Surely you're not mixed up in the fighting, are you? You're too young!'

'These days, military service begins as soon as you can wrestle your weight in wild-cats! Which I can,' he added, unnecessarily. 'Anyway, I'll bet I'm older than you are?'

It was agreed, after some discussion, that they were both eighteen next birthday: and the earth-shattering coincidence of this, seemed to take their minds off everything else for the time being. They chattered away to each other like a couple of budgerigars who've been at the cuttle-fish a bit. Steven and I looked at each other, and shrugged: youth!

Youth! Quite nauseating!

But at length Steven decided that, although young love might be all very well in its way, it was time to return to the matter in hand.

'I say, Troilus,' he said, 'I'm sorry to interrupt, and all that; but since you two seem to have so much in common, do you think there's any chance you might persuade your father to let us out of here?'

That put a damper on the proceedings, as I could have told him it would. A cloud pa.s.sed rapidly across the young prince's face and settled in the region of his eyebrows.

'I'm afraid not,' he sighed, 'unless Cressida comes up with a brilliant idea for the war-effort. Don't be misled by those twinkling eyes of his they're ice-crystals, those are; as most of us have good reason to know. I suppose you haven't haven't thought of anything, have you?' thought of anything, have you?'

Vicki shook her head, sadly; and I was afraid that under this new-found infatuation of hers, she might be tempted to blow the official secrets act wide open, and tell Troilus what the Doctor was preparing for their entertainment. Love can sometimes play the devil with old loyalties. So I persuaded my mind to race in some last despairing circles and do you know? it found something, and pounced on it with a glad cry! Of course there was a way in which Vicki could seem seem to have helped the Trojans, without putting the Doctor at risk. There was one vital little piece of information, which I had forgotten to pa.s.s on to them. to have helped the Trojans, without putting the Doctor at risk. There was one vital little piece of information, which I had forgotten to pa.s.s on to them.

'Oh, I don't know, Cressida,' I mused, 'I thought that plan of yours for persuading the whole Greek navy to sail away, was quite brilliant!'

'What plan?' lisped the idiot child.

'Well, obviously, you know far more about it than I do I'm not entirely sure of the details but I must say, that spell you concocted put the fear of Olympus into me; and I bet it'll have done the same to the Greeks by now!'

'Oh, that that?' she said, catching on rather late in the day. 'Do you really think so? It was only an experiment, after all.'

'Well, of course it's only about an hour since you did it, so it may be rather early to say. But it should be dawn by now, and I'd think there'd be some sign of movement, if it's going to work at all. Tell you what, Troilus why don't you scoot up to one of the watch-towers, and see if the retreat's started yet? I'd be jolly interested to know!'

He looked at me with his eyes popping like seed-pods in summer, so did Vicki and Steven, come to that. Not having my privileged information, they obviously thought my wound had produced new complications of a dangerous nature.

And then Troilus darted off on his errand like Atalanta in a marathon though remembering, d.a.m.nit, to lock the cell door behind him. 'Wait here,' he said, ridiculously, 'I'll go and see!'

And off he went.

23.

A Victory Celebration We didn't have to wait very long: he was back in no time, bubbling with euphoria. Yes the Greeks had gone! Not a ship to be seen anywhere, so presumably they'd sailed for home; and presumably Cressida, the wonder-girl who tells your fortune, speaks your weight, and halves the house-work, was responsible!

Anyway, Paris had gone to make cautiously sure; but there seemed to be no doubt about the matter: and since, as the slogan writers were already saying, a Greek defeat was joy for Troy, would we care to come upstairs to a hastily summoned conference-c.u.m-saturnalia that Priam was preparing for us?

Wild revelry, tumult, and little savoury biscuits there would be he could promise us that!

Well, of course we would so care although there was some little local difficulty at first about whether Diomede was included in the invitation: I mean 'bring a friend' is one thing, but 'an enemy alien' quite another.

However, as I pointed out, since his former a.s.sociates and colleagues had left him lurching, there wasn't a lot he could do to undermine Troy all on his own so why not forget and forgive? And the point was taken as usual I I had to think of everything! so, by the time we entered the State Apartments, we were all congratulating each other like old friends wondering who's going to pay for the drinks! Very uproarious and convivial, the whole thing! had to think of everything! so, by the time we entered the State Apartments, we were all congratulating each other like old friends wondering who's going to pay for the drinks! Very uproarious and convivial, the whole thing!

A bevy of dancing girls was high-stepping it about the ballroom, scattering rose petals all over the mosaic never mind that someone would have to sweep them up afterwards.

Helen was smouldering as usual; but rather thoughtfully, I fancied; because it had probably just occurred to her, amid the general rejoicing, that if Menelaus really had gone back to Sparta, then she could whistle for any alimony she might have been expecting.

And Ca.s.sandra, poor dear, had slipped into something more than usually grotesque for the occasion an eye-catching little snake-skin number, with tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of sack-cloth and ashes because really she'd achieved the necromancer's equivalent of forecasting hail in a heat-wave, hadn't she? But never mind she'd get her gloomy revenge before too long, if I wasn't very much mistaken...

However, old King Priam was on top of his form. He advanced to meet us, dithering with delight, as if to say he'd always known the prodigal daughter would come up trumps; and any fatted calves in the vicinity had better watch out, if they knew what was good for them.

'Cressida, my dear girl,' he said, 'why on earth couldn't you have told us before you were going to do something like this?

You'd have saved yourself all that time in the cells and us a great deal of needless worry!'

'She didn't tell you,' croaked Ca.s.sandra, absolutely in mid-season shape, 'because it's some kind of treachery! Don't trust her further, father!'

And she was right, of course. Although the treachery was mine, if anybody's.

'Stuff and silly nonsense!' shouted Priam. 'Go and feed the sacred serpents, or something! If you can't behave pleasantly at a time like this, then I'd rather you didn't infest the festivities at all! Now look I don't want to be hard on you why don't you dance with that nice Diomede he's all on his own? Caper about a bit like the rest of us enjoy yourself for once it'll do you good!'

To Steven's wan relief, she didn't seem much taken with the idea, and retired to the outskirts of the proceedings in a marked manner. He beckoned me over to him.

'Don't you think, Cyclops, it's time you were on your way?'

This puzzled me. 'I wasn't thinking of going on anywhere just yet,' I said, 'it looks like rather a good party, don't you think?'

'You're not using your head,' he snapped. I liked that! I'd done all the constructive thinking, so far! 'You've got to go and tell the Doctor that we're quite all right now, so he doesn't need to rescue us after all. Tell him to forget about that fool horse, and just meet us at the TARDIS later. Tell him where it is, and suggest we rendezvous there at... say... nine-thirty tomorrow morning. That should give us time to get over the celebrations.'

I couldn't believe my ears! And I was about to explain to him that I didn't think, somehow, it was in the Doctor's gift to cancel the operation, when there.was an interruption.

'Ah, here comes Paris,' said Priam, happy to see him for once. 'Well, my boy have the Greeks really gone?'

'As far as I could tell from a distance,' said Paris, not wishing to commit himself. 'As a matter of fact, I didn't like to go right up to the actual camp-site.'

'Why on earth not? Upon my soul there's nothing to be nervous of now Achilles will have disappeared with the rest of them! Go back at once, and have a proper look!'

'Well the point is that there does seem to be something there; and, I don't really know how to put this, but I think it may be the Great Horse of Asia!'

Not the sort of remark, you may think, to contribute much to the party spirit; and, if so, you are right! There was what is known as a rapt silence; and even the hips of the dancing girls b.u.mped and ground to a standstill.

'You think it's what what?' asked Priam, incredulously.

'Well, if it isn't, it's first cousin to it. Standing all by itself, just this side of the Graecian lines. Look, you should be able to see it from here it's enormous!'

So the meeting adjourned to one of the watch-towers. Yes, there it was all right, the Doctor's brain-child or mine! And, I must say, even at that distance, it looked formidable ominous, you know, and somehow sinister. Just a wooden horse, after all...

but no there was more to it than that. I tell you, my hackles rose at the sight of it! Odd very! Even Priam was speechless for once.

Vicki was first off the mark: 'So that's that's the Trojan Horse,' she sighed. 'Oh, dear...' the Trojan Horse,' she sighed. 'Oh, dear...'

'That's the what, did you say?' asked Troilus.

Ca.s.sandra zoomed in, on the instant. 'Yes, ask her, you besotted young fool! She knows very well what it is! It is our doom it is the death of Troy, brought upon us by the cursed witch!'

Paris turned on her: 'Now understand me, Ca.s.sandra I will not have one word said against that horse! It's mine I found it!'

'And I won't hear one word against Cressida,' said Troilus.

'She's mine now that I've found her!'

Two brothers, shoulder to shoulder against the world! Jolly impressive if it hadn't been so tragic.

'Will you not, you pair of degenerate simpletons?' Ca.s.sandra said, as if washing her hands of the whole affair. She'd done all she could and somehow she knew knew, d'you see?

'Then woe to the House of Priam! Woe to the Trojans! And woe to the world, as we've known it!'

Paris looked at her wearily. I think he he may have known, even then, that she was right but he'd had enough, and the game was over. may have known, even then, that she was right but he'd had enough, and the game was over.

'Well,' he said, 'at any rate, I'm glad you're too late to say "Whoa" to the horse! I've given orders to have it brought into the city!'

24.

Doctor in the Horse 'Now once and for all, Steven,' I said, as soon as I couldn't avoid being alone with him again for a moment, 'nothing will induce me to go back to that foul Greek camp! Look what happened to me last time, will you?'

'Please, dear little Cyclops,' put in Vicki, sidling up to us like the girl of silk and sherbet she'd just discovered she was. 'If you won't do it for me, think of Helen.'

'I'd rather not, if you don't mind awfully. I've been trying to keep my attention on other matters ever since I first saw her.'

'But I know you like her. Surely you don't want her to be killed, do you?'

I could have spat in her face, if I hadn't been fond of her.

'No red-blooded man is going to kill Helen, you can be sure of that. But, in any case, I'm not going in reach of Odysseus again, for you and Helen together in a gift-wrapped package! I've got my own life to be getting on with, thank you!'

'Well, that won't take up much of your time in the future, will it; unless you can manage to stop the Doctor somehow?

You'll be slaughtered with the rest of us,' said Steven heartlessly.

'So you'd better hurry up, or it will be too late!'

I saw the point, of course. But why, in Zeus's name, did it have to be me all the time? I was sick and tired of doing all the work and getting precious little thanks for it. There comes a time when a man has got to put his foot down. So eventually, I put my best one forward, and thinking d.a.m.n it! of Helen all the way, I went back to meet my destiny!