"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're gonna ride back here to Lop, wait for two days... and then...return to the caravan...to collect the...thing of magic... that will bring the mighty Kublai Khan to his knees!" "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." "Thank you, Ping-Cho." "How much water does a caravan like this use crossing the Gobi Desert, Marco?" "We will use one barrel every five days, Ian." "I have allowed for eight gourds to carry us across to the other side." "The bones of many men who thought they had enough lie bleached in the desert sand." "More." "I think we should exercise some restraint, Tegana." "I'm sorry the Doctor wouldn't eat with us this evening." "Yes, so am I, Messr Marco." "I'll take him his food." "A game of chess, Ian?" "Oh, well I'm not very good, but I'll give you a game." "I gladly accept your challenge." "What magnificent pieces!" "Yes, I purchased them in Hormuz, on my first journey to Cathay." "Now they go with me everywhere." "Do you, er, play...?" "I'm sorry, Messr." "Marco..." "Do you play chess, lady?" "Not very well, Tegana." "Excuse me." "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 "Shahmat"." "Shahmat?" "Checkmate?" "It means the king is dead." "We'll get the TARDIS back, Susan." "Yes, but at Kublai Khan's Court, when it's too late." "We should be up there - another time, another galaxy." "Oh, we'll think of something." "How?" "Ian playing chess with Marco?" "Grandfather being rude and sulking by himself?" "Oh, I didn't know he's sulking, is he?" "Well, he won't eat." "He won't even talk to me." "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, and when we're in it, we feel safe and secure." "But when we're out of it..." "Will he talk to me?" "Confide in me?" "Oh, he's like a rubber ball." "He'll come bouncing out of there soon full of ideas." "One day, we'll know all the mysteries of the skies... and we'll stop our wandering..." "Then you and I will say good-bye." "Hum?" "Oh, not yet." "Not for a long time!" "Well, I think we should say goodnight anyway." "Are you coming?" "No, not for the moment." "Goodnight." "Ping-Cho?" "Shh!" "She's gone to bed." "Oh, well..." "I'll go too then." "Goodnight." "Goodnight, Susan." "Sleep well." "Now, what was I about to do?" "Ah yes..." "Not asleep yet?" "No, I was thinking." "What about?" "How peaceful it is in the desert." "Oh, it's a lovely night!" "The moon will rise later." "That is the time to see the desert." "It is like a great silver sea." "The metal seas of Venus..." "Where?" "Oh, a long way from here." "I've never seen a moonlit night." "How long before the moon rises?" "Two or three hours." "I'll call you then." "Night in the desert is very beautiful." "Don't be deceived by it, Miss Wright." "The desert is always dangerous." "Like my Queen!" "Check!" "Oh, Marco, can you save your King?" "I think so, Tegana." "Check." "Oh crazy!" "Hey, Ping-cho...!" "Shh!" "The guard will hear you." "Crazy?" "It means I dig it." "You know - like it." "This language of yours is very strange." "Tegana!" "Let's follow him." "He will be angry!" "You're not afraid?" "No, I am not." "Come." "What is it, Marco?" "The horses are very restless." "There's a sandstorm coming, Ian." "How do you know?" "Notice how still it is - as if everything were waiting." "They sense it too." "Will it be a bad one?" "Bad enough." "I must attend to the horses." "He walks so quickly." "Can you still see him?" "Yes." "There he is, over there." "Oh, let's give up." "Who is afraid now?" "No, I'm not afraid." "It's...it's just that it's so hot." "I can hardly breathe." "Yet it was most pleasant when we left the caravan." "Oh, come on, let's go back." "All right." "Susan, listen!" "What's that?" "Where?" "That cloud on the horizon." "Susan, it's a sandstorm!" "What!" "It's coming this way!" "Ping-Cho, we must get back before it reaches us!" "No, the caravan is too far away!" "No, come on!" "We must get back." "We can't stay here!" "No, we'll get caught in it - and we'll never find our way!" "Ping-Cho, come on!" "No, we must shelter here." "No!" "Ping-Cho!" "___!" "Ian, what is it?" "What's happened?" " Don't be afraid, Barbara." "It's a sandstorm." " But the..." "It sounds as if all the devils in hell were laughing!" "It's the wind shifting the sand!" "It's terrifying!" "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 travelled across the desert." "It can also be like a..." "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." "It's fantastic that the Doctor's still asleep!" " Tegana's not here!" "His bed's empty!" " What?" "!" "Has anyone seen him?" "Well, he can't be out in this!" "He must be!" "Well, what will happen to him?" "If he finds shelter, he'll be all right!" "Well...well, can't we do anything?" "Nothing." "I think I'll see if the girls are all right..." "Ping-Cho!" "Tegana's no fool." "He can look after himself." " Don't worry..." " They're gone...they're not there!" " Gone?" " Their beds are empty!" " Wait!" " No!" "Barbara!" " Barbara, you can't go out there!" " Let go!" " Barbara, you'll be lost in seconds!" " ___!" "Calm down, Barbara!" " Marco is right - there's nothing we can do!" " The girls!" " We must wait until the storm blows itself out!" " There's nothing we can do now!" "Oh, it's all your fault anyway!" "If you hadn't kept us prisoner here, none of this would have happened!" "Susan!" "Ping-Cho, what's that?" "There it is again..." "It's Ian..." "I can hear him!" "It's Ian!" "Susan, it isn't!" "It's the desert saying it!" "It is!" "It's Ian!" "Ian!" "Ian!" "Ian, we're here!" "Ian!" "How soon can we go and look for them?" "Not until it's light." "Let me go as soon as the storm's over!" "Ian, you'd miss them in the dark." "You must wait till it's light!" "We can't just go on sitting here!" "Shh!" "The Doctor's still asleep." "We don't want him to know about the girls." "Barbara, I give you my word that until we find the girls, we will not leave this place." "Susan!" "Do you know you had us half-worried to death." "Where've you been?" " We went for a walk." " A walk!" "Without asking me?" "!" "Don't you dare do that again!" "Do you understand?" "That also applies for you, Ping-Cho." "I'm sorry, Messr Marco." "Has...has Grandfather been very worried?" "Luckily for you, he's been asleep the whole time." "And we don't want him to know anything about this." "I'm surprised that you'd encourage such a venture, Tegana." "They weren't with me!" "I found them - crouched behind a sand dune." "You were alone?" "Ah, well, it was a pleasant night." "I decided for a walk." "I told the guard - he knew all about it." "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." "Yes, Messr Marco." "This has been a terrible experience for us all, Marco." "Couldn't we spend one more night here?" "I'm sorry, Miss Wright." "But surely one day can't make all that much difference?" "One day without progress is one day's water wasted." "And in the Gobi Desert, that could mean the difference between life and death." "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." "Susan!" "Susan!" "I can't get this sand out of my hair." "Last night there were moments when I was sure I would never be here again." "Ping-Cho, did you believe Tegana last night, when he told Messr Marco about going for a walk?" "Why not?" "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." "Susan, why would he lie to Messr Marco?" "I don't know!" "He's an important man" " the 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?" "No!" "No, he wouldn't." "That's what's so strange..." "What?" "The fact that he did." "What is that you do?" "I keep a journal." "Why?" "Because it interests me." "Marco!" "That's excellent, excellent!" "But it's better a man keeps the blade of his sword clean... than its edge sharp." "You continue your writing, Marco." "I'll see to the horses tonight." "I'll, er, I'll give the guard his instructions." "No!" "Send him to me." "Please." "All of them, Marco?" "Yes, except for the one we're using." "How much is there left?" "Without rationing, enough for today." "And with rationing, how long will it last?" "Three - four days." "Is there enough to get us back to Lop?" "If we're very careful with it, yes." "But who could have done it?" "Bandits, Ian." "Bandits?" "In the desert?" "Yes, this 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." "So if we turn back, we're bound to be attacked." "Yes." "Then we shall fight." "There must be somewhere else we can go to?" "The nearest is a small oasis, but that's one week's journey north from here." "Marco, if we pressed really hard, walked day and night, how long would it take us?" "Five, possibly six days." "As long as that?" "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." "Well, then we must go back to Lop." "But they're bound to be waiting for us there!" "No, we must go north, and take a chance." "Yes, what Ian says makes sense." "We go to the oasis." "We shall all die of thirst." "I will not go." "Then what will you do?" "Return to Lop." "I'm not afraid of any bandits." "Just give me my share of the water..." "No, Tegana." "You refuse the Warlord Tegana?" "I am commander of this caravan, and I am responsible to Kublai Khan for your safety." "We go north, together." "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..." "The worst of the sun is nearly over." "We must move on again as soon we've had this." "Have the bearers had their ration?" "You take it." "We will share." "Marco, is this all we're going to get until tonight, mm?" "Until we reach the oasis, Doctor, yes." "There's no more?" "How much further?" "I cannot say." "I will go to the oasis and bring back water." "Do you think you could reach the oasis?" "Yes, my...my horse is still the strongest." "Very well, Tegana." "You, er, wait for me here." "No, while we can, we'll push on towards the oasis." "Right." "Good luck, Tegana..." "We must go." "Susan...help me up..." "Oh, Grandfather!" "What's the...what the matter with him?" "He's exhausted." "We'll fix up a cot for him in the wagon." "To be jostled and bumped about?" "He needs to rest in comfort, Marco." "What about the TARDIS?" "He'd be more comfortable, Marco." "Please, Messr Marco!" "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." "Thank you." "Marco...without water, the Doctor isn't going to last twenty-four hours." "None of us are, Ian - without water." "Our fate rests with Tegana." "Here's water, Marco Polo!" "Come for it!"