sight.
'One assures you, my lord, that one
will not permit a repetition of such an unfortunate occurrence,'
Wang-Lo said with a dramatic gesture. 'One knows the leader of the
convoy who will come personally to take charge of the wagon.'
As they ate a late-night supper,
Ping-Cho asked Ian if he really believed Kublai Khan would let her
out of the marriage contract.
'If it were to be seen that your
affections lay elsewhere,' he said, studying his chopsticks before
pointing them at her. 'I'll tell you something else. The Doctor's on
your side and I've never seen him ultimately outwitted yet. He gets
his way.'
In the morning the leader of the
convoy, with four warriors, collected the wagon under Ian's watchful
eye and a new escort arrived to take them to the summer palace. All
along the route they were to discover that their meals and
accommodation had been arranged and at each way-station the manager
made a point of remarking that it had been the trusted Captain of
mighty Kublai Khan, Ling-Tau, who had dealt personally with the
matter. Ian noticed that Ping-Cho's blushes became more frequent.
14 Mighty Kublai Khan
Every bone in the Doctor's body ached
and each evening in a different way-station he soaked himself in a
hot bath knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Nonetheless, he
prided himself on his courage and his resilience, with not a murmur
of complaint as they trotted across the fertile country beside the
river. On the sixth night they stayed at the way-station in
Cheng-Ting which was also known as the White City because the colour
of the buildings could be seen shimmering from afar in the sunlight.
At noon on the seventh day they came to a red lacquered wooden
archway with a double filigreed golden gateway attended by two guards
in resplendent uniforms. On one side of the archway was the river and
on the other side a vast forest stretched off into the distance. The
guards opened the gates to let the party through the archway.
'We are entering the grounds of the
summer palace,' Marco said as the Doctor thought it would have been
easier to ride around the archway than go through it. In front of
them a wide well-kept grass path curved into the forest. As they rode
along it, Marco told them about the palace.
'The grounds are enormous,' he said,
'so that the Khan can indulge himself with his two passions, falconry and hunting.' He turned to
Barbara and asked her to guess the number of white stallions in the
stables. She thought the question meant there must be a lot.
'Five hundred,' she replied. Marco
laughed.
'Twenty times that number.'
'Ten thousand,' Susan exclaimed.
'One horse is more than enough for me,'
the Doctor muttered, in the belief that his ordeal was almost at an
end. But they still had two leagues to travel before they emerged
from the forest and saw the summer palace in front of them. It stood
in the middle of a large clearing encircled by the forest. There was
a high, red lacquered wall with a golden trelliswork along the top
with a golden dragon at each corner. Barbara estimated that the wall
was half-a-mile long. In the middle of it, facing them, was a golden
double gate and behind the wall they could see a central dome of
gold, flanked by golden spires which towered above it. As they
approached the gates, two guards barely touched them with their hands
and silently the two halves swung open. The Doctor thought it would
come as no surprise if the counterweights were solid gold as well.
Barbara and Susan could hardly believe
their eyes as they rode through the open gates. Side walls similar to
the one in front stretched back and Barbara realised that there must
be a rear one as well. In the centre, dominating everything, stood
the summer palace. It was a low squat building of enormous
proportions with an elaborate cornice in gold around the edge of the
roof, in the centre of which was the golden dome. Four wide steps led
up to a veranda enclosed in an elaborate, delicate marble
'One assures you, my lord, that one
will not permit a repetition of such an unfortunate occurrence,'
Wang-Lo said with a dramatic gesture. 'One knows the leader of the
convoy who will come personally to take charge of the wagon.'
As they ate a late-night supper,
Ping-Cho asked Ian if he really believed Kublai Khan would let her
out of the marriage contract.
'If it were to be seen that your
affections lay elsewhere,' he said, studying his chopsticks before
pointing them at her. 'I'll tell you something else. The Doctor's on
your side and I've never seen him ultimately outwitted yet. He gets
his way.'
In the morning the leader of the
convoy, with four warriors, collected the wagon under Ian's watchful
eye and a new escort arrived to take them to the summer palace. All
along the route they were to discover that their meals and
accommodation had been arranged and at each way-station the manager
made a point of remarking that it had been the trusted Captain of
mighty Kublai Khan, Ling-Tau, who had dealt personally with the
matter. Ian noticed that Ping-Cho's blushes became more frequent.
14 Mighty Kublai Khan
Every bone in the Doctor's body ached
and each evening in a different way-station he soaked himself in a
hot bath knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Nonetheless, he
prided himself on his courage and his resilience, with not a murmur
of complaint as they trotted across the fertile country beside the
river. On the sixth night they stayed at the way-station in
Cheng-Ting which was also known as the White City because the colour
of the buildings could be seen shimmering from afar in the sunlight.
At noon on the seventh day they came to a red lacquered wooden
archway with a double filigreed golden gateway attended by two guards
in resplendent uniforms. On one side of the archway was the river and
on the other side a vast forest stretched off into the distance. The
guards opened the gates to let the party through the archway.
'We are entering the grounds of the
summer palace,' Marco said as the Doctor thought it would have been
easier to ride around the archway than go through it. In front of
them a wide well-kept grass path curved into the forest. As they rode
along it, Marco told them about the palace.
'The grounds are enormous,' he said,
'so that the Khan can indulge himself with his two passions, falconry and hunting.' He turned to
Barbara and asked her to guess the number of white stallions in the
stables. She thought the question meant there must be a lot.
'Five hundred,' she replied. Marco
laughed.
'Twenty times that number.'
'Ten thousand,' Susan exclaimed.
'One horse is more than enough for me,'
the Doctor muttered, in the belief that his ordeal was almost at an
end. But they still had two leagues to travel before they emerged
from the forest and saw the summer palace in front of them. It stood
in the middle of a large clearing encircled by the forest. There was
a high, red lacquered wall with a golden trelliswork along the top
with a golden dragon at each corner. Barbara estimated that the wall
was half-a-mile long. In the middle of it, facing them, was a golden
double gate and behind the wall they could see a central dome of
gold, flanked by golden spires which towered above it. As they
approached the gates, two guards barely touched them with their hands
and silently the two halves swung open. The Doctor thought it would
come as no surprise if the counterweights were solid gold as well.
Barbara and Susan could hardly believe
their eyes as they rode through the open gates. Side walls similar to
the one in front stretched back and Barbara realised that there must
be a rear one as well. In the centre, dominating everything, stood
the summer palace. It was a low squat building of enormous
proportions with an elaborate cornice in gold around the edge of the
roof, in the centre of which was the golden dome. Four wide steps led
up to a veranda enclosed in an elaborate, delicate marble
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