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appearing too forward. He could tell that he made her nervous. But then again, he’d only smiled at her.
    Billy would have to wait and see.
    Mel and the Doctor also saw her leave. ‘You know Mel, I think you could be right. Your charming roommate may well be in danger,’ said the Doctor.
    ‘From someone here?’ asked Mel.
    ‘That’s what we have to discover,’ he replied, throwing a suspicious glance at Keillor.
    Burton had got to his feet and was tapping a glass for silence. When the noisy clamour had died down he made an announcement. ‘This is to remind you that tonight we are having our getting-to-know-you dance. From eight till late. See you all there!’ he said and sat down.
    Mel had finished her apple and prepared to leave. ‘Try and get her to come to the dance,’ said the Doctor. ‘She might be willing to speak to me later on.’
    ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ said Mel, looking none-too-confident about her chances of success.
    The tollport was in chaos. Gavrok and a couple of his thugs had ransacked the place. The Tollmaster was quaking in his boots. Gavrok unsheathed a small zap gun from its holster and put it to the Tollmaster’s head. ‘For the last time – tell me her destination and I’ll let you live,’ hissed Gavrok.
    ‘It’s... it’s strictly confidential,’ mumbled the Tollmaster, barely audible.
    Gavrok cocked his weapon. ‘I am getting tired of all this. Tell me now!’ he said.
    The Tollmaster nervously licked his lips. ‘They were going... they were going to Disneyland on Planet Earth when they hit a satellite. They were blown off course – I don’t know where.’
    A cold smile played across Gavrok’s face. ‘You can’t do any better than that?’ he demanded.
    ‘Please,’ said the Tollmaster, shaking like a leaf, ‘I honestly don’t know anything!’
    This answer seemed to convince Gavrok who suddenly relaxed and patted the Tollmaster on the shoulder. ‘I can see you’ve done your best,’ said Gavrok. In the next instant he spun around and shot the Tollmaster who slumped onto the floor, a look of surprise still on his face.
    Gavrok’s henchmen gathered around. Gavrok’s face was dark. ‘We have wasted enough time here,’ he said, turning to his ship’s Captain. ‘Plot a course for Earth. I want every informer throughout the Galaxy on the lookout for her.’
    They stamped out of the Tollshed and into their waiting fighter. The captain punched a code into the ship’s computer and it lifted off, destined for a small blue planet where a rock’n’roll band was timing up.
     

Chapter Twelve
    The dining room at Shangri-La had been transformed into a dance hall for the get-to-know-you dance. At one end was a small raised platform. Running the full length of the makeshift stage was a banner saying ‘SHANGRI-LA 1959’.
    Streamers and brightly coloured balloons hung from the rafters and the place was packed with redcoats and tourists.
    Up on stage was Billy’s band, the Lorells. Billy had rigged up an old air raid warning horn to his amplifier and could pump out the greatest amount of wattage of any band between Pontardulais and Llandovery. The band was tuning up for their first number while Billy checked the connections under the keen eye of the Doctor.
    ‘How do you like it, Doctor?’ he asked. ‘I built it myself.
    With spare parts form the war.’ The decibels were already rising.
    ‘How appropriate,’ shouted the Doctor through the cacophony.
    ‘What?’ said Billy, cupping his ear.
    ‘I said, for a primative piece of technology, it certainly can deliver the decibels!’
    ‘That’s what rock’n’roll is all about,’ said Billy, jumping up onto the stage and picking up this guitar.
    The band launched into their first number, ‘Singing the Blues’, and almost immediately the floor was filled with writhing, swirling, sweating bodies. The Doctor pushed his way through the throng towards the cool air coming from the open door.
    Murray, jiving with a