All this was reported to the Master on his viewer screen.  He knew nothing of the Doctor's desperate design to escape, and this last and - as far as he was concerned - final glimpse of the TARDIS stirred deep intestinal satisfactions.  Above him, on the web, Adric's eyes spoke loudly of his own feelings.  But as his hated captor turned back to him, Adric masked his horror with a smile.

'So... this petty feud with the Doctor is over, Adric.  You are wise to join me.'

The boy met the Master's eyes.  'You've got to keep your side of the bargain.'  The Master had given his word that as soon as Adric consented he would release him from the agony of the web.  But now as the escalator carried him up to arrange the disconnection of the threads, the Master seemed to be struck by a sudden doubt.  As if it drew its power from the mind of its inventor, the device stopped in mid-flight.

'I wonder...' said the Master, 'if you are truly sincere?  I sense a barrier behind your eyes.  You're keeping something from me?'

The boy tried hard to smile back at him. 'How could I.'

'The universe is purged of the Doctor and his impossible dreams of goodness.  You and I belong to the future, Adric.'

Adric saw that the Master was watching him closely, testing his reaction.  He attempted a nod, but the web constrained his head.  'The Doctor was doomed, I see that now.'

The Master seemed satisfied with the answer.  The escalator started up again, extending above the boy's head and bringing him within reach of the suspension points from which the great silvery web hung.  As he worked at the business of disconnection, the Master resumed the conversation.  'He might have escaped - yes, even that was possible.  But I had in store a trap behind that trap that would have been a joy to spring.'

'Another trap?'

'Of course.  The intelligence to plan for contingencies is what distinguishes victors from victims in this great and greedy universe.  I had in mind a journey back in time... a long waiting...  Why are you so curious?'

Adric did not answer, but no answer was necessary, because at that moment, just as the Master was in the act of disconnecting one of the threads, a small blue spark made him jump back in surprise.  'Residual voltage in the Hadron Amplifier?' he exclaimed, turning accusingly on the boy.  'You're receiving an image.'

The Master ran down the escalator to the console and spent a moment manipulating the levers.  'What are you concealing from me?  Some distant event, beyond the range of my own scanner?  I'll burn through your barrier.  Bring it to me, boy.  Can it possibly be...?'

Adric screwed his eyes up tight, fighting against the technology that was pillaging his mind.  But once more the Master's voltages overcame his resistance.  It appeared on the screen, the image that had begun as a wish and had clarified in his mind to a certainty.  The familiar police box shape hung in space, spinning gently against a scattered galaxy of stars.

The Master pulled at a lever on his console and a row of galvanometers kicked into life.  His concentration was on the screen, and he ignored the moan of pain from behind him that accompanied the swelling voltages.  'Closer, boy.  I must see him...'