Free Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs by Max McCoy Page B

of the rear cars increased, the line was drawn like a bowstring. Indy leaped to the tongue of the forward car just as the brake line snapped at the wound he had made earlier.
    Suddenly free of part of its burden, the old locomotive picked up speed. Ahead, the tracks gradually dipped downward in a slow curve to a river valley. The rails crossed high over the river on a wooden trestle.
    Indy waved sheepishly at his friends on the retreating car. Then he drew the Webley and climbed cautiously up onto the deck of the flatcar, making sure to stay low enough behind the cargo so that the assassin couldn't see him.
    With the help of the gradually decreasing grade, and no sign of a brake, the locomotive was gaining even more speed. As the train fanned out around the curve Indy made his way to the side of the flatcar and waved his arms to try to get the attention of the crew up in the locomotive. Smoke and sparks belched from the stack. Surely they knew if they didn't slow the train down, they were going to jump the tracks and plunge into the river at the bottom of the curve.
    Indy stopped waving.
    The windows in the cab of the locomotive were empty, even though the pair of drivers on each side of the engine were churning furiously against the rails. The crew had left the throttle open and jumped into the nearest irrigation ditch when the shooting started.
    "This is no way to run a railroad," he said.
    Indy peeked over the top of a crate. The assassin was still in the back of the Dodge, both hands On the machine gun, searching for a target.
    "Cut us loose!" Indy pleaded.
    His answer was a burst that riddled the top of the crate.
    "Look, you trigger-happy polyglot," Indy shouted. "We're both going to die if we don't do something quick. I'm coming over the top of this crate, so don't shoot."
    Indy holstered his gun. He held his hands in the air, fingers spread. He squinted, clenched his teeth, and eased himself up. When he was fully erect and found that he had not been shot dead, he smiled and placed his hands on his hips.
    "Good," he said. "I knew I could talk a little—"
    The assassin was frantically working with his knife to clear the breech of the gun. The gun had jammed during the last burst, and a shell casing was stuck sideways in the ejector, preventing it from firing.
    Indy jumped up onto the hood of the truck.
    "Get away from there," he ordered as he pulled his revolver.
    The assassin backed away from the machine gun.
    "Now uncouple us. Do it, quick!"
    The flatcar was rocking back and forth on its springs as the train rocketed toward the river. The assassin walked cautiously to the front of the car, pulled the pin, and raised the lever. The car did not, however, show any tendency to leave the rest of the train.
    Indy put the gun in his belt and grasped the wheel to set the brakes manually. The wheel was stiff with rust.
    "Help me," he said.
    The assassin got on the other side of the wheel. The wheel began to turn, slowly at first and with the sound of tortured metal, then more quickly. Sparks flew from the wheels of the flatcar. At this speed, the brakes were merely an annoyance to the car's momentum. With agonizing slowness, the locomotive and the rest of the train began to move ahead.
    "Good," Indy said.
    The flatcar was only twenty yards behind the rest of the train when the locomotive left the tracks and plunged over the side of the trestle to the river below. The tender and a half-dozen freight cars were pulled over the side as well.
    Indy ducked.
    The locomotive exploded as the cold river water seeped into the superheated boiler. The debris from the blast peppered the trestle and the flatcar like shrapnel.
    The rails were badly warped, but unbroken, where the train had left the track. The flatcar bucked fiercely as it clattered over the damaged section, then lost speed and rolled to a smooth stop on the other side of the river.
    "We made it," Indy said, struggling to his feet. "Hey buddy, we made it!"
    But there was no