Her relief vanished when LiSung's bad leg folded beneath him as he hit the track. He fell, slipping towardthe edge of the bridge.
Ruel muttered somethingbeneath his breath, rolled over, and grabbed Li Sung's left arm at the momenthe slid over the side. "Help me," he grated to Li Sung, the musclesof his upper arms distended with strain as he supported the man's weight."Give me your other hand too."
"No, let me." Janewas immediately beside him, grabbing the hand Li Sung extended. Together theymanaged to pull him back on the bridge.
"Run!" Ruel leapt tohis feet. "Get to the embankment." He whirled away from them. "Ihave to go see what—" He broke off as he saw the last car, the maharajah'scar, teetering back and forth, its sheer weight causing it to seesaw off thebridge and tip toward the gorge. "Ian!"
Ian was in the maharajah'scar, Jane remembered in horror. Why hadn't he jumped? She knew less than aminute had passed since she had jumped from the cab, but it seemed an eternity.
"Get off this damn bridge!"Ruel grabbed Jane's arm and pushed her forward toward the safety of theembankment a few yards away.
The heavy door of themaharajah's car was jerked open. Ian stood in the doorway, a bewilderedexpression on his face. His forehead was bleeding. "Ruel!"
"Ian! Jump!" Ruelran along the bridge toward the maharajah's car. The bridge was vibrating, theties spreading like teeth in a gaping, screaming mouth.
Another sound, even moreominous, a creaking of metal on metal. The bridge jerked, throwing Jane to theground. Her panicky gaze flew back to the maharajah's car. Ruel had also beenthrown to his knees a few yards before he reached the car. As she watched, Iancatapulted back into the car as it fell off the bridge and hung over the abysssuspended only by the coupling link to the two cars still on the track. God,let it hold, she prayed desperately. Let Ian get out!
The coupling link held, butgravity and the weight of the car was too great.
"No!" Ruel struggledto his knees, watching helplessly as all three railway cars tumbled slowly offthe bridge toward the muddy water sixty feet below.
"Ian!"
If she lived another hundredyears, Jane knew she would never forget Ruel's agonized scream of protest andhorror.
The maharajah's private carand passenger car struck the flat rocks lining the bank, crumpling like toys onimpact, the wooden sides collapsing as if fashioned of paper. The locomotivesank into the water like a submerging crocodile.
"Dear God… " shewhispered.
"Watch out for her, LiSung." Ruel was running past them, skidding down the muddy embankmenttoward the crumpled car on the rocks below.
"No!" Jane didn'trealize she had screamed the word. Ruel was going to be killed! He mustn't die.She couldn't live if Ruel died. She couldn't live…
She started after him down theembankment but had gone only a few feet when Li Sung tackled her, knocked herto the ground, and sat astride her.
"Get off me!" Shestruggled desperately, pounding at Li Sung's chest. "Don't you understand?He's going to die. They're both going to die. I've got to—"
"And you'll die, too, ifI let you go," Li Sung said. "Ruel's mad to think he can save hisbrother. The crash probably killed him."
"How do you know if wedon't try?"
"He's right, Jane."Kartauk was suddenly kneeling beside them, a lantern in his hand, his hairplastered about his pale face. "Listen to him."
She closed her eyes, feelingthe tears running down her cheeks. Ian was dead and soon Ruel would be deadtoo. "Did you see it, Kartauk?" she whispered.
"I saw it all,"Kartauk said grimly. "And I never want to see anything like itagain."
"It fell. It shouldn'thave fallen... "
"What?"
"Never mind." Shecouldn't lie there and give up when Ruel had not. She wasn't certain Ian wasdead, and by some miracle perhaps Ruel would manage to get them both out alive.They had to be ready to help if they were needed. Ruel mustn't die. He mustn'tdie...
"Get off me, LiSung." She turned to Kartauk. "Rope. Did Ruel include any rope withthe supplies he gave you?
The wreckage of themaharajah's car balanced on the rocks percariously, half in the water. Ruelcrawled through the only entrance, a gaping opening at the river's edge.
The splendid interior of thecar was now a shapeless tangle of girders, trusses, crushed timbers, andsmashed and overturned furniture. The porcelain stove was upside down,releasing flames that were now licking hungrily in an attempt to destroy whatlittle was left of the car. The fire would be no problem, Ruel thought, thedriving rain was already extinguishing it. He paused just inside the car, hisgaze frantically searching the wreckage.
