Chapter XVI

FIGHTING FOR LIFE
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Bob leaped through the door and grabbed at Hamsa’s legs. The other man kicked viciously, but Bob wrapped his arms around the legs and hung on. Once he had a good grip, he started pulling the other man down.

Hamsa was big and he was powerful, but the steady pull from below weakened his grip on the steep rungs of the ladder which led to the top of the car and Bob could feel himself gaining. In less than a minute the other man would be down on the platform beside him and by that time the trainmen should be on hand to help him subdue Hamsa.

There was a strange exultation in Bob’s heart for he felt sure now that he was about to make the first capture in what he felt was to be the clean-up of the international gang of smugglers. It made little difference whether Hamsa had been trailing them south or whether they had encountered each other by accident. The message from Washington had indicated that Hamsa was deeply involved and Bob was determined to make the capture.

The steady pull Bob put on Hamsa’s legs and the tightness of his grasp was relentless. Slowly the other man was weakening and Bob braced himself and prepared to release Hamsa’s legs and cut loose with a half dozen hard punches when the other man finally dropped to the observation platform.

There was a commotion at the head end of the car and Bob shifted his head just enough to see the train conductor and brakeman, followed by a wide-eyed Pullman porter, hurry in.

Hamsa kicked convulsively with his legs, but Bob tightened his grasp. Then, without warning, without giving Bob a chance to get set, Hamsa suddenly released his hold and dropped. It all happened so quickly that Bob later found it a little hard to remember just what took place.

On the split second while he was dropping to the observation platform, Hamsa must have seen the trainmen charging down the aisle of the car, for when he landed, he was a bundle of tremendous energy that seemed to explode in Bob’s face.

Great, bear-like arms wrapped themselves around Bob and the young federal agent felt himself being lifted upward. For a moment he was helpless, too surprised even to attempt to struggle, but a sharp cry from behind him caused him to try to strike out with his feet for beneath came the sudden rumble of the trucks on a trestle and he knew that Hamsa, in a last desperate effort, was attempting to hurl him from the rear platform of the train.

The young federal agent wrapped his own arms around Hamsa and clung to him desperately. If Bob went, Hamsa would go with him. Of that he was certain. The rail of the platform struck Bob’s hips and he felt himself being forced backward. It was sickening to hear the rumble of the trestle beneath and a flood of rain beat down on his face, drenching the upper half of his body.

Then Hamsa gave one last, tremendous shove and Bob knew that he was going over the edge of the railing, but Hamsa was going with him. The speed of the Limited had slackened, but it was still doing at least twenty miles an hour when Bob and Hamsa, locked arm in arm, went over the rear platform. Bob closed his eyes for the shock of striking the trestle would be terrific. If he could only remain on the bridge there would be some chance of rescue for the trainmen had seen them go over the back end and would hurry back in a searching party.

As they left the train, Bob managed to get one last twist with his toes and as they fell, he was on top. The drop from the train to the trestle seemed endless. The clatter of the train trucks had dimmed, but a whistle up ahead was blaring an alarm.

Then they struck the trestle—struck it hard and rolled over once. The fall dazed Bob, but through his foggy mind he could hear the rush of water somewhere below.

Hamsa had rolled away from him but it was too dark to see just where and Bob clung to the wet steel of one of the rails. He was too weak and shaken to think of attempting to get to his feet and back of him he could hear the shriek of the air brakes as they clamped down on the wheels of the Limited and brought the Southern to an emergency stop just beyond the edge of the long trestle.