Page 22 (2/2)

"How do I cut the cargo free?" she spoke in French and leaned close in to the frightened young stoker boy "Quickly!"

The boy pointed in silent fear at a lever off to one side of the stea controls

"I think I have it!" Alexia dove for the knob

At the saan an evena co that Alexia could only assu toward thehtened gesticulations of the driver through theof the other cable cabin

Alexia pul ed down on the freight-release lever with al her ht

The overrides screaether they ed to muscle it down

Their rail car shuddered once, and seconds later they heard a loud crash and multiple thuds as the load of lumber fel down to the mountain below Mere moments after that, there was a lurch as their cabin cli in awith one additional shudder as it settled back onto the rails on the other side

They did not havesound of bul ets on metal heralded the return of their pursuers

Floote ran to look out a side"Revolvers, o any faster?" Alexia asked Madame Lefoux

"Not that I can rin

"We shal just have to take the cable as far as it goes and then run for the border"

"You rin only widened Alexia was beginning to suspect Mada woe, an a stately tour of the interior of the carrier, looking for any loose objects that ht serve as projectile weaponry

"You do not like Italy, do you, Floote?"

"Beautiful country, madam"

"Oh?"

"It took Mr Tarabotti quite a bit of bother to extract hilishwoman in the end"

"My mother? I can’t think of a worse fate"

"Precisely, e wrench to break one of the side s and stuck his head out He received a near miss fro hie metal tool, Floote chucked it hopeful y out theThere was a cry of alarhtly back, out of detritus range

"Shame we did not eliminate any of them e dropped the lumber"

"Indeed, madam"

"What past, Floote?" Alexia pressed

"A not very nice one, madam"

Alexia huffed in frustration "Did anyone ever tel you, you are entirely insufferable?"

Alexia went to shove more coal into the stoke hole

"Frequently, e and catch up again, and then threw a few more items out theFloote and the drones proceeded in this vein for about a half hour while the sun set slowly, turning the trees to long shadows and the snow to gray A ful moon rose up above the estured briefly with one hand before returning it to the controls

Alexia left off stoking and went to the front to see what their dis area was a wide U of platforround, presuer-unloading arrangement, built to accommodate the anticipated tourists It was a basic pul ey system with a couple of windlass et us down?"

Madalanced over "We had better hope so"

Alexia nodded and went to devise aher dispatch case and her parasol on to her body; she’d need both hands free

The rail cabin came to a bumpy halt, and Alexia, Floote, and Madame Lefoux climbed out the brokenas fast as possible Mada one of the pul ey straps and dropping with it over to the edge of the platforht Definitely reckless

The pul ey e noise but carried her down the cable at a pace only raceful forward rol , bouncing out of it onto her stockinged feet with a shout of well -being

With a deep breath of resignation, Alexia fol owed She clutched the heavy leather strap in both hands and eased off the edge of the platfor down the line far faster than the lean Frenchwoman She landed at the botto, and col apsed into a graceless heap, taking a wicked hit to the shoulder from the corner of her dispatch case She rol ed to her side and looked down; the parasol seemed to have survived better than she