Devlin felt the cuffs tearing at the skin on his wrists as he lay stretched out on the floor trying to snag the rifle from under the body of the guard. When the train had jerked to a halt, Harlan was just putting a forkful of beans into his mouth and he lurched off the crate and crashed into the side of the car, running the fork right inside his throat.

Devlin had watched as the dying guard plucked feebly at the utensil, his eyes rolling wildly and his breath gurgling out of his mouth in a bloody stream. When the sound stopped, Harlan's hand fell, slapping noisily on the floor of the car and Devlin hissed a satisfied sigh.

"Cain't say much for your table manners, Harlan." He snorted a laugh and when his eye fell on the stock of the rifle under the body, he quickly stretched himself out trying to haul it closer. Getting free had never left his mind and although there never had been a real plan, he knew that luck always played a huge part and right now Otis was facing what he considered good luck.

Stanley was pleased and relieved to be the one chosen to clear all the passengers from the sleeping car and herd them up to the lounge car. Ryan didn't want any extra weight or sudden movements while they were working. Being the smallest, Deke had been designated to crawl out under the car and loop the rope around the end of the broken brace.

He was not a happy chap crawling through muck and wet, threatened by the wrenching creaks of the bridge structure. What he wanted most right then was a large swallow from his stash. The wind whipped stinging water into his face and he had to continually rub his eyes to see what he was doing. Jigger and Jonas held the line tight and when Deke waved and called out, they dragged him back to safety.

Ryan gave a signal to Carl and the engine came to life with a shuddering roar and the big wheels slipped dangerously back onto the bridge while at the same time the two men gave a mighty yank and dragged the broken brace free of the tracks. Ryan waved a frantic stop and then a winding of his arm indicating for Carl to go forward.

They stood with their eyes glued on the rails as the train inched forward again. Rain and wind swept angrily down the side of the car and when he turned his head, Ryan could see Cybil, with a blanket over her head, watching them from the platform of the lounge car. As the train wheels left the last of the bridge it jerked to a stop again and Ryan swore into the wind. A piece of the track had separated from the strain and the wheel stuck on the small gap. He waved to Carl again and signaled for him to come back.

The Judge, Abner and Penny Hatcher shuffled through the lounge car looking for a place to light, pausing briefly to stare at Amos and ask for news. Cybil shared what she could and then returned to her vigil at the platform.

"Where's my sister?" Jean asked, looking back behind Stanley.

"There ain't nobody else on that car, ma'am. Nobody answers anyway and I looked in the rooms." Stanley shrugged and kept the group moving "Maybe they're already up there; he pointed to the dining car. Marshal says you need to stay with the rest of us too."

Harriet looked up in surprise. They must have come through while she was back in her compartment. With a casual move to have a look at Amos, she waited until the others seemed busy and then slipped out of the car and across the platform. The wind tore at her dress and she felt stinging rain on her face in the short passage across.

She moved through the dining car and into the kitchen, peering across at the back of the prison car. The strange sight of a pair of legs just disappearing onto the roof made her smile and she knew what she was going to do.

Hannah came out of the washroom and Jean shouted her relief. If they knew what she and Clifford were up to there would be hell to pay. She joined the others, her mind two cars up on Clifford.

Devlin froze as he heard someone fiddling with the lock on the door. The rifle was inches away from retrieval but he would never get it in time. He dragged himself back into the corner and waited. The fumbling went on for some time and he began to wonder just whom it might be; certainly when he couldn't raise his guard the Marshal wouldn't be wasting time with the lock.

The noise stopped and he held his breath listening. Suddenly he heard a scraping on the roof and he saw the small trap open and a pair of legs drop though. A moment later his visitor was standing, dripping wet, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Well, what a surprise, it ain't the Marshal." he sneered. He watched as the man scanned the corpse of the guard and noticed a shiver of surprise. "He wasn't much at usin' a fork to eat." Devlin grinned and watched as the body was shifted away and the rifle he so badly wanted was picked up and checked for ammunition.

The barrel swung around and pointed at his face. "Oh come now. You wouldn't shoot a man tied up like this." He held up his shackled hands. The lever jacked a shell into the chamber and he put an angry snarl on his face as the barrel came closer. "I thought you was all so high and mighty about what I done and here you are doin' the same thing." He shifted up against the wall, his eyes fixed on the barrel.

"Here." A ring of keys sailed into his lap and he stared at them blankly.

"What's this?"

"Take off the cuffs."

Devlin smiled and fingered the keys; what was he thinkin' about good luck? "A little honour creepin' in?" The rifle cocked loudly and he held up his hands, nodding. "I'm doin' it, hang on." The cuffs jangled to the floor and he rubbed his raw wrists and ankles but didn't move.

"Up."

"We goin' somewhere?"

"Up." The barrel lowered to his stomach.

"Okay, okay. Don't get itchy." Devlin stood and staggered slightly from not having used his legs much. "Now what?"

"Outside."

"Huh?"

"Outside... now."

"You know it's pourin' rain out there..." The barrel caught the side of his head and he clamped his eyes shut from the stinging pain.

"I said now."

He opened the door but before he could think of slamming it in his captor's face, the barrel dug painfully into his back and he stumbled across the Marshal's sleeping part of the car.

"Open that one and get onto the platform."