The Iron Tiger - Jack Higgins [50]
He drove past, turned in a tight circle and parked a few yards away. Drummond jumped down and walked back. Brackenhurst was smiling nervously, relief on his face.
'Thank God you came. I knew you would.'
'What happened?' Drummond asked.
'It's the brakes. They're hydraulic on this truck. They've stopped working. There must be a leak.'
'That's all we needed.'
'We'll have to leave the women now,' Brackenhurst said.
'Take a look underneath, Ahmed,' Drummond said and he climbed into the cab of Brackenhurst's truck.
He pumped the brake pedal up and down several times, but there was no answering pressure. At that moment, Ahmed called to him. He jumped down, pushed his way through the women who had crowded silently around and crawled under the truck.
'See, sahib,' Ahmed said grimly. 'The pipe has been deliberately fractured.'
As Drummond started to examine it, the engine of the supply truck burst into life. He scrambled out frantically, but he was too late. As he shoved the women out of the way, Brackenhurst accelerated. For a little while there was the sound of the engine and then that too died away and there was silence.
Ahmed moved to his side. 'I think there must be a special place in hell reserved for Mr. Brackenhurst. What do we do now, sahib?'
'Go after him, what else can we do?'
'Without brakes, sahib?'
'It wouldn't be the first time. I'll take the wheel.'
He turned wearily to the women as a small child started to cry. Its mother hushed it and there was silence again as they waited, stolid and patient.
'Get in!' he said. 'Go on, all of you! Get back in!'
God knows what Brackenhurst would do when he reached Hamid and the others, probably keep right on going. And there was no means of knowing what Hamid might do. Best to try and catch up with him as soon as possible. They could unload the ammunition and transfer the women. If he drove carefully and used the gears, he could manage without the foot brake.
He climbed behind the wheel, eased off the handbrake and took the truck slowly forward. After a while, he gained more confidence, moved into top gear and put on speed. Within five minutes he reached the place where he and Hamid had stopped and rolled slowly to a halt. He could see the tyre marks at the side of the road, and an oil splash, but that was all.
Which wasn't good and he took the truck forward again grimly. There was hail mixed in with the rain now, building up against the windscreen and the wipers were having difficulty in handling it. After half an hour, the road started to slope down.
He changed to a low gear and proceeded more cautiously. The valley widened until it stretched away into the rain for about half a mile, lifting into the mountains that could be seen dimly on his left. The road dropped even more abruptly and peering through the misty windscreen, he saw a small bridge.
He crawled the rest of the way down the hill in bottom gear. The bridge consisted of a flat surface of planks crossing what would otherwise have been a deep ford. There was still no sign of either of the other trucks and he drove across and kept on moving.
The road started to lift steeply, hugging the side of the mountain which now towered above his head and he began to sweat a little. The truck churned steadily upwards through the mud, Drummond gripping the wheel tightly, an expression of utter concentration on his face. He rounded a curve and came to the crest of a hill and the road dropped steeply into the valley below. He leaned across quickly and looked out. There was no fence, only the crumbling, rain-soaked edge and two hundred feet of steeply sloping mountainside.
The truck began the descent, skidding occasionally with a sickening lurch. Drummond was trembling, and beside him Ahmed's face was wet with sweat. The truck lurched again as he negotiated a corner and then the wheels skidded on the shaky surface and slid forward for about fifteen yards. He turned into a skid and then out of it, and by a miracle regained control.
The sweat soaked through his shirt, ran from his forehead into his eyes and he took