"Not so fast, my dear!"
A hand fell on her shoulder rudely. With, a gasp she looked up at McTurpin.
Beside the gambler, whose eyes burned angrily, Inez perceived a tall, lean, bearded stranger.
"Let me go!" she demanded.
"I have brought the parson," said McTurpin. "We can be married at once."
"I--I--let us wait a little," stammered Inez.
"Why?" the gambler asked suspiciously. "Where were you going?"
"Nowhere," she evaded, "for a walk--"
"Well, you can walk back to the hotel, my lady," said McTurpin. "I have little time to waste. And there's Benito to consider," he concluded. Suddenly he put an arm about her waist and kissed her. Inez thought of her brother and tried to submit. But she could not repress a little cry of aversion, of fear. The bearded man stepped forward. "Hold up a bit, partner," he drawled. "This doesn't look quite regular. Don't you wish to marry him, young lady?"
"Of course she does," McTurpin blustered. "She rode all the way in from her mother's ranch to be my wife." He glared at Inez. "Isn't it true?" he flung at her. "Tell him."