He had told a falsehood, for the marriage was a legal one, greatly to the man’s regret afterward, and only his game of bluff had caused Nina, in her fear, to forget that the man was a priest, who performed the ceremony, and that the marriage was registered upon the books of the parish church where it was celebrated.
Without one effort to help her, Silk Lasso Sam stood gazing upon the form lying at his feet.
“She’ll come round soon,” he muttered.
And he was right. In a short while there was a convulsive twitching of the muscles, then color rushed back into the face and the eyes opened.
They beheld her surroundings, and, after an effort, she arose to her feet. She faced him then, at first weak and tottering, but gaining strength and nerve rapidly.
Her face had become white now with intense passion, and through her shut teeth, she hissed forth:
“You have conquered again, Arden, and by the most accursed act that ever a man was guilty of. I am a Mexican, and women of my race have hot blood that is bitterly revengeful. It seems idle to threaten a man who stands in your position, with the noose of the hangman about his neck, but yet, I now long for you to live that I may make you feel how Nina de Sutro can avenge an insult. Yes, I wish you to live, it is my earnest desire that you should, and I will live with the hope of making you suffer.”
“You will aid me to escape, then?” asked the man, impressed in spite of himself at the words and looks of the woman.
“I will.”
“You will not disappoint me?”