you'll marry me. You're going to do it, or I'll kill you."

Lorraine gazed at him fascinated, too astonished to attempt any move
toward escape. Al's hand slipped from the bridle down to the reins, and
still holding Snake, still holding the gun muzzle toward her, still
looking her straight in the eyes, he threw his right leg over the cantle
of his saddle and stepped off his horse.

"Put your other hand on the saddle horn," he directed. "I ain't going to
hurt you if you're good."

He twitched his neckerchief off--Lorraine saw that it was untied, and
that he must have planned all this--and with it he tied her wrists to
the saddle horn. She gave Snake a kick in the ribs, but Al checked the
horse's first start and Snake was too tired to dispute a command to
stand still. Al put up his gun, pulled a hunting knife from a little
scabbard in his boot, sliced two pairs of saddle strings from Lorraine's
saddle, calmly caught and held her foot when she tried to kick him,
pushed the foot back into the stirrup and tied it there with one of the
leather strings. Just as if he were engaged in an everyday proceeding,
he walked around Snake and tied Lorraine's right foot; then, to prevent
her from foolishly throwing herself from the horse and getting hurt, he
tied the stirrups together under the horse's belly.

"Now, if you'll be a good girl, I'll untie your hands," he said,
glancing up into her face. He freed her hands, and Lorraine immediately
slapped him in the face and reached for his gun. But Al was too quick
for her. He stepped back, picked up Snake's reins and mounted his own
horse. He looked back at her appraisingly, saw her glare of hatred and
grinned at it, while he touched his horse with the spurs and rode away,
leading Snake behind him.

Lorraine said nothing until Al, riding at a lope, passed the field at
the mouth of Spirit Canyon where the blaze-faced roan still fed with the
others. They were feeding along the creek quite close to the fence, and
the roan walked toward them. The sight of it stirred Lorraine out of her
dumb horror.

"You killed Fred Thurman! I saw you," she cried suddenly.

"Well, you ain't going to holler it all over the country," Al flung
back at her over his shoulder. "When you're married to me, you'll come
mighty close to keeping your mouth shut about it."

"I'll never marry you! You--you fiend! Do you think I'd marry a
cold-blooded murderer like you?"

Al turned in the saddle and looked at her