“Let her go, Spanner.”
The voice came from the doorway. There was no hint of excitement, just a simple command. Spanner turned to see who dared to interfere with his pleasure. He half expected to see the girl’s father, but it was not. He grunted and laughed when he saw Tom standing by the front door. He made no move to release the girl.
“Let her go,” Tom repeated, bringing the Winchester up waist-high, at the same time keeping a watchful eye on the three troopers still seated at the table.
“Looo…tenant,” Spanner growled with emphatic sarcasm. “When was the last time an enlisted man told you to kiss his ass?”
“Let her go,” he said for the third time.
Spanner hesitated, looking at the rifle already leveled at him. He considered for only a moment whether or not he could release his hold on the girl and draw his pistol in time. He was angry and half drunk but he had better sense than to try it. Still, he was not willing to give in so easily. “Ain’t you the brave one? I thought I run you out of here once, and here you come crawling back holding a rifle on me. I wonder how big you’d talk if you didn’t have the jump on me.”
Tom was running out of patience. “Sergeant, you might find it difficult to ride back to your outfit with a bullet hole in your hide….”