He had failed from that promise once, but that did not mean that he had forgotten.

He looked up to the yellow-bright mountain stars, and they were like the eyes of good women smiling down upon him.

He guessed that she loved Barry and if he could bring her to Whistling Dan she might have strength enough to take the latter from Silent's trail.

The lone rider knew well enough that to bring Dan and Kate together was to surrender his own shadowy hopes, but the golden eyes of the sky encouraged him.

So he followed his impulse.
Haines could never walk that middle path which turns neither to the right nor the left, neither up nor down.