After nearly six months in the Nueces gorge the loneliness and inaction of his life drove Duane out upon the trails seeking anything rather than to hide longer alone, a prey to the scourge of his thoughts.

The moment he rode into sight of men a remarkable transformation occurred in him.

A strange warmth stirred in him--a longing to see the faces of people, to hear their voices--a pleasurable emotion sad and strange.

But it was only a precursor of his old bitter, sleepless, and eternal vigilance.
When he hid alone in the brakes he was safe from all except his deeper, better self; when he escaped from this into the haunts of men his force and will went to the preservation of his life.
Mercer was the first village he rode into.

He had many friends there.
Mercer claimed to owe Duane a debt.