And when the gray dawn came he rose, a gloomy, almost heartbroken man, but victor over evil passions.

He could not change the past; and, even if he had not loved Bess with all his soul, he had grown into a man who would not change the future he had planned for her.

Only, and once for all, he must know the truth, know the worst, stifle all these insistent doubts and subtle hopes and jealous fancies, and kill the past by knowing truly what Bess had been to Oldring.

For that matter he knew--he had always known, but he must hear it spoken.

Then, when they had safely gotten out of that wild country to take up a new and an absorbing life, she would forget, she would be happy, and through that, in the years to come, he could not but find life worth living.
All day he rode slowly and cautiously up the Pass, taking time to peer around corners, to pick out hard ground and grassy patches, and to make sure there was no one in pursuit.