Having satisfied himself on this matter, Nick started on foot to finish his journey.
When he came to the stream, he did not cross the bridge, but turned into the trail that Kerr had told him about.
The moon made the path perfectly plain at the start, and Nick took it not only to save the long walk around the base of the hill, but to save time.
For some reasons, he would have liked to go straight back to Denver, for there was no doubt in his mind that his would-be murderers had gone to the city, and if he was there, he might run across them.
But he believed it to be his first business to have a talk with Hank Low, and so he went on.
The trail followed along the bank of the stream for some distance, and then crossed it on a bridge of fallen trees. After that, it was very steep until it reached the summit of the hill.
Although the trees were rather thick, the moonlight came in on the eastern slope sufficiently to make the way clear.
It was different when Nick began to descend upon the other side. That slope was in shadow, for the moon was not high enough to light it, and more than once he found it difficult to keep on the path.
Once he thought he had lost it, and he was thinking[{20}] that it would make him feel rather foolish to get lost at night in these woods.
“Better have kept to the road,” he muttered, standing still.