noon
His eyes were reddened ; but the dark flush which had been on his face had now given place to a curious pallor . There was a new element in his mood , a different note in his bearing , a suggestion of furtive hurry and anxiety . He was not afraid of the marshal . Haley could not be on the mountain before noon . But he had left that behind in the little log stable from which his team came that cried haste to his going . Gord Bosang from whom he was to buy the horses was a man somewhat of Blatch 's own ilk . Cavalierly called out of bed after midnight and offered only a partial cash payment -- all that Blatch had been able to raise -- he had angrily refused to let the team be taken off the place .