Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience-stricken or because they were afraid?

The narrator and his cousin Mourad were poor Armenian boys who belonged to a tribe whose hallmark was trust and honesty. They were crazy about horses and longed to ride. Mourad was known to be a crazy fellow. One day he stole a horse for a ride. He believed that stealing a horse for a ride was not stealing at all. It would be stealing only when he intended to keep the horse. Forever or offered to sell the horse, which he would never do. He enjoyed early morning rides for a month. Before daybreak he would hide the horse in the barn of a deserted vineyard. One early morning he invited the narrator to ride. Henceforth, the two boys enjoyed early morning rides for two weeks. One day on the way to the deserted vineyard they ran into the farmer John Byro, the owner of the horse. They greeted him. There was no trace of fear in their mind as their conscience was clean. They knew that the horse must be returned to its true owner. The following morning they took the horse to John Byro’s vineyard and put it in the barn. We can say that they returned the horse because they were conscience stricken, not because they were afraid.