His mind busy with these thoughts, he found that the long climb to the top did not bother him. After a wash-up he had supper and went out on the hotel piazza. The sun had gone but its last banners of light were flung up against the sky behind the farthest horizon. The depths of the Canyon were black. Out of this rose myriad pinnacles, dim in outline, rich in deep colors. Just at the opposite rim a strip of color spun along, tipping the horizon with a golden glow.
“Wasn’t much after all your trouble to get down, was it?” said a voice behind him. Bob looked up to find that Jerry had appeared.
“It was worth the trouble anyway,” answered Bob as Jerry settled into a chair. He realized that Jerry’s remark was in reference to his trip down the Canyon. “I’m mighty glad I went. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go again for a pretty,” returned Jerry. “Once is a great plenty. Besides, there isn’t any chance of our ever doing anything with this place. Anything useful, that is. I don’t know what the Chief wanted to bring us up here for. Wish we were on the job. Hate this loafing.”
“I wish we were too,” agreed Bob, warming up to Jerry’s unexpected long speech. “Isn’t there anything exciting we can do while waiting for Mr. Whitney?”
“Not a thing if we’ve got to stay here,” said the other and relapsed into silence.
After a long period Jerry spoke again almost to himself. “If we were only up Green River way, now, there would be a chance. I was by there once. There’s a canyon there we might do something with—”
“Do you mean there’s a chance for a dam?” asked Bob.
“Yes,” said the other. “But it would mean tunneling through a mountain to get the water out after the dam was built. That is nothing for the Service if only we could get a road down into the canyon. Need it to get machinery and materials down to the dam site. Nobody’s ever gone through the canyon alive, so no one knows whether a road is practical or not. Lots have started. I’ve sort of a hankering to try it.”
“What is it called?”