“Think of it!” exclaimed Mr. Montrose. “I have seen it many times, but no one can ever describe it. A great trough or cut in the earth, over a mile deep, twenty miles wide, and many hundreds of miles long, winding in and out, and, at the bottom a river rushing along resistlessly, with waterfalls, rapids, calm stretches and vast depths of black, silently moving water. And the walls of that canyon! All the colors of the rainbow cannot compare with them. They are wonderful! Down in it are mountains, great in themselves, but which look small in that vast gorge. There is the glow of the Alps, the cold fogs of the Rockies, there are purple shadows, shifting lights, snowstorms and rainstorms. It is a place of terrific grandeur.”
“And we are going there,” said Jerry quietly.
“Yes, to an unknown island,” went on Mr. Montrose. “On what may be a fruitless quest. Oh, boys, think twice before you go!”
“We have thought,” went on Jerry. “We are going. We will start in the morning for the Grand Canyon of the Colorado,” he added.
“And all for a bit of radium—a fortune though it may be,” proceeded Mr. Montrose.
“No, not alone for the radium,” said Jerry solemnly. “I have not spoken of this before, as it seemed such a slim chance. But there may be, on that island, the missing scientist, whose body was never recovered. He may be there—in need—starving. We are going to try to rescue him, as much as to find the radium.”
“Jerry!” cried Ned. “You never hinted at this.”
“No, because I did not want to raise false hopes. But, now that we are at the last stage of the journey, I must speak of it. I hope we can rescue that unfortunate man. For the mere treasure I would not risk so much. But a life is at stake!”
“Then go,” said Mr. Montrose softly. “I would be the last one to hold you back. And, boys, from what I have seen of you, I believe you will succeed. I wish you all success! But, do not be deceived. You have a hard task ahead of you. The Grand Canyon does not like to be conquered.”
“We have the Comet,” replied the tall lad, as if that was much, as, truly, it was.