Spider was studying the contour interval lines of the map closely now.
“Let’s see, we go up at least 500 feet for a start, and then we go along a mile or two, and then we—holy mackerel!—then we drop right down ’most a thousand! And then——”
“Yes?” said Bennie.
“And then we go up again ’most a thousand, and then we walk a mile, and then—jumping bullfrogs and little fish hooks!—then we just fall down, let’s see, about a thousand feet into Kerr Valley. That’s less than 6,500 feet above the sea. Scott is almost 9,000. We’ve still got a climb of 2,500 feet ahead of us.”
“Aw, go on, you’re making that up,” Bennie insisted. “You can’t tell all that from the map. Let me look.”
“Maybe you can’t tell,” Spider retorted. “I always told you you didn’t half read a map. Go on—look for yourself.”
And he passed the map over.
Bennie studied it carefully. “I guess maybe you’re right,” he finally confessed. “Well, exercise is just what I need! How’s the path, Uncle Bill?”
“Path!” the doctor laughed. “You’ll cross the rim road at the bottom of Kerr Valley, where it comes down from the rim to get around the cliffs back to the hotel here. But that’s the only path you’ll see. This is going to be a hike, not a Sunday School picnic or a young ladies’ seminary out for a walk.”
“Suits me fine.”