hose whom death called out. After the camp
in the canyon was built, many of them, including Henderson, developed
unsuspected families and Jim became godfather to several namesakes.
After the road was finished, however, old Suma-theek had to take his
braves back to the Apache country. They did not like the work in the
tunnel, and it was several years before Jim saw his old friend again.

Uncle Denny and Jim's mother came out to visit him, his second summer on
the dam, and they enjoyed their visit so much that it became a yearly
custom.

Jim's mother, with a mother's wisdom, never spoke of Pen to Jim except
casually, of her health or of Sara's effort to carry on real estate
business through Pen and his father. On the first visit Uncle Denny
undertook to tell Jim of how the accident had developed all the latent
ugliness of Sara's character and of his heavy demands on Penelope's
strength and time. And he told Jim how Pen's girlishness had
disappeared, leaving behind a woman so sweet, so patient, so sadly wise,
that Uncle Denny could not speak of her without his voice breaking.

But Uncle Denny never repeated this recital, for before he had finished,
Jim, white-lipped, had said hoarsely, "Uncle Denny, I can't stand it! I
can't!" and had rushed off into the desert night.

Even Uncle Denny could not know, as Iron Skull who had lived with him
for the past years knew, of Jim's silent anguish in the loss of
Penelope. There was a little picture of Pen in tennis clothes at sixteen
that always was pinned to Jim's tent wall. Once in a while when Iron
Skull found him looking at it, Jim would tell him of Pen's beauty. But
other than this he never mentioned her name to anyone.

Under the excitement of what Uncle Denny told him, Jim wrote a note to
Pen:

"DEAR LITTLE PEN: This desert country claims one's soul as
well as one's body. It is as big as the hand of God. If life
gets too much for you in New York, come to me here, and I
will show you and the desert to each other.

JIM."

And though Pen did not answer the note she carried it next her heart for
many a day.

After the tunnel was delivering water to the valley, Jim moved into the
valley with his henchmen and took charge of the canal building. Not
until he undertook this work did he realize that there were economic
features connected with the work on the Projects that were baffling and
irritating.

The conditions in the valley were