he gathered together all his worldly wealth and invested it in a ticket
to Grand Canyon. There he intended to end his troubles, and make his
mother sorry she hadn't sewed on a button the instant he had asked her
to! That was a touching scene he pictured to himself--his heart-broken
mother weeping with remorse because her son had jumped into the Canyon.

But! When he reached the Rim and looked over, it was a long way to the
bottom, and there were sharp rocks there. Perhaps no one would ever find
him, and what's the use of killing one's self if nobody knows about it?
Something desperate had to be done, however, so he shot himself where he
fancied his heart was located (he hit his stomach, which was a pretty
close guess) with a cheap pistol he carried, hurled the gun into the
Canyon, and started walking back to Headquarters. He met Ranger Winess
making a patrol and reported to him that he had committed suicide!
Rangers West and Winess took care of him through the night, with Nurse
Catti's supervision, and the next day the Chief took him to Flagstaff,
where the bullet was removed and he was returned to his mother a sadder
and a wiser boy.

There is some mysterious power about the Canyon that seems to make it
impossible for a person to face the gorge and throw himself into it.

A young man, immensely wealthy, brought his fiancée to the Canyon for a
day's outing. At Williams, where they had lunch, he proposed that she go
on to the Coast with him, but she refused, saying that she thought it
was not the thing to do, since her mother expected her back home that
night. He laughed and scribbled something on a paper which he tucked
carelessly into a pocket of his overcoat. They went on to the Canyon and
joined a party that walked out beyond Powell's Monument. He walked up to
the Rim and stared into the depths, then turned facing his sweetheart.