Chapter 14 The Dead Man at Grandview Point Summary and Analysis

The late summer desert feels heavy and hot during the day. Rain falls even more briefly than usual and less often. The tourists seem torpid and weary. Abbey welcomes a break in his routines when a call comes in over his shortwave radio to join in a manhunt. A sixty-year-old tourist has been missing for two days.

Nobody expects to find the man alive. The harsh desert environment ensures death to anyone who enters it unprepared and inexperienced. The search party consists of eight people, including Abbey's brother, the coroner, a nephew of the missing man, a county sheriff and deputy, and from park headquarters, Merle and Floyd. They search the likely places a man lost in the desert might look for shelter—under trees and overhangs. Abbey...