Хребты безумия
IX
hasteningnowandthenalongfinelypreservedanduncannilyimmaculatestretches,takingfalseleadsandretracingourway(insuchcasesremovingtheblindpapertrailwehadleft),andonceinawhilestrikingthebottomofanopenshaftthroughwhichdaylightpouredortrickleddown—wewererepeatedlytantalizedbythesculpturedwallsalongourroute. Manymusthavetoldtalesofimmensehistoricalimportance,andonlytheprospectoflatervisitsreconciledustotheneedofpassingthemby. Asitwas,wesloweddownonceinawhileandturnedonoursecondtorch. Ifwehadhadmorefilms,wewouldcertainlyhavepausedbrieflytophotographcertainbas-reliefs,buttime-consuminghand-copyingwasclearlyoutofthequestion.
Icomenowoncemoretoaplacewherethetemptationtohesitate,ortohintratherthanstate,isverystrong. Itisnecessary,however,torevealtherestinordertojustifymycourseindiscouragingfurtherexploration. Wehadwormedourwayveryclosetothecomputedsiteofthetunnel’smouth—havingcrossedasecond-storybridgetowhatseemedplainlythetipofapointedwall,anddescendedtoaruinouscorridorespeciallyrichindecadentlyelaborateandapparentlyritualisticsculpturesoflateworkmanship—when,shortlybefore8:30P.M.,Danforth’skeenyoungnostrilsgaveusthefirsthintofsomethingunusual. Ifwehadhadadogwithus,Isupposewewouldhavebeenwarnedbefore. Atfirstwecouldnotpreciselysaywhatwaswrongwiththeformerlycrystal-pureair,butafterafewsecondsourmemoriesreactedonlytoodefinitely. Letmetrytostatethethingwithoutflinching. Therewasanodor—andthatodorwasvaguely,subtly,andunmistakablyakintowhathadnauseatedusuponopeningtheinsanegraveofthehorrorpoorLakehaddissected.
