Хребты безумия

           Ourapprehensionswereoverwhatwemightfind,orfailtofind,attheendofourjourney,forsilencecontinuedtoanswerallcallsdispatchedtothecamp. 

           Everyincidentofthatfour-and-a-half-hourflightisburnedintomyrecollectionbecauseofitscrucialpositioninmylife. Itmarkedmyloss,attheageoffifty-four,ofallthatpeaceandbalancewhichthenormalmindpossessesthroughitsaccustomedconceptionofexternalnatureandnature’slaws. Thenceforwardthetenofus—butthestudentDanforthandmyselfaboveallothers—weretofaceahideouslyamplifiedworldoflurkinghorrorswhichnothingcanerasefromouremotions,andwhichwewouldrefrainfromsharingwithmankindingeneralifwecould. Thenewspapershaveprintedthebulletinswesentfromthemovingplane,tellingofournonstopcourse,ourtwobattleswithtreacherousupper-airgales,ourglimpseofthebrokensurfacewhereLakehadsunkhismid-journeyshaftthreedaysbefore,andoursightofagroupofthosestrangefluffysnowcylindersnotedbyAmundsenandByrdasrollinginthewindacrosstheendlessleaguesoffrozenplateau. Therecameapoint,though,whenoursensationscouldnotbeconveyedinanywordsthepresswouldunderstand,andalatterpointwhenwehadtoadoptanactualruleofstrictcensorship. 

           ThesailorLarsenwasfirsttospythejaggedlineofwitchlikeconesandpinnaclesahead,andhisshoutssenteveryonetothewindowsofthegreatcabinedplane. Despiteourspeed,theywereveryslowingainingprominence;henceweknewthattheymustbeinfinitelyfaroff,andvisibleonlybecauseoftheirabnormalheight. Littlebylittle,however,theyrosegrimlyintothewesternsky;