Хребты безумия
II
Obviously,Lake’sboringoperations,aswellashisaeroplaneactivities,wouldrequireagreatdealforthenewbasewhichheplannedtoestablishatthefootofthemountains;anditwaspossiblethattheeastwardflightmightnotbemade,afterall,thisseason. InconnectionwiththisbusinessIcalledCaptainDouglasandaskedhimtogetasmuchaspossibleoutoftheshipsandupthebarrierwiththesingledogteamwehadleftthere. AdirectrouteacrosstheunknownregionbetweenLakeandMcMurdoSoundwaswhatwereallyoughttoestablish.
LakecalledmelatertosaythathehaddecidedtoletthecampstaywhereMoulton’splanehadbeenforceddown,andwhererepairshadalreadyprogressedsomewhat. Theicesheetwasverythin,withdarkgroundhereandtherevisible,andhewouldsinksomeboringsandblastsatthatverypointbeforemakinganysledgetripsorclimbingexpeditions. Hespokeoftheineffablemajestyofthewholescene,andthequeerstateofhissensationsatbeingintheleeofvast,silentpinnacleswhoseranksshotuplikeawallreachingtheskyattheworld’srim. Atwood’stheodoliteobservationshadplacedtheheightofthefivetallestpeaksatfromthirtythousandtothirty-fourthousandfeet. ThewindsweptnatureoftheterrainclearlydisturbedLake,foritarguedtheoccasionalexistenceofprodigiousgales,violentbeyondanythingwehadsofarencountered. Hiscamplayalittlemorethanfivemilesfromwherethehigherfoothillsroseabruptly. Icouldalmosttraceanoteofsubconsciousalarminhiswords-flashedacrossaglacialvoidofsevenhundredmiles-asheurgedthatweallhastenwiththematterandgetthestrange,newregiondisposedofassoonaspossible. Hewasabouttorestnow,afteracontinuousday’sworkofalmostunparalleledspeed,strenuousness,andresults.
