Хребты безумия
II
andthewildtalesofcosmichillthingsfromoutsidetoldbyafolkloristcolleagueinMiskatonic’sEnglishdepartment.
Naturally,heconsideredthepossibilityofthepre-Cambrianprintshavingbeenmadebyalessevolvedancestorofthepresentspecimens,butquicklyrejectedthistoo-faciletheoryuponconsideringtheadvancedstructuralqualitiesoftheolderfossils. Ifanything,thelatercontoursshoweddecadenceratherthanhigherevolution. Thesizeofthepseudofeethaddecreased,andthewholemorphologyseemedcoarsenedandsimplified. Moreover,thenervesandorgansjustexaminedheldsingularsuggestionsofretrogressionfromformsstillmorecomplex. Atrophiedandvestigialpartsweresurprisinglyprevalent. Altogether,littlecouldbesaidtohavebeensolved;andLakefellbackonmythologyforaprovisionalname-jocoselydubbinghisfinds"TheElderOnes."
Atabout2:30A.M.,havingdecidedtopostponefurtherworkandgetalittlerest,hecoveredthedissectedorganismwithatarpaulin,emergedfromthelaboratorytent,andstudiedtheintactspecimenswithrenewedinterest. Theceaselessantarcticsunhadbeguntolimberuptheirtissuesatrifle,sothattheheadpointsandtubesoftwoorthreeshowedsignsofunfolding;butLakedidnotbelievetherewasanydangerofimmediatedecompositioninthealmostsubzeroair. Hedid,however,movealltheundissectedspecimensclosetogetherandthrowasparetentovertheminordertokeepoffthedirectsolarrays. Thatwouldalsohelptokeeptheirpossiblescentawayfromthedogs,whosehostileunrestwasreallybecomingaproblem,evenattheirsubstantialdistanceandbehindthehigherandhighersnowwallswhichanincreasedquotaofthemenwerehasteningtoraisearoundtheirquarters.
