Хребты безумия
V
Ontheexposedwallswecoulddetectthescarredplaceswhereotherandhigherbridgesofthesamesorthadexisted. Closerinspectionrevealedcountlesslargishwindows;someofwhichwereclosedwithshuttersofapetrifiedmaterialoriginallywood,thoughmostgapedopeninasinisterandmenacingfashion. Manyoftheruins,ofcourse,wereroofless,andwithuneventhoughwind-roundedupperedges;whilstothers,ofamoresharplyconicalorpyramidalmodelorelseprotectedbyhighersurroundingstructures,preservedintactoutlinesdespitetheomnipresentcrumblingandpitting. Withthefieldglasswecouldbarelymakeoutwhatseemedtobesculpturaldecorationsinhorizontalbands—decorationsincludingthosecuriousgroupsofdotswhosepresenceontheancientsoapstonesnowassumedavastlylargersignificance.
Inmanyplacesthebuildingsweretotallyruinedandtheicesheetdeeplyrivenfromvariousgeologiccauses. Inotherplacesthestoneworkwasworndowntotheveryleveloftheglaciation. Onebroadswath,extendingfromtheplateau’sinterior,toacleftinthefoothillsaboutamiletotheleftofthepasswehadtraversed,waswhollyfreefrombuildings. Itprobablyrepresented,weconcluded,thecourseofsomegreatriverwhichinTertiarytimes—millionsofyearsago—hadpouredthroughthecityandintosomeprodigioussubterraneanabyssofthegreatbarrierrange. Certainly,thiswasaboveallaregionofcaves,gulfs,andundergroundsecretsbeyondhumanpenetration.
Lookingbacktooursensations,andrecallingourdazednessatviewingthismonstroussurvivalfromaeonswehadthoughtprehuman,Icanonlywonderthatwepreservedthesemblanceofequilibrium,whichwedid.
