Тінь над Іннсмутом
Chapter 2
Whenonecametothinkofit,itwasgenerallyonlyratheryoungpeoplewhowereseenaboutinpublic,andofthesetheoldestwereapttobethemosttainted-looking.Whenexceptionsdidoccur,theyweremostlypersonswithnotraceofaberrancy,liketheoldclerkatthehotel.Onewonderedwhatbecameofthebulkoftheolderfolk,andwhetherthe"Innsmouthlook"werenotastrangeandinsidiousdisease-phenomenonwhichincreaseditsholdasyearsadvanced.
Onlyaveryrareaffliction,ofcourse,couldbringaboutsuchvastandradicalanatomicalchangesinasingleindividualaftermaturity—changesinvokingosseousfactorsasbasicastheshapeoftheskull—butthen,eventhisaspectwasnomorebafflingandunheard-ofthanthevisiblefeaturesofthemaladyasawhole.Itwouldbehard,theyouthimplied,toformanyrealconclusionsregardingsuchamatter;sinceonenevercametoknowthenativespersonallynomatterhowlongonemightliveinInnsmouth.
Theyouthwascertainthatmanyspecimensevenworsethantheworstvisibleoneswerekeptlockedindoorsinsomeplaces.Peoplesometimesheardthequeerestkindofsounds.Thetotteringwaterfronthovelsnorthoftheriverwerereputedlyconnectedbyhiddentunnels,beingthusaveritablewarrenofunseenabnormalities.Whatkindofforeignblood—ifany—thesebeingshad,itwasimpossibletotell.Theysometimeskeptcertainespeciallyrepulsivecharactersoutofsightwhengovernmentandothersfromtheoutsideworldcametotown.
Itwouldbeofnouse,myinformantsaid,toaskthenativesanythingabouttheplace.Theonlyonewhowouldtalkwasaveryagedbutnormallookingmanwholivedatthepoorhouseonthenorthrimofthetownandspenthistimewalkingaboutorloungingaroundthefirestation.
