Хребти божевілля
IX
Oddly,wewerestillthinkingaboutpossiblelatertrips—evenafterallwehadseenandguessed. Then,aswepickedourwaycautiouslyoverthedebrisofthegreatfloor,therecameasightwhichforthetimeexcludedallothermatters.
Itwastheneatlyhuddledarrayofthreesledgesinthatfartherangleoftheramp’slowerandoutward-projectingcoursewhichhadhithertobeenscreenedfromourview. Theretheywere—thethreesledgesmissingfromLake’scamp—shakenbyahardusagewhichmusthaveincludedforcibledraggingalonggreatreachesofsnowlessmasonryanddebris,aswellasmuchhandportageoverutterlyunnavigableplaces. Theywerecarefullyandintelligentlypackedandstrapped,andcontainedthingsmemorablyfamiliarenough: thegasolinestove,fuelcans,instrumentcases,provisiontins,tarpaulinsobviouslybulgingwithbooks,andsomebulgingwithlessobviouscontents—everythingderivedfromLake’sequipment.
Afterwhatwehadfoundinthatotherroom,wewereinameasurepreparedforthisencounter. Thereallygreatshockcamewhenwesteppedoverandundidonetarpaulinwhoseoutlineshadpeculiarlydisquietedus. ItseemsthatothersaswellasLakehadbeeninterestedincollectingtypicalspecimens;forthereweretwohere,bothstifflyfrozen,perfectlypreserved,patchedwithadhesiveplasterwheresomewoundsaroundtheneckhadoccurred,andwrappedwithcaretopreventfurtherdamage. TheywerethebodiesofyoungGedneyandthemissingdog.
