Хребти божевілля
VI
Thebestofthemapsanddiagramswereonthewallsofafrightfulabyssbeloweventheancientgroundlevel—acavernperhapstwohundredfeetsquareandsixtyfeethigh,whichhadalmostundoubtedlybeenaneducationalcenterofsomesort. Thereweremanyprovokingrepetitionsofthesamematerialindifferentroomsandbuildings,sincecertainchaptersofexperience,andcertainsummariesorphasesofracialhistory,hadevidentlybeenfavoriteswithdifferentdecoratorsordwellers. Sometimes,though,variantversionsofthesamethemeprovedusefulinsettlingdebatablepointsandfillingupgaps.
Istillwonderthatwededucedsomuchintheshorttimeatourdisposal. Ofcourse,weevennowhaveonlythebarestoutline—andmuchofthatwasobtainedlateronfromastudyofthephotographsandsketcheswemade. Itmaybetheeffectofthislaterstudy—therevivedmemoriesandvagueimpressionsactinginconjunctionwithhisgeneralsensitivenessandwiththatfinalsupposedhorror-glimpsewhoseessencehewillnotrevealeventome—whichhasbeentheimmediatesourceofDanforth’spresentbreakdown. Butithadtobe;forwecouldnotissueourwarningintelligentlywithoutthefullestpossibleinformation,andtheissuanceofthatwarningisaprimenecessity. Certainlingeringinfluencesinthatunknownantarcticworldofdisorderedtimeandaliennaturallawmakeitimperativethatfurtherexplorationbediscouraged.
