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It
was
the
entrance
to
the
great
abyss
.
In
this
vast
hemisphere
,
whose
concave
roof
was
impressively
though
decadently
carved
to
a
likeness
of
the
primordial
celestial
dome
,
a
few
albino
penguins
waddled
--
aliens
there
,
but
indifferent
and
unseeing
.
The
black
tunnel
yawned
indefinitely
off
at
a
steep
,
descending
grade
,
its
aperture
adorned
with
grotesquely
chiseled
jambs
and
lintel
.
From
that
cryptical
mouth
we
fancied
a
current
of
slightly
warmer
air
,
and
perhaps
even
a
suspicion
of
vapor
proceeded
;
and
we
wondered
what
living
entities
other
than
penguins
the
limitless
void
below
,
and
the
contiguous
honeycombings
of
the
land
and
the
titan
mountains
,
might
conceal
.
We
wondered
,
too
,
whether
the
trace
of
mountaintop
smoke
at
first
suspected
by
poor
Lake
,
as
well
as
the
odd
haze
we
had
ourselves
perceived
around
the
rampart-crowned
peak
,
might
not
be
caused
by
the
tortuous-channeled
rising
of
some
such
vapor
from
the
unfathomed
regions
of
earth
's
core
.
Entering
the
tunnel
,
we
saw
that
its
outline
was
--
at
least
at
the
start
--
about
fifteen
feet
each
way
--
sides
,
floor
,
and
arched
roof
composed
of
the
usual
megalithic
masonry
.
The
sides
were
sparsely
decorated
with
cartouches
of
conventional
designs
in
a
late
,
decadent
style
;
and
all
the
construction
and
carving
were
marvelously
well-preserved
.
The
floor
was
quite
clear
,
except
for
a
slight
detritus
bearing
outgoing
penguin
tracks
and
the
inward
tracks
of
these
others
.
The
farther
one
advanced
,
the
warmer
it
became
;
so
that
we
were
soon
unbuttoning
our
heavy
garments
.
We
wondered
whether
there
were
any
actually
igneous
manifestations
below
,
and
whether
the
waters
of
that
sunless
sea
were
hot
.
After
a
short
distance
the
masonry
gave
place
to
solid
rock
,
though
the
tunnel
kept
the
same
proportions
and
presented
the
same
aspect
of
carved
regularity
.
Occasionally
its
varying
grade
became
so
steep
that
grooves
were
cut
in
the
floor
.
Several
times
we
noted
the
mouths
of
small
lateral
galleries
not
recorded
in
our
diagrams
;
none
of
them
such
as
to
complicate
the
problem
of
our
return
,
and
all
of
them
welcome
as
possible
refuges
in
case
we
met
unwelcome
entities
on
their
way
back
from
the
abyss
.
The
nameless
scent
of
such
things
was
very
distinct
.
Doubtless
it
was
suicidally
foolish
to
venture
into
that
tunnel
under
the
known
conditions
,
but
the
lure
of
the
unplumbed
is
stronger
in
certain
persons
than
most
suspect
--
indeed
,
it
was
just
such
a
lure
which
had
brought
us
to
this
unearthly
polar
waste
in
the
first
place
.
We
saw
several
penguins
as
we
passed
along
,
and
speculated
on
the
distance
we
would
have
to
traverse
.
The
carvings
had
led
us
to
expect
a
steep
downhill
walk
of
about
a
mile
to
the
abyss
,
but
our
previous
wanderings
had
shown
us
that
matters
of
scale
were
not
wholly
to
be
depended
on
.
After
about
a
quarter
of
a
mile
that
nameless
scent
became
greatly
accentuated
,
and
we
kept
very
careful
track
of
the
various
lateral
openings
we
passed
.
There
was
no
visible
vapor
as
at
the
mouth
,
but
this
was
doubtless
due
to
the
lack
of
contrasting
cooler
air
.
The
temperature
was
rapidly
ascending
,
and
we
were
not
surprised
to
come
upon
a
careless
heap
of
material
shudderingly
familiar
to
us
.
It
was
composed
of
furs
and
tent
cloth
taken
from
Lake
's
camp
,
and
we
did
not
pause
to
study
the
bizarre
forms
into
which
the
fabrics
had
been
slashed
.
Slightly
beyond
this
point
we
noticed
a
decided
increase
in
the
size
and
number
of
the
side
galleries
,
and
concluded
that
the
densely
honeycombed
region
beneath
the
higher
foothills
must
now
have
been
reached
.
The
nameless
scent
was
now
curiously
mixed
with
another
and
scarcely
less
offensive
odor
--
of
what
nature
we
could
not
guess
,
though
we
thought
of
decaying
organisms
and
perhaps
unknown
subterranean
fungi
.
Then
came
a
startling
expansion
of
the
tunnel
for
which
the
carvings
had
not
prepared
us
--
a
broadening
and
rising
into
a
lofty
,
natural-looking
elliptical
cavern
with
a
level
floor
,
some
seventy-five
feet
long
and
fifty
broad
,
and
with
many
immense
side
passages
leading
away
into
cryptical
darkness
.
Though
this
cavern
was
natural
in
appearance
,
an
inspection
with
both
torches
suggested
that
it
had
been
formed
by
the
artificial
destruction
of
several
walls
between
adjacent
honeycombings
.
The
walls
were
rough
,
and
the
high
,
vaulted
roof
was
thick
with
stalactites
;
but
the
solid
rock
floor
had
been
smoothed
off
,
and
was
free
from
all
debris
,
detritus
,
or
even
dust
to
a
positively
abnormal
extent
.
Except
for
the
avenue
through
which
we
had
come
,
this
was
true
of
the
floors
of
all
the
great
galleries
opening
off
from
it
;
and
the
singularity
of
the
condition
was
such
as
to
set
us
vainly
puzzling
.
The
curious
new
fetor
which
had
supplemented
the
nameless
scent
was
excessively
pungent
here
;
so
much
so
that
it
destroyed
all
trace
of
the
other
.
Something
about
this
whole
place
,
with
its
polished
and
almost
glistening
floor
,
struck
us
as
more
vaguely
baffling
and
horrible
than
any
of
the
monstrous
things
we
had
previously
encountered
.
The
regularity
of
the
passage
immediately
ahead
,
as
well
as
the
larger
proportion
of
penguin-droppings
there
,
prevented
all
confusion
as
to
the
right
course
amidst
this
plethora
of
equally
great
cave
mouths
.
Nevertheless
we
resolved
to
resume
our
paper
trailblazing
if
any
further
complexity
should
develop
;
for
dust
tracks
,
of
course
,
could
no
longer
be
expected
.
Upon
resuming
our
direct
progress
we
cast
a
beam
of
torchlight
over
the
tunnel
walls
--
and
stopped
short
in
amazement
at
the
supremely
radical
change
which
had
come
over
the
carvings
in
this
part
of
the
passage
.
We
realized
,
of
course
,
the
great
decadence
of
the
Old
Ones
'
sculpture
at
the
time
of
the
tunneling
,
and
had
indeed
noticed
the
inferior
workmanship
of
the
arabesques
in
the
stretches
behind
us
.
But
now
,
in
this
deeper
section
beyond
the
cavern
,
there
was
a
sudden
difference
wholly
transcending
explanation
--
a
difference
in
basic
nature
as
well
as
in
mere
quality
,
and
involving
so
profound
and
calamitous
a
degradation
of
skill
that
nothing
in
the
hitherto
observed
rate
of
decline
could
have
led
one
to
expect
it
.
This
new
and
degenerate
work
was
coarse
,
bold
,
and
wholly
lacking
in
delicacy
of
detail
.
It
was
countersunk
with
exaggerated
depth
in
bands
following
the
same
general
line
as
the
sparse
cartouches
of
the
earlier
sections
,
but
the
height
of
the
reliefs
did
not
reach
the
level
of
the
general
surface
.
Danforth
had
the
idea
that
it
was
a
second
carving
--
a
sort
of
palimpsest
formed
after
the
obliteration
of
a
previous
design
.
In
nature
it
was
wholly
decorative
and
conventional
,
and
consisted
of
crude
spirals
and
angles
roughly
following
the
quintile
mathematical
tradition
of
the
Old
Ones
,
yet
seemingly
more
like
a
parody
than
a
perpetuation
of
that
tradition
.
We
could
not
get
it
out
of
our
minds
that
some
subtly
but
profoundly
alien
element
had
been
added
to
the
aesthetic
feeling
behind
the
technique
--
an
alien
element
,
Danforth
guessed
,
that
was
responsible
for
the
laborious
substitution
.
It
was
like
,
yet
disturbingly
unlike
,
what
we
had
come
to
recognize
as
the
Old
Ones
'
art
;
and
I
was
persistently
reminded
of
such
hybrid
things
as
the
ungainly
Palmyrene
sculptures
fashioned
in
the
Roman
manner
.
That
others
had
recently
noticed
this
belt
of
carving
was
hinted
by
the
presence
of
a
used
flashlight
battery
on
the
floor
in
front
of
one
of
the
most
characteristic
cartouches
.
