The Mountains Of Madness
Part 3

The strange mouths of caves, near where the strange formations appear to be most abundant, present fewer puzzles despite their outline regularity. They, as Lake's newsletter says, are often roughly square or semicircular; it is as if a natural hole has been formed into greater symmetry by some magical hand. Its abundance and wide distribution is remarkable, and gives the impression that the entire region is filled with beehives with tunnels dissolved from the limestone layers. A quick glance like the one we obtained did not extend deep into the caves, but we saw that they were clearly free of stalactites and stalagmites. Outside, sections of the mountain slope adjacent to the hole appear always smooth and orderly; and Danforth thinks that slight crevices and weathering of the weather tend toward unusual patterns.  Filled as he is with the horror and strangeness found in the camp, he hints that the chamber pot vaguely resembles a bewildering cluster of dots sprinkled on top of an ancient greenish-green soap stone, so that it duplicates on a mound of snow arranged crazily on top of the six buried monstrosities.

We have climbed gradually in climbing above the higher foothills and along the relatively low roads we have chosen. As we advanced, we occasionally saw snow and ice from the land route, wondering if we could travel with simpler equipment than the days before. Somewhat to our surprise, we saw that the terrain was far from being difficult; and although the cracks and other bad spots would not have been likely to obstruct Scott, Shackleton, or Amundsen's sled. Some glaciers appear to be leading to wind trajectories with unusual continuity, and upon reaching our chosen trajectory, we find that the case is no exception.

Our feelings of tense expectations as we prepare to circle the summit and peek into an impassable world are hard to describe on paper; although we have no reason to think that the area outside the range is fundamentally different from the one that has been seen and traversed. A touch of evil mystery in these barrier mountains, and in the sea that beckoned the opposite sky caught a glimpse of their peak, it is a very subtle and attenuated thing that cannot be explained with literal words. Rather it is the nebulous affair of psychological symbolism and aesthetic association — a thing mixed with exotic poetry and painting, and with ancient myths lurking in volumes that are shunned and forbidden. Even wind loads carry a special tension of conscious ferocity; and for a moment it seemed that the composite sound included the whistling sound of strange music or the sound of pipes at a wide distance as explosions swept in and out of the mouths of caverns that were everywhere and echoed. There was a tone of disdain that reminded us of this sound, as complex and insecure as any other dark impression.

We are now, after a slow ascent, at an altitude of 23,570 feet according to the aneroid; and have left a region of snow clinging under us. Up here are only dark and bare rock slopes and the beginning of the rough ribbed glacier — but with provocative cubes, forts, and, and cave mouths that echo to add unnatural, fantastic, dreamlike omens. Looking along the top line, I thought I could see the one mentioned by the poor Lake, with the fort right on top of it. It appears to be half lost in the strange Antarctic fog; such fog was, perhaps, responsible for the early ideas of Lake volcanism. The road loomed right in front of us, smooth and windy between jagged and frowning poles. Behind it is a restless sky with swirling steam and illuminated by a low polar sun — skies of a more distant mysterious world where we feel there is no human eye ever staring.

The Elder Things's