The Mountains Of Madness
Part 2

Not long after, a steep descent in a long, low, doorless, and sculptural corridor led us to believe that we were finally approaching the mouth-tunnel. We have passed two more penguins, and heard the other one ahead. Then the corridor ended up in an incredible open space that left us gasping involuntarily — perfectly reversed hemispheres, clearly deep underground; fully one hundred feet in diameter and fifty feet high, with a low arch that opens around all but one circumference, and that evaporates wide with black curved openings that break the symmetry of the vault to a height of nearly fifteen feet. It was the entrance to a deep ravine.

In this vast hemisphere, whose sunken roof is particularly impressive despite being decadently carved in such a way as a primordial celestial dome, some albino penguins are wobbling — aliens there, but indifferent and not looking. The black tunnel evaporated indefinitely at a steep descending rate, its aperture decorated with strangely sculpted jams and lintels. From that faint mouth we imagined a slightly warmer airflow and perhaps even suspicion from the steam continued; and we wondered what living things could be hiding other than penguins that were at the bottom indefinitely, and adjoining beehives in the land and mountains of titan. We also wondered if the trail of smoke at the top of the mountain was initially suspected by the poor Lake, as well as the strange mist we felt ourselves around the top of the crown, he said, it may not have been caused by the rise of such a tortuous channel.yawning from an unknown core region of the Earth.

Entering the tunnel, we saw that the outline was — at least at first — about fifteen feet each way; sides, floors, and a curved roof consisting of ordinary megalithic masonry. The sides are rarely decorated with cartouches of conventional designs in late-decad style; and all the construction and carvings are very well preserved. The floor is quite clear, except for a little detritus that carries the penguin trail out and the trail inward from the rest. The further ahead, the warmer it becomes; so we immediately unbutton our heavy clothing. We wondered if there were truly fiery manifestations below, and whether the sunless waters of the sea were hot. After a short distance, the stone made room for a solid rock, although the tunnel remained of the same proportion and presented the same aspect of carving regularity. Sometimes the value varies to be so steep that the indentation is cut on the floor. Several times we noted the mouths of small lateral galleries that were not recorded in our diagrams; none of them complicate our return problems, he said, and they all welcome as protection as possible if we encounter an unwelcome entity on the way back from the bottomless pit. The nameless scent of such things was very different. Undoubtedly, it was suicidal folly to venture into the tunnel under known conditions, he said, but the lure of the unforged is stronger in certain people than most people suspected of — indeed, it was the lure that led us to this unnatural polar waste at first. We saw some penguins as we passed by, and speculated on the distance we had to traverse. The carvings have led us to expect a steep descending path of about a mile into the abyss, but our previous adventures have told us that the problem of scale is not entirely dependent on.

Although the cave looks natural, inspections with both torches indicate that it has been formed by the artificial destruction of several walls between adjacent beehives. The walls are rough, and the high vaulted roof is thick with stalactites; but the solid stone floor has been smoothed, and is free from all debris, detritus, or even dust to an abnormally positive degree. Except for the path we pass by, this applies to the floors of all the great galleries that open from it; and the singularity of the condition is like leaving us confused in vain. The strange new floor that had complemented the nameless fragrance was stinging here; so much so that it destroyed all traces of the others. Something about this whole place, with its polished and almost sparkling floors, surprised us for being more confusing and horrible than the horrible things we had previously encountered.