Collected Fiction Volume 2 (1926-1930): A Variorum Edition (8 page)

But Johansen had not given out yet. Knowing that the Thing could surely overtake the
Alert
until steam was fully up, he resolved on a desperate chance; and, setting the engine for full speed, ran lightning-like on deck and reversed the wheel. There was a mighty eddying and foaming in the noisome brine, and as the steam mounted higher and higher the brave Norwegian drove his vessel head on against the pursuing jelly which rose above the unclean froth like the stern of a daemon
^[207]
galleon. The awful squid-head with writhing feelers came nearly up to the bowsprit of the sturdy yacht, but Johansen drove on relentlessly.
^[208]
There was a bursting as of an exploding bladder, a slushy nastiness as of a cloven sunfish, a stench as of a thousand opened graves, and a sound that the chronicler would not put on paper. For an instant the ship was befouled by an acrid and blinding green cloud, and then there was only a venomous seething astern; where—God in heaven!
^[209]
—the scattered plasticity of that nameless sky-spawn was nebulously
recombining
in its hateful original form, whilst its distance widened every second as the
Alert
gained impetus from its mounting steam.

That was all. After that Johansen only brooded over the idol in the cabin and attended to a few matters of food for himself and the laughing maniac by his side. He did not try to navigate after the first bold flight,
^[210]
for the reaction had taken something out of his soul. Then came the storm of April 2nd, and a gathering of the clouds about his consciousness. There is a sense of spectral whirling through liquid gulfs of infinity, of dizzying rides through reeling universes on a comet’s tail, and of hysterical plunges from the pit to the moon and from the moon back again to the pit, all livened by a cachinnating chorus of the distorted, hilarious elder gods and the green, bat-winged mocking imps of Tartarus.

Out of that dream came rescue—the
Vigilant,
the vice-admiralty court, the streets of Dunedin, and the long voyage back home to the old house by the Egeberg. He could not tell—they would think him mad. He would write of what he knew before death came, but his wife must not guess. Death would be a boon if only it could blot out the memories.

That was the document I read, and now I have placed it in the tin box beside the bas-relief and the papers of Professor Angell. With it shall go this record of mine—this test of my own sanity, wherein is pieced together that which I hope may never be pieced together again. I have looked upon all that the universe has to hold of horror, and even the skies of spring and the flowers of summer must ever afterward be poison to me. But I do not think my life will be long. As my uncle went, as poor Johansen went, so I shall go. I know too much, and the cult still lives.

Cthulhu still lives, too, I suppose, again in that chasm of stone which has shielded him since the sun was young. His accursed city is sunken once more, for the
Vigilant
sailed over the spot after the April storm; but his ministers on earth still bellow and prance and slay around idol-capped monoliths in lonely places. He must have been trapped by the sinking whilst within his black abyss, or else the world would by now be screaming with fright and frenzy. Who knows the end? What has risen may sink, and what has sunk may rise. Loathsomeness waits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads over the tottering cities of men. A time will come—but I must not and cannot
^[211]
think! Let me pray that, if I do not survive this manuscript, my executors may put caution before audacity and see that it meets no other eye.

Editor’s Note:
The surviving T.Ms. is by HPL. It was not followed very accurately by
Weird Tales
(February 1928), as a number of paragraphing changes and other alterations were made. Regrettably, the Arkham House editions followed
Weird Tales.
Arkham House would have been better off following the reprint of the story in T. Everett Harré’s
Beware After Dark!
(1929), as HPL had supplied the editor with a carbon of the T.Ms. The readings from this appearance are recorded here, even though they are not strictly speaking relevant to the textual history of the tale.

Texts: A = T.Ms. (JHL); B =
Weird Tales
11, No. 2 (February 1928): 157–78, 287; C = T. Everett Harré, ed.,
Beware After Dark!
(New York: Macauley, 1929), 223–59; D =
The Dunwich Horror and Others
(Arkham House, 1963), 130–59. Copy-text: A.

1
. (Found . . . Boston)] Found . . . Boston. B [
as footnote
]; (Found . . . Boston.) C [
as footnote
];
om.
D

2
. “Of . . . kinds. . . .”]
om.
C;
Of . . . kinds . . .
D

3
. —
Algernon Blackwood.
]
om.
C; —ALGERNON BLACKWOOD D

4
. aeons] eons B, D

5
. grand-uncle] grand-uncle, B, C; granduncle, D

6
. Languages] languages B

7
. grand-uncle’s] granduncle’s B, D

8
. Archaeological] Archeological B

9
. shewing] showing A, B, C, D

10
. Then indeed] Then, indeed, B, C, D

11
. for] for, B, D

12
. to]
om.
B, D

13
. pretence] pretense B, C, D

14
. “CTHULHU CULT”]
“CTHULHU CULT”
B

15
. I.”,] I.,” B, C, D

16
. La.,] La. A, C

17
. Scott-Elliot’s] Scott-Eliott’s A, B, C; Scott-Elliott’s D

18
. “Atlantis . . . Lemuria”]
Atlantis . . . Lemuria
A, B, C, D

19
. magazines (. . .),] magazines, (. . .) A

20
. “Golden Bough”]
Golden Bough
A, B, C, D

21
. “Witch-Cult . . . Europe”.]
Witch-Cult . . . Europe.
A, B, C, D

22
. illnesses] illness D

23
. recognised] recognized B, C, D

24
. hypersensitive”,] hypersensitive,” C, D

25
. queer”.] queer.” C, D

26
. aesthetes] esthetes B, D

27
. archaeological] archeological B, D

28
. shewed] showed A, B, C, D

29
. archaeology.] archeology. B, D

30
. titan] Titan A, B, C, D

31
. fhtagn”.
]
fhtagn.”
C, D

32
. night-clothes,] night-/clothes, A; nightclothes, B, C, D

33
. recognising] recognizing B, C, D

34
. out-of-place] out of place B, D

35
. “R’lyeh”.
]
“R’lyeh.”
C, D

36
. 23d,] 23rd, B; 23, D

37
. object,] object D

38
. his] the B, C, D [his
typed over
the
in A
]

39
. 2nd] 2 D

40
. p.m.] p. m. B, C; P.M. D

41
. 22nd.] 22. D

42
. scepticism] skepticism B, C, D

43
. 23d . . . 2nd] 23d . . . 2d. A; 23rd . . . 2nd. B; 23 . . . 2 D

44
. cognisant] cognizant B, C, D

45
. aesthetes] esthetes B, D

46
. 28th . . . 2nd] 28 . . . 2 D

47
. tremendous] tremendous, B, D

48
. despatch] dispatch B, D

49
. Hayti,] Haiti, B, D

50
. rumour] rumor B, D

51
. “Dream Landscape”]
Dream Landscape
B, D

52
. asylums,] asylums B, D

53
. connexion] connection B, C, D

54
. travelled] traveled B, D

55
. Inspector of Police.] inspector of police. B, D

56
. determine.] determine. ¶ B, D

57
. archaeology.] archeology. B, D

58
. realise] realize B, C, D

59
. recognised] recognized B, C, D

60
. octopus-like] octopuslike B, D

61
. centre,] center, B, C, D

62
. fore-paws] forepaws B; fore-/paws D

63
. shew] show A, B, C, D

64
. civilisation’s] civilization’s B, C, D

65
. time.] time. ¶ B, D

66
. Inspector’s] inspector’s B, D

67
. Professor of Anthropology] professor of anthropology B, D

68
. note.] note. ¶ B, D

69
. Esquimaux] Eskimos B, D

70
. Esquimaux] Eskimos B, D

71
. aeons] eons B, D

72
. so] as B, D

73
. This data,] These data, B, D

74
. cult-worshippers] cult-worshipers B, C, D

75
. Esquimaux.] Eskimos. B, D

76
. Esquimau] Eskimo B, D

77
. Legrasse] ¶ Legrasse B, C, D

78
. “In . . . dreaming.”
] “In . . . dreaming.” B, D

79
. and]
om.
B, D

80
. worshippers;] worshipers; B, C, D

81
. savoured] savored B, C, D

82
. 1st,] 1, D

83
. the]
om.
B, D

84
. fragment] fragments B, D

85
. ploughed] plowed B, C, D

86
. licence] license B, C, D

87
. daemoniac] demoniac B, D

88
. organised ululation] organized ululations B, D; organized ululation C

89
. sing-song] singsong B, D

90
. Then] ¶ Then B, C, D

91
. hypnotised] hypnotized B, C, D

92
. bellowing,] bellowing A, B, C, D

93
. ring-shaped] ring-/shaped B; ringshaped D

94
. centre] center B, C, D

95
. centre] center B, C, D

96
. worshippers] worshipers B, C, D

97
. Bacchanale] bacchanale B, D

98
. a]
om.
D

99
. worshippers] worshipers B, C, D

100
. Portuguese] Portugese A

101
. colouring] coloring B, C, D

102
. fetichism] fetishism B, D

103
. surprising] surprizing B

104
. worshipped,] worshiped, B, C, D

105
. Those] These D

106
. men,] man, B, D

107
. Black Winged] Black-winged B, D

108
. extract,] extract B, C, D

109
. aeons] eons B, D

110
. Chinamen] Chinaman A

111
. men] man B, D

112
. moulding] molding B, C, D

113
. fleshly] fleshy D

114
. shewed] showed A, B, C, D

115
. aeras] eras B, C, D

116
. revelling] reveling B, C, D

117
. sepulchres,] sepulchers, B, C, D

118
. high-priests] high priests A, B, C, D

119
. mouldy] moldy B, D

120
. rumours] rumors B, C, D

121
. centre] center B, C, D

122
. Chinamen] Chinaman A

123
. “Necronomicon”] Necronomicon A, C;
Necronomicon
B, D

124
. aeons] eons B, D

125
. “That . . . die.”] That . . . die. D

126
. publications] publication B, D

127
. Esquimau] Eskimo B, D

128
. seventeenth-century] Seventeenth Century B, D

129
. colonial] Colonial A, B, C, D

130
. some time be heard from] be heard from sometime B, D

131
. crystallised] crystallized B, C, D

132
. phantasies] fantasies B, D

133
. out.] out. ¶ B, D

134
. sincerity,] sincerity D

135
. shewed] showed A, B, C, D

136
. fhtagn”, . . . fhtagn”.
]
fhtagn,” . . . fhtagn.”
¶ B, D;
fhtagn,” . . . fhtagn.”
C

137
. connexions.] connections. B, C, D

138
. first-hand,] first hand, B, D

139
. materialism,] materialism D

140
. almost] a most D

141
. thing] thing which B, D

142
. think] thing B

143
. heaven] Heaven A, C

144
. the]
om.
B, D

145
. Cult”,] Cult,” B, C, D

146
. in] of B, D

147
. Vigilant]
Vigilant
B, C, D

148
. With] with C, D

149
. Vigilant . . . Follow.] [
printed in paragraph form in B, D
];
Vigilant
. . . One / Survivor . . . Battle / and . . . His / Possession. . . . Follow. C

150
. 17'] 17', B, D

151
. 2nd] 2 A, C; 2d B, D

152
. week.] week. ¶ B, D

153
. 20th] 20th, B, D

154
. men.] men. ¶ B, D

155
. 22nd,] 22d, B, D

156
. equipment.] equipment. ¶ B, D

157
. shewed] showed A, B, C, D

158
. existed.] existed. ¶ B, D

159
. story,] story B, D