"The Dweller in the Gulf" by Clark Ashton Smith

ferruginous: containing rust; rust-colored

Hinnom: the Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, i.e. Hell

5 feet = 152.5 centimeters

noctiluca: a genus of marine plantlike flagellates (order Dinoflagellata) that are unusually large, complex in structure, and bioluminescent and that when present in numbers are responsible for much of the phosphorescence of the sea

sopor: profound or lethargic sleep

objurgation: a harsh rebuke

glyptodon: an extinct species of giant armadillos!

The follow along: http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/55/the-dweller-in-the-gulf

The link above is to the magazine published edition, which cuts out entirely the character John Chalmers, as the editor insisted the story be cut by 2000 words. Feh. In my recording, you get the full book edition which keeps all that original material. So if you are following along with the text above, be prepared to be surprised when there's material in the recording that is not in the link. Frankly, I like the Chalmers bits and am glad to have the version that includes it.

Also note the link above contains a most interesting introduction concerning Smith and the magazine edition of the story. Go check it out! Also an alternate ending to the story. It's almost the same, just one slight change.

And speaking of endings, Smith isn't the least bit queasy about giving us endings filled with despair and horror, eh? These stories set on Mars especially have really horrifying endings. Reminds me on Babylon 5, Garibaldi in one episode monologue "Mars. I can't believe I'm back on Mars. Three times before this place almost killed me. I swore I'd never give it another chance to finish the job. Humans got no business being here. No business at all."