Stowaway to Mars (25 page)

And never before, thought Mary Curtance, had the floodlight on the Curtance family reached one tenth of its present candle power. But now, in the months of waiting, she had learnt to tolerate it with a better grace; she accepted it for Dale's sake and kept secret her hope that the noise and the shouting would soon die away. It was a hope destined to be granted far sooner than she expected.

The carping spirit, which accused the expedition in general and Joan in particular of failing to take full advantage of the chances, began to show itself very soon, and the swing of popular opinion from hero worship to recrimination was as painful as it was surprising. The animosity against Joan was said to have its origin in the American refusal to believe her report of the wreck of their rocket. Be that as it may, within a few weeks she was incurring revilement and persecution for every one of her actions since the start. In a few short days she fell from the position of a heroine to, at best, a liar and a waster of opportunities. It was no good that the others should stand by her. They were shouted down. Nor was it considered sufficient excuse that Froud should say:

'What right have you to blame the girl? She's human. Why, damn it, when the last trump blows half the women will miss it because they are in the middle of some love affair.'

The gale of public opinion was dead against her and she could only run for shelter.

Out of Russia, too, came trouble in the form of a rumour that Dale had deliberately disabled the Tovaritch on Mars and left Karaminoff and his crew there to die. And as the weeks and months passed away without sign of her the slander gained wider credence. And so ended the flight of the Gloria Mundi.

It was five years before the public mind could forget its pettiness and reinstate Dale in a position analogous with that of Christopher Columbus. Dugan, Froud and Doctor Grayson shared with him in this return to public esteem, but Joan did not.

Six months after the Gloria Mundi's return, in a little cottage among the Welsh mountains, Joan had died in giving birth to her child. But the tale of Vaygan's son belongs to a different story.

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