"I didn't know what it was. But you have me to deal with now. You
understand? I will tell my brother so. You said, 'On Earth a man may
kill the thing he loves.' A woman of Mars may do that! Beware of me,
Gregg Haljan."
Her passion-filled eyes bored into me. Love? Hate? The venom of a
woman scorned--a mingling of turgid emotions....
I twisted back from her grip and ignored her. She sat back, silently
watching my busy activities: the calculations of the shifting
conditions of gravity, pressures, temperatures; a checking of the
instruments on the board before me.
Mechanical routine. My mind went to Venza, back there on the asteroid.
The wandering little world was already shrinking to a convex surface
beneath us. Venza, with her last unknown play, gone to failure. Had I
missed my cue? Whatever my part, it seemed now that I must have
horribly misacted it.
The crescent Earth was presently swinging over our bow. We rocketed
out of the asteroid's shadow. The glowing, flaming Sun appeared,
making a crescent of the Earth. With the glass I could see our tiny
Moon, visually seeming to hug the limb of its parent Earth.
We were on our course to the Moon. My mind flung ahead. Grantline
with his treasure, unsuspecting this brigand ship. And suddenly,
beyond all thought of Grantline, there came to me a fear for Anita. In
God's truth I had been, so far, a very stumbling, inept champion,
doomed to failure with everything I tried. Why had I not contrived to
have Anita desert at the asteroid? Would it not have been far better
for her there, taking her chance for rescue with Dr. Frank, Venza and
the others?
But no! I had, like a fool, never thought of that! Had let her remain
here on board at the mercy of these outlaws.
And I swore now, that beyond everything, I would protect her.
Futile oath! If I could have seen ahead a few hours! But I sensed the
catastrophe. There was a shudder within me as I sat in that turret,
docilely guiding us out through the asteroid's atmosphere, heading us
upon our course for the Moon.