Curtis shook his head. “It’s really not proper, sir.”
‘But if they’re willing to go-“
‘Try it and see, then. Talk to them. I’ll be your interpreter, if you like.“
By the time Regan finished explaining to the Martians what he had in mind, he was dripping wet, and trembling from the strain of communicating. It was no go, of course. The few English-speaking Martians had listened unblinkingly to Regan’s awkward sales pitch, bolstered by occasional interjections in Martian by the anthropologist. And finally, when the whole proposition had been made clear, the answer came, unambiguous, unarguable: “We do not wish to leave our homes.”
Regan gave it the old college try. He explained how eager the people of Earth were to meet their Martian friends. He offered huge sums to make the Martian caves more comfortable. He suggested a tour of Earth itself, painting the neighbor planet in glowing colors.
The Martians were unimpressed. They had not the remotest desire to go anywhere, neither to Earth nor to the World’s Fair, not even to the cave a hundred yards away. And so alien were their values that no persuasion Regan could use would change their minds.
He talked himself hoarse.
‘We do not wish to leave our homes,“ they answered.
After the visitors had left the cave, Curtis said, “I knew they wouldn’t go for it, sir.”
‘Well, it was an idea,“ Regan muttered.
He was disgruntled at its failure. To have Martians at the Fair would be the making of the Fan-, he knew. But, still, they had said no, and that was that. He hadn’t really expected them to agree to be rocketed off toward some distant world. They weren’t the type to travel.
Back in Marsport, Regan settled down for a few days of observation and rest, before returning to Earth and getting back into harness. But he found himself edgy, unable to relax. He bubbled with half-understood needs. Here was Mars, the old Mars and the new, and he longed to do something with it. To harness all this vigorous energy, and to make some use of the wistful alien beings. But what? What could he do with Mars and the Martians? No answer.
There was something here, something that powerfully captured Claude Regan’s imagination. But the Factor was at a loss to put it to use. His first idea-bringing Old Martians to the Fair-had died aborning. And he was unable to evolve any other concrete plan dealing with the Mars of the colonists or the Mars of the Old Martians.
The day before departure seemed to him as good a time as any to broach a certain topic of discussion with Nola. They had been out for a drive in the desert, in a chauffeured sand-crawler provided by the local Global Factors office- and, on busy Mars, chauffeurs were greater luxuries than caviar. Now, as they returned to the dome, Regan glanced at his wife and said, “I had a talk with your brother Sid just before we left.”
‘Really, darling?“
‘Really and truly. You know that he was part of the group that tried to oust me last month.“
Nola frowned. “I’m sure that’s not right.” “He signed Uncle Bruce’s petition calling for a special meeting of the Board. If he had said no, there wouldn’t have been any meeting. But he said yes.”
Nola turned away, stared languidly at the desert. “I’m sure he must have had some good reason for doing it, darling. Maybe he thought it was for the best” “Nola?” “Yes, dear?” “Look at me, Nola!”
‘But it’s practically my last chance to see Martian scenery. I can look at you later.“
His hand shot out, clamped around her wrist “Look at me,” he said in a voice quivering with rage. “You’re hurting me!” “That’s a pity. Look at me!” “All right. I’m looking. Stop squeezing my wrist.” Regan glared at her. He said bluntly, “Sid signed that petition because Bruce offered him a thousand shares of Global stock to do it.“
‘Is that so?“
‘That’s so. Considering that I’ve made that ass a millionaire, it seems pretty ungrateful of him to try to sell me out for a lousy hundred thousand.“
‘Maybe he’s had reverses,“ Nola suggested. ”You know he likes to gamble. A bad week at the track-“
‘Nola, Sid also told me that he discussed the whole deal with you beforehand. And he said that you advised him to go ahead, sign the petition, take the stock.“
There was a nicker of anger in Nola’s glittering eyes. “He said that, did he?”
‘Yes.“
‘He was lying!“
‘I don’t think so, Nola,“ Regan said. ”Sid doesn’t have the guts to lie to my face. You do, but he’s not you. You advised him to take a step that might have dumped me out of control. Why did you do that, Nola? Is that the way a wife is supposed to look out for her husband’s interests?“
Nola shrugged. She looked now like a little girl caught stealing from the candy bowl. “I didn’t think the meeting could hurt you, and I didn’t see why Sid shouldn’t take that stock if it was offered.”
‘Wouldn’t it have hurt me if I got dismissed from my post?“
‘You’d still be rich as Croesus, darling.“
‘Money isn’t power,“ Regan snapped. ”If all I wanted out of life was money, I’d have retired three years ago. I’d spend all my time sleeping in the sun, getting up just to clip my coupons. I need more than a fat bank account to keep going. You know that. Yet you advised Sid to help get me dumped.“
Nola’s expression was serene again. “All right, Claude. I plead guilty. I conspired against you with Sid, at the urging of your Uncle Bruce. Bruce would like to get back on top, and he’s not at all pleased with the way you’ve been running the company. He asked me for help. I decided that you were ruining your health working this hard, and so when Sid came to me, I told him yes, sign the petition. It would enable you to take some time off and rest.”
‘Very considerate of you. How much did Uncle Bruce offer to pay you for stabbing me in the back?“
‘Never mind.“
‘He did pay you, of course. And you put the money in some private bank account of your own, just in case our marriage should split up and you needed a few spare millions over and above what I’ve given you already.“
‘Are you filing for divorce?“ Nola said sweetly. ”There are no grounds, you know. I lead a blameless life. I did go to the Moon with Rex Bennett, but he’s very old, and I’m sure a medical report on him would show-“
‘No, I’m not divorcing you,“ Regan said. ”It’s not very jolly to share my bed with a snake, but I’ll go on doing it. God only knows why.“ He glared at her. ”It’s been a long time since I was in love with you, Nola. But I never realized before how much I hated you.“
The spaceliner hovered in orbit, and descended Earthward. Below, the tawny expanse of the Nevada desert waited for the kiss of the rocket flame. It seemed to Regan that he had been moving endlessly from desert to desert lately. Compared with Mars, though, Nevada was a lush tropical jungle.
He was in Denver two hours after touchdown. There were loose ends to tie up. It was getting into summer, now. Months were moving by. The Factor lingered in Denver long enough to familiarize himself with all that had taken place in his month-long absence. It was heartwarming to see the way Tim Field was growing into the job there. After his first uncertainties and hesitations, Field was beginning to look very much the executive. It eased the strain on Regan to know that Global Factors was in such capable hands while he was preoccupied elsewhere.
Three days in Denver proved enough. He went over the accounts, looked through some reports. Field was full of en thusiasm. “We’ve turned the corner on the working capital problem,” he said. “Those bonds still have us over a barrel, but we’re profiting from the general pickup in business conditions.”