But there are always the few who oppose the general opinion--the men and women who are in the minority because it is the minority; those whom the hysterical glorification made of Stella Ballantyne had offended; the austere, the pedantic, the just, the jealous, all were quick to seize upon this disconcerting fact: Stella Ballantyne had dragged her dying husband from the tent.

It was either sheer callousness or blind fury--you might take your choice.

In either case it dulled the glow of martyrdom which for a week or two had been so radiant upon Stella Ballantyne's forehead; and the few who argued thus attracted adherents daily.

And with the sympathy for Stella Ballantyne interest in the case began to wane too.
The magisterial inquiry threatened to become tedious.

The pictures of the witnesses and the principals occupied less and less space in the newspapers.