The clerk went out, puzzled. Judge Helms took off his pince-nez and regarded the spectacle of Hector Civek in ermine. "What is all this, Hector?" he asked. "You weren't serious about that king business, were you? Nice to see you back safe, by the way." "We would prefer to be addressed the first time as Your Majesty, Judge," Civek said. "After that you can call us sir." "Us?" the judge asked. "Somebody with you?" "The royal 'we,'" Civek said. "I see I'll have to issue a proclamation on the proper forms of address. I mean, _we'll_ have to. Takes a bit of getting used to, doesn't it?" "Quite a bit," the judge agreed. "But right now, if you don't mind, this court is in session and has a case before it. Suppose you make your royal self comfortable and we'll get on with it--as soon as my clerk is back from attending to the royal horses." The clerk returned and whispered in the judge's ear. Helms looked at Civek and shook his head. "Six of them, eh? I'll have a look later. Right now we've got a bank robbery case on the calendar." Vincent Grande talked and Jerry Lynch talked and Judge Helms listened and looked up statutes and pursed his lips thoughtfully. Joe Negus cleaned his nails. Hank Stacy bit his. Finally the judge said, "I hate to admit this, but I'm afraid I must agree with you, counselor. The alleged crime contravened no local statute, and in the absence of a representative of the Federal Government I must regretfully dismiss the charges." Joe Negus promptly got up and began to walk out. "Just a minute there, varlet!" It was Hector Civek doing his king bit. Negus, who probably had been called everything else in his life, paused and looked over his shoulder. "Approach!" Civek thundered. "Nuts, Your Kingship," Negus said. "Nobody stops me now." But before he got to the door something stopped him in mid-stride. Civek had pointed his scepter at Negus in that instant. Negus, stiff as a stop-action photograph, toppled to the floor. "Now," Civek said, motioning to Judge Helms to vacate the bench, "we'll dispense some royal justice." He sat down, arranging his robes and shifting his heavy crown. "Mr. Counselor Lynch, we take it you represent the defendants?" "Yes, Your Majesty," said the lawyer, an adaptable man. "What happened to Negus, sir? Is he dead?" "He could have been, if we'd given him another notch. No, he's just suspended. Let him be an example to anyone else who might incur our royal wrath. Now, counselor, we are familiar enough with the case to render an impartial verdict. We find the defendants guilty of bank robbery." "But Your Majesty," Lynch said, "bank robbery is not a crime under the laws of Superior. I submit that there has been no crime--inasmuch as the incident occurred after Superior became detached from Earth, and therefore from its laws."